Where are all the young people? Does the church really want to do ministry with them? In this interview, Doug Powe speaks with Dr. Reggie Blount, Associate Professor of Formation, Leadership, and Culture at Garrett Theological Seminary, about how the church can strengthen their ministry among young adults through hospitality, welcoming, and empowering them in works of purpose and mission.
Douglas Powe: Reggie, thank you so much for joining us today [to focus on young adults.]Where are all the young adults?
Reggie Blount: Thanks for having me, Doug. I’m looking forward to our conversation. Where are the young adults? They’re out there. The better question is: are we prepared to receive them and truly do ministry with them?
Douglas Powe: I love that answer. Can you share a little bit about the research grant you received from Lilly and then unpack for us what you’re discovering about young adults in relation to the church?
Reggie Blount: About nine years ago, Lilly launched what they call their “young adult initiative,” which tries to address what it means to do ministry with young adults, especially with those aged 21-29. They asked 13 institutions to engage in “innovation hubs;” hubs that would work with local congregations to explore ways of connecting and working with young adults. To look for insights into what would help young adults be more connected to congregational life.
At Garrett Evangelical, we started with an ethnographic study. We sent fellows out to interview young adults and get a sense of how they understand their own religiosity, spiritual life, and the role of the church in either helping or not helping in these arenas. Coming out of that study, we were able to identify several themes.
What are they looking for? They are looking for congregations and communities that are welcoming, embracing, and meet them where they are. They are looking for leaders in these congregations that are approachable. Leaders with whom they can have a relationship or maybe even experience certain levels of mentoring or spiritual direction. They are looking for congregations that are mission driven, mission oriented, and focused especially on issues of social justice. They are looking for congregations that recognize and are sensitive to the fact that a number of young adults have experienced hurt in the church.
Douglas Powe: I appreciate that. Like you said, these are things we know, but we need to hear again because we’re not doing them well. Do you believe young adults stay away from the church because they aren’t experiencing welcoming, or because they have the perception that they won’t experience welcoming?
Reggie Blount: I’m going to say it’s a “both-and.” Young adults, especially those who may have grown up in the church, have seen and experienced some things. As soon as they have an opportunity to escape from these things, they do so. I think there is also a perception that because of what others have experienced, what we see and experience on social media, these things inform how many young adults perceive what they might experience in the church. As a result, everything gets grouped in a monolithic kind of way; they think all churches are the same rather than recognizing that experiences in congregations vary.
Douglas Powe: So, young adults value relationships. When I say “relationships,” I’m not talking about the kind where we’re going to tell you what to do. I’m talking about genuine relationships where there’s a mutuality. Is there anything you can share about how congregations can do a better job of developing these kinds of relationships?
Reggie Blount: So let me use a quote that I heard from a young person at a United Methodist young adult conference some years back. “I love Jesus, but the church is suffocating.” Simply stated, congregations need to learn how to not suffocate young people. Congregations have to be open to the ideas, energy, and creativity that young adults can bring to the church in the community they’re serving. It has to release control of some things, and most importantly, it has to let go of its judgmental spirit towards young adults themselves.
Douglas Powe: I agree with you, but I have been a part of congregations where those in leadership say, “Hey, we’ve got to be welcoming. We can’t be judgmental.” But there are some individuals for whom there’s a certain way you have to look, there’s a certain way you have to behave, and that comes across. How do we help young adults understand that the church is a not perfect place? It is made up of a lot of different people, and some of these people are going to give off a different spirit.
Reggie Blount: Let me answer that by saying that might not be the right question. Young adults have said that they’re looking for relationship. They should not have to settle for the kind of space, the kind of community, within which they have to work really hard to be accepted. They can create other communities and God will meet them there. They can find elders who can meet them where they are, love them, and build relationships with them.
I think the onus is on congregations to decide whether or not they’re willing to shift their perspective to recognize that times have changed. If they really and truly want young adults to be a part of their community, then they can’t expect young adults to come in and act like them. That’s not going to happen. Young adults can create their own communities.
Douglas Powe: Staying with that theme, what are some practices that congregations can do to be more inclusive? How can a congregation make a shift and say, “Okay, we’re going to really be intentional about this work?”
Reggie Blount: Honestly, it starts with congregations allowing young adults to teach them about the current culture. It starts with the congregation learning about the current issues and concerns that face the present generations and allowing someone to come in and share about these things. Then, in partnership with other young adults, they can begin to explore how their own congregation can be a vehicle; how their own congregation can be a third space, open and supportive to the needs that young adults have. There are some real-life issues that young folks are dealing with, and we hear about them all the time. There are mental health issues and challenges around loneliness. There are also financial issues, and more basic “bread and butter” kinds of issues in the world that they’re looking for communities with wisdom to help them navigate. I think the misconception is that young adults want to separate themselves from elders. That’s not the case. They are seeking wisdom, not judgment. There’s a difference.
Douglas Powe: There definitely is a difference. Can you talk about a congregation or two that has been able to make this shift? I think many congregations recognize the need to do so, but they’re not sure how to go about it.
