wfn.org | [LCMSNews] Group targets 'missing generation'

["LCMS e-News" <LCMSENEWS@lcms.org>]

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>10.31.2008		
>	LCMS News	 	
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>THE LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod  	 	
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	October 31, 2008 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 62

Group aims to help reclaim 'missing generation'

>By Joe Isenhower Jr.

A newly formed advisory committee of young adults wants to help Synod
congregations reclaim what has been called "a missing generation" among
church rolls nationwide and in the Missouri Synod -- young adults in
their 20s and 30s.

LCMS Youth Ministry formed the Young Adult Ministry Advisory Committee
of seven members -- all within that age category -- to "grapple with why
young adults aren't involved in the church, and share findings and
observations with the church as we explore what can be done to get them
connected to a congregation," said Jessica Bordeleau, coordinator of
Lutheran Youth Fellowship and Young Adult Ministry with the
youth-ministry office, and the committee's convener.

All based in the St. Louis area, committee members are Anne Meyer,
director of Youth and Young Adults Ministry at Chapel of the Cross --
Lutheran; Rev. Ryan Peterson, associate pastor, St. John Lutheran
Church, Ellisville, Mo.; Faith Spellbring, ambassador manager for
Lutheran Hour Ministries; Rev. Jeff Cloeter, assistant pastor at Christ
Memorial Lutheran Church; Rev. Jason Rust, associate pastor at Historic
Trinity Lutheran Church; Josh Brown, a Concordia Seminary student whose
field-work assignment is with Christ in the City Lutheran Church; and
Bordeleau.

>Their first meeting was in mid-September.

The decision to involve only St. Louis-based members is due in part to
the fact that the committee has no travel budget, according to
Bordeleau. And although this also means that meetings are within short
driving distances, their locations are intentionally relevant. For
instance, in keeping with the culture of the age group that the
committee will work to attract, its second meeting was set for early
November in a suburban coffee shop.

Bordeleau also pointed out that each committee member works in a
congregation or other ministry setting aimed at strengthening outreach
to unchurched young adults or enhancing young-adult members' engagement
in congregational ministry.

She said that committee members "have so much passion and motivation to
reach young adults for Christ.  It is wonderfully exciting and
encouraging to work together with them. When the group talks about
ministry to young adults, we don't see them as statistics and numbers.
They are our peers, our friends. We want the church to join us in making
a concerted, intentional effort to reach our generation with the love of
Christ."

Ministry among young adults is "sorely needed" in all Christian
churches, including the LCMS, according to Dr. Terry Dittmer, director
of LCMS Youth Ministry, who recalled that the Pew Forum on Religion and
Public Life reported earlier this year that its survey on religious
affiliation found that "among Americans ages 18 to 29, one in four say
they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.

"The fact of the matter is, we Lutherans do a pretty good job keeping
most of our youth connected to God and church through their high-school
years," Dittmer said.

He added that fact is supported by the 1995 National Study of Youth and
Religion listing the LCMS "in a group of 'conservative churches' that
retains 86 percent of their teens through 12th grade."

But he continued that the 1995 study also found that "at the end of high
school, when their relational networks change and young adults go to
college, into the military, or to work, they drop out of church at
alarming rates. And the church, historically, has let that happen," he
said.

Bordeleau related that "in the past, many of those young adults
eventually returned to the church once they married and had kids.

"But this model just isn't happening anymore," she said.

"Young adults are marrying later and having kids later. By this time,
their lifestyle is already established, and church just isn't a part of
it. Outreach strategies that were successful in the past are not
reaching this population."

"There hasn't been a focused synodical or district effort at addressing
the need," Dittmer said.

"Both the research I've read and my experiences have shown that this is
indeed a missing generation in our churches," Bordeleau said.

Bordeleau also is director of Christian education at Timothy Lutheran
Church in St. Louis, which she describes as "a diverse urban
congregation."

In addition, she spent four years mentoring young adults at Camp Luther
in Wisconsin, where she developed a mentorship program for them that
included meeting regularly with older Christians to talk through goal
setting, objective strategies, prayer, and Bible study.

"That experience really taught me a lot about the needs and culture of
young adults," she said. "I learned first-hand their intense need and
desire for authentic community, meaningful service opportunities, and a
way to make a difference in the world."

She emphasized that it's those needs and desires that the new committee
hopes to help congregations "facilitate" for young-adult members and
prospective members.

Bordeleau noted that while many young adults are unchurched, "at the
same time, we shouldn't ignore the faithful ones who are part of our
church body, but are often under-represented and misunderstood."

She said she's noticed that young adults are not only "too often lumped
together with high-school youth and overlooked for leadership
opportunities" in congregations, but that many older members "may assume
that young adults wouldn't want to build relationships with them.

"Young adults desire friendships with older Christians -- friendships
that can be so valuable to those in both age groups," she concluded.

The Young Adult Ministry Advisory Committee adopted two goals at its
first meeting:

	

*	"to enable congregations to build a culture where young adults
are able to fully participate in the life of the church.

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*	"to enable young adults to become an integral part of the church
community, living out their faith in a global context."

"We plan to pursue these goals," Bordeleau said, "by providing resources
to raise awareness of the needs of young adults, to advocate the
contributions of young adults to the church, and to provide
opportunities for service and leadership development for young adults."

She said that the committee plans to launch a Web site as early as next
year to provide listings of best practices in young-adult ministry,
links to books, training events, and other helpful resources. She said
the committee also is exploring ways to "promote service leadership
opportunities for young adults."

For instance, committee members laid the groundwork at their first
meeting for a young-adult servant event next June in New Orleans --
which Bordeleau said would probably be coordinated with Camp Restore, a
recovery camp there helping area Lutherans rebuild after hurricanes
devastated the area over recent years.

She said the goal of the 2009 Servant Event, which is being referred to
as "LEAD," is to "provide young adults the opportunity to serve and
intentionally develop their leadership skills to take home and use in
their home congregations."

This is a generation that is passionate about social justice and service
to the community, Bordeleau emphasized.

"We need to capture the energy, creativity, imagination, and indeed, the
faith of our young adults," Dittmer added, "and equip them for
leadership and empower them to take on leadership roles in our
congregations and beyond."

Borderleau said the advisory committee also would like to hear from
congregations that are currently conducting or have had experience with
intentional ministry among young adults.

To share such ministry ideas or for more information about the work of
the new Young Adult Ministry Advisory Committee, call Bordeleau at
314-996-1722, or send an e-mail to her at jessica.bordeleau@lcms.org
<mailto:jessica.bordeleau@lcms.org> .

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If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release, contact
Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org
<mailto:joe.isenhower@lcms.org>  or (314) 996-1231, or Paula Schlueter
Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org <mailto:paula.ross@lcms.org>  or (314)
996-1230.

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