Skip to main content

Do You Really Want to Involve Young Adults?

Whether it is the church, businesses, non-profits, professional groups, or service organizations, the question is the same:  “How do we get more young adults involved?”  (The only exception is the AARP!)

When I hear this question, my first response has to do with motivation:  “Why?”  Are you just interested in financial support, the continuation of the organization, or more hands to do the work?  If the answer is “Yes” to any of these, then you are on the wrong track.  If you want to involve young adults in your organization, you must be willing to take some risks and adopt some new strategies.

In a recent article on marketing to Millennials (or “Generation Y”, “Net Generation,” or “Echo Boomers”), Gary Vaynerchuk suggests four tips for connecting with adults in their 20’s.  Here they are with some interpretation from my perspective.

First, listen and don’t talk.  Listening precedes dialogue.  If you really want to connect with these folks, you have to come to some understanding of their perspectives and life situations.  Only then will there be a real basis for discussion.

Second, understand that they inherently want to explore as many things as possible.  Vaynerchuk comments, “Way too many people think that this generation is simple.  Their DNA has shown me that they are far more exploratory than any other generation.”  Perhaps their unsettled nature reflects this desire to investigate all the alternatives available.

Third, you’ve got to tell your story quickly and that story has got to be relevant.  Your message needs to be as personal and pertinent as possible.  Twenty-somethings do have a short attention span, but they are also highly relational.  You have to make the connection between your story and their lives quickly or you will lose them.

Fourth, people want to put the Millennials in a square hole.  In other words, we want them to conform to our structures rather than being willing to adapt to their approach to life and service.  If we really want to involve young adults, we have to step over onto their turf.  This is scary for those of us who lead institutions.  We are afraid that what we have built will crumble. Of course, if we don’t breathe new life into the institution, it will crumble anyway!

To really young adults to make a contribution, we will have to go more than half-way and be sincere about our willingness to accept their involvement and support in the way that they can offer it.  This means that we must be accepting, flexible, and resilient.  This is not an easy assignment, and most of us don’t want to expend the time and energy necessary to do accomplish this task, but it may be difference between stagnation and growth.

(Thanks to Tom Ehrich for forwarding the link to this article.)


Comments

Sam Davidson said…
Well put, Ircel. I like the "you've got to take risks" part. It's true. Sadly, not many places are willing to do that.
Barnabas File said…
I think it comes down to the institutional impulse to hold onto and defend what we have if it is not much! Growth always involves some risk, doesn't it?

Check these out

Confessions of a Recovering Southern Baptist

I am grateful for my heritage as a Southern Baptist.  I was exposed to the Bible and worship from a very young age.  I grew up in a church in south Alabama that supported the Cooperative Program of missions giving.  This meant that our church had the benefit of being part of a supportive group of local churches and the educational opportunities that afforded. Our state convention provided varied and effective ministries with groups like orphans, ethnic groups, and college students.  We supported missionaries at home and abroad.  We had good Bible study and training literature (which we paid for, of course).  I went to an accredited seminary and paid a remarkably low tuition.  Wherever you went on a Sunday morning (in the Southeast and Southwest, at least), you could find a church that sang the familiar hymns and studied the same Bible lesson. In hindsight, I realize that this Southern Baptist utopia was imperfect.  There were significant theological differences, often geograp

The Bible Tells Me So

As I read the story of the Good Samaritan during my devotional today, I was reminded of the times that I have heard the story in the Christian education setting of the local church--as a youngster in primary and intermediate classes (old terminology), as a young adult in college classes, and then as an adult, often teaching the passage myself.     The characters and story line are very familiar due to these experiences of Christian education. These are challenging times for Christian education in the church.  Like so much of what is happening in the church today, the old forms do not seem to support present needs.  What once worked no longer seems to be effective.  Christian education or the formation of believers is in a state of flux. In an article on ethicsdaily.com , retired professor Colin Harris addresses this issue. He points out that the period of the 60’s and 70’s  “saw the beginnings of a loss of vitality within the educational dimension of church ministry, as the

Metaphors of the Kingdom of God

In a recent blog , consultant Seth Godin addresses the power of metaphor.   He points out, “The best way to learn a complex idea is to find it living inside something else you already understand.”   In other words, “this” is like “that.” “When you see a story, an example, a wonderment,” says Godin, “take a moment to look for the metaphor inside.”   Jesus turned this around.   In the use of parables, he told a story or provided a metaphor and challenged his hearers to see the truth within. For example, in his teaching on the Kingdom (or Reign) of God in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom to such things as a mustard seed, yeast, a hidden treasure, a net, a king, and a landowner.   His hearers are encouraged to use their imaginations to understand something that they had never experienced.   He also attempted to shift their perspective so that they might see signs of the Kingdom breaking into their present reality.  These are metaphors for the Kingdom. Where do w

The Tragedy of Willow Creek Community Church

File photo of Steve Carter, Heather Larson, and Bill Hybels As Christian brothers and sisters, we need to pray for Willow Creek Community Church.   On the eve of the Global Leadership Summit, a worldwide conference sponsored by the church in cooperation with the Willow Creek Association, church leadership imploded as a result of further allegations against former pastor Bill Hybels. Last year, Hybels introduced the team who would assume church leadership upon his retirement--lead pastor Heather Larson and teaching pastor Steve Carter.  Although the founding pastor planned to stay on to assist in a time of transition, reports of sexual impropriety involving Hybels surfaced early this year.  He accelerated his departure from the church and left the board of the Willow Creek Association. When other charges emerged last week, teaching pastor Carter resigned. On Wednesday evening, Larson and the entire elder board--lay leaders who provide accountability on behalf of the congreg

A Future for the Global Leadership Summit?

Craig Groeschel, the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church. The Global Leadership Summit which began as a project of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, and its founding pastor, Bill Hybels, over 25 years ago was held this week without Hybels. For several years, the GLS has been now produced by the Willow Creek Association, a spin-off organization and a loose network of churches but Hybels has been its driving force. Attended by thousands at the church facility in South Barrington and broadcast to thousands more at satellite locations, the annual meeting brings together not only evangelical leaders but outstanding speakers from business, charitable organizations, politics, and business.  For the first time, Hybels did not appear due to allegations of sexual impropriety brought against him over the past year by former employees, staff members, and business associates.  He has already left the church and resigned from the board of the association.