Talk to just about any congregation, especially a mainline one, and they will say, "I sure wish that we could do something to attract more young people." The demographic data produced by the ELCA's own Department of Research and Evaluation show that the biggest hole in membership among ELCA congregations is for those persons who are 18 to 32 years old. This is not surprising. The latest research on church membership discloses that only 4% of Gen Y, those born 1980 or later, participate in church. Gen Xers participate at a 15% level.

Last Sunday Harriet and I worshipped at a small and delightful Episcopal church in North Woodstock, New Hampshire. There were about 25 in attendance counting us. We were also among the youngest! At the announcement time of the service, the rector let everyone know that there would be no service on November 4^th. Instead there would be congregational conversation on the "future of the parish." She went on to say that hard questions need to be asked to determine whether there would still be a church there 50 years from now. A hearty endowment makes the funds available to keep going, but it is hard to have church if no one shows up. Fifty years from now the oldest of the Gen Y folks will turn 82.

Because the percentage of church participation among generational cohorts keeps going down with each subsequent generation, especially when its members enter the post high school years, persons are calling the youngest generation - my grandchildren! - the "endangered" generation. All it takes is for one generation to decide to sit out the generational passing on of the faith and the church will die.

The reason that the church keeps getting diminishing returns on each generation is not because of the absence of professional youth ministers, the lack of theological education available to youth ministers, or a decline in interest in persons going into youth ministry. Our paid professional youth ministers have never been more equipped to deal with youth than they are today, and more resources have been deployed for youth ministry and related programs than ever before. The basic problem is that youth ministry per se is just a bad idea. There are several reasons for this, and I am not the only voice in the wilderness on this issue. Others have caught on to the trap of "youth ministry."  I'll do a short list here:

1. Believing that youth need something "different" or "exciting" or "relevant" to their lives, congregations who seem to be serious about youth ministry actually outsource the formation of youth to a youth minister, generally one who is charismatic ("dynamic!") and can serve like the pied piper for youth.
2. Because youth need something "different" and because older adults do not want their sacred worship life messy with the presence of high energy youth with raging hormones, many churches have age-segregated worship. Adults go to one service. Youth go to another.
3. The idea of something "exciting" and "relevant" and even "entertaining" for our youth is so pervasive - after all, real church is boring, is it not? - the concept of a separate service and venue for youth sometimes morphs into a para-church movement. Movements like Young Life and Campus Crusade for Christ are such movements. Disconnected from congregations, they provide the ultimate youth experience. You do not have to belong to or participate in a boring congregation to be a part.

So here is the dilemma. What happens when the person ages out of Young Life or Campus Crusade? What happens when a young person attends a large suburban church where the youth have their own space, service, and pastor just for them and then goes off to college, graduates, and gets a job in another town?

The reason that only 4% of Gen Y participate in church is that we somehow forgot that our actual way of being the church and doing church is "different," "exciting" and "relevant." We are different because when we walk into worship together we are entering into a totally different story from the world's story. It is exciting because what could be more exciting than God who dies and rises from the dead? It is relevant because the ancient and authentic story of the church when retold in every generation, if told with precision and contextualization, is great news for a troubled world and troubled youth.

Epiphany is experiencing a renaissance movement among our youth not because we created something "different" for them. It is because we decided to take them completely seriously as partners with all of us in the work of the kingdom. We are all in this together. Our youth learn how to be team players, how to worship with other generations, and when they graduate or go somewhere else, they can walk into another congregation and be completely at home. An examination of the scriptures and early church practices tell us that this is the way God intended it from the very beginning.

So in this setting and with what our youth really need, who are our youth ministers? We all are!

I hope to see you all this Sunday. Wear Red!

God loves you and I do too!

Pastor Rick

pastorrick@epiphanysuwanee.org