Reggie Blount: We’ve worked with a number of congregations who continue to do this kind of work. It’s not an overnight thing. It’s not a workshop. It’s an ongoing process. We’ve had congregations work with young adults to create friendship circles, as young people are really challenged with some of those people. We’ve had congregations that are meeting young adults where they are as it relates to life, lifestyle issues, and financial issues. [We’ve had] congregations that are helping their young adults set up businesses, and things along those lines. There is no cookie-cutter approach. But also, I can’t say enough about the importance of walking alongside and making space for young adults to let their creativity come forth.
Douglas Powe: I think you’re implying something that I’m going to try to make more explicit: It is really important for the church to go outside its walls. [It is really important] for the church to go out into the community and be genuinely interested in hearing from young adults and building relationships with them. The old “build it, and they will come” model is not going to work 99 out of 100 times. Is that fair?
Reggie Blount: 99.5% of the time, that model is not going to work. You’re absolutely right. It is going to where they are. In Matthew 28, it says “Go.” It doesn’t say, “Wait for them to come.” We need to go where they are, meet them where they are, and genuinely be open to doing something different. We need to genuinely be open to making changes because if we’re not open for change, then young adults are going to sniff that out. It may mean that our ministry with young people is not just on Sunday. Our ministry with young people is meeting them where they are, and so it might happen somewhere between Monday and Saturday. We need to be very, very clear about what our objective or goal is. If all we’re doing is looking for young adults to come in, join membership, and pay their tithes so that the institution can survive, you can let that go because it isn’t going to happen.
Douglas Powe: You talked in the beginning about the importance of mission, advocacy, justice (whatever term you want to use), and how this work is critically important for congregations as a whole. How do congregations faithfully do that kind of work, especially with young adults, without becoming a social agency?
Reggie Blount: Let me first say that studies show younger generations are much more inclined to engage in works of purpose and mission than they are institutional preservation. Thus, the future of the church depends on its being much, much more mission oriented.
The next thing that I’m going to suggest is that the church needs to reexamine its “why.” To suggest that its “why” is not related to being some kind of social service agency, I’m going to say, is problematic because the purpose of most social service agencies is to meet the needs of people. If the church doesn’t see one of its primary purposes as meeting the needs of others, then sustainability moving forward is going to be quite challenging. As you know, I am the founder of an organization called The Oikos Institute for Social Impact, and the theology that undergirds our work is our belief that the work of social impact are also acts of discipleship.
Douglas Powe: “Acts of Discipleship” – Unpack that a little bit in terms of working with young adults.
Reggie Blount: Two examples. First, a leader asks Jesus, “So, who is my neighbor?” and Jesus responds with the story about the Samaritan. Folks, including a religious leader, were passing by one who had been vandalized—brutalized—on the road. The Samaritan is the one that comes and takes care of the person, taking them to an inn. One of the things that gets glossed over in that story is that the Samaritan stays overnight. The Samaritan interrupts his travel, his destination, and chooses to stay overnight with this injured person. The next day, he says to the innkeeper, “make sure that they have what they need. If there’s anything else, I’ll be back.” After telling the story, Jesus asks the leader, “Who was the neighbor?” The leader answers the question, and then Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.” Take the extra mile to care for your neighbor. That is what you’re called to do.
Second, consider the parable in Matthew 25. Most of us know it well. “When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was sick, you cared for me.” What if we translated that into the idea that we’re not just engaged in works of social service but in acts of discipleship? When we engage in works of community, of communal health, that we’re not just engaged in social service but engaged in acts of discipleship? I believe that this is what young adults can wrap their minds around, and that this is the kind of discipleship that will motivate young people to be a part of a community or congregation.
Doug Powe: I love it. I love these conversations. Let me go to a controversial figure: Kanye West. A few years ago, he was doing pop-up Sunday services. He had lots of people coming out to these, and many of them were young adults. Some people in the church were mad because folks were putting aside some of Kanye’s other stuff and going to these services. What can we take away from Kanye’s ability to connect with young adults in a way that the church has not?
Reggie Blount: This is where I wish I could quote scripture really well because that same question was asked of Jesus. “So and so is out here saying this in your name,” someone in scripture complains, and Jesus’ answer is “Wonderful.” God is being lifted up. So, the question the church needs to ask is this: “What was it about these particular events that spoke to the spirit, spoke to the spiritual needs of young people, and what might we learn from it?” Instead of the judging and the condemning, the question we need to ask is: “What was it about that, that spoke to those young people and what can we learn from it?” Not so that we can replicate it, but so that we can see the spiritual yearning at Kanye’s pop-up events and find ways to speak to that as well.
Doug Powe: Reggie, this has been great. I wish we could go on longer, but we need to bring this to an end. Thank you for your insights and the continued work you’re doing with young adults.
Reggie Blount: Thank you, sir. Thanks for the invitation. This has been a great conversation.
Related Resources
- 50 Ways to Strengthen Ministry with Youth, a free Lewis Center resource
- New Approaches to Help Youth Form Lasting Faith featuring Brad Griffin — Watch the Leading Ideas Talks podcast video | Listen to the podcast audio version | Read the in-depth interview
- Youth Ministry by Any Other Name by Kenda Creasy Dean
