I think that the church for a long time has focused on building a great youth and children's (and even college in some churches) ministry that there has been a neglect on the time after a kid graduates until they have children. I'm not sure why...but I wonder if people go to college in search of "themselves" and kinda fall away from the traditions of their parents, only to find them again because they want their children to be raised like they were raised?
I also wonder this. Clearly, if you think about it from an economical standpoint (which...if you know me, I ALWAYS do...) families are a lot better bang for your tithed buck than young marrