Challenges in Young Adult Ministry

Challenging circumstances typically require full use of our resources and abilities.  As you well know, ministry to young adults is a challenge; however, we are responsible to build an atmosphere that nurtures young adults into a higher level of leadership development and participation.  One of the most rewarding things in life is when we overcome challenges.  What are the challenges in young adult ministry? What do we do about them? How do we stay focused?

Common Challenges of Young Adult Leadership

• The challenge of developing an integrated ministry.

What happens when people out-age your ministry?  Typically, people outgrow their loyalty and move on.  We want to grow our ministry, but we often lose sight on the importance of growing the church.  Focus on integrating your ministry into the overall vision of the church, rather than sheltering it from what you don’t like about your church.  Always ask…”How can I get these people plugged into the church?”

• The challenge of developing a ministry that is supported.

Let’s face it…children’s ministry, youth ministry, and music ministry often gets more attention and more support than young adult ministry.  It is important, however, to not allow what you cannot do, keep you from what you can do.  Focus your attention and your conversation around what you can do and around the support that you do have.  Try not to recruit support, but rather create a ministry that people want to be a part of.  Is your ministry known for what it can’t do, or for what it can do?

• The challenge of developing an outward-focused ministry.

Inside or outside the church, emerging generations are looking for opportunities to show compassion to their world. As more and more young adults desire to make a difference in their community and in their world, serving locally and globally is on the rise. Talk about social justice issues. Research and show the needs of your community and the world. Participate in an initiative as a ministry.  Continually communicate and demonstrate to your young adults what they can do.  Show your community that righteousness is doing something right, not just the absence of doing something wrong.   Click here for social justice ideas.

• The challenge of developing depth in ministry.

This is a generation that is disinterested in a soft-serve presentation of the Bible. They want to explore the complexities of scripture regarding foundational Christian truths.  Christianity used to be a set of facts that were meant to be proven, but young adults have an increased desire to examine the mysteries of faith by pondering a lot of difficult questions.   They understand that faith isn’t about having a pat answer, but rather about a journey with many challenges and struggles.  Click here to learn how to develop depth in ministry.

• The challenge of balancing discipleship and evangelism in ministry.

There are seasons when more emphasis may be placed on one more than the other; however, a healthy ministry incorporates both.  I always encourage leaders to train their disciples to be evangelists.  In fact, Essential Church has concluded that every church that is effectively reaching and retaining young adults is highly intentional about evangelism.  Don’t limit your efforts to outreach events, rather teach, train, and model a lifestyle of evangelism.

• The challenge of reproducing yourself.

I’ve heard John Maxwell say several times that, “great leaders reproduce themselves.”  Coach the leaders around you and place them in an area where they can succeed.  Don’t be intimidated by young adults who have the potential to be great leaders.  The security of the ministry is more important than the security of your job.  The greatest resource to help your young adult ministry grow, are the people in your young adult ministry.  It is never too early to reproduce yourself.

Unfortunately, this is a pretty short list.  As you know, however, ministry without any difficult obstacles is really no ministry at all.  Many will face tension, struggle, and even doubt in what God has called them to do.  How we face those challenges will play a big role in the outcome of them. I encourage people, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to face everything head on. After all, you can only feel the exhilaration of the victory if you are first willing to accept the challenge.

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Ryan Moore is the National Young Adult Ministry Coordinator for the Assemblies of God.  He blogs about young adult leadership at www.youngadultsagblog.com. He enjoys helping churches reach young adult for the kingdom of God. Ryan lives in Nixa, MO with his beautiful wife, Alyson, and their 3 year old daughter, Alyza. Together, they enjoy watching Dora the Explorer, eating at Chick-fil-A, and discussing Disney movies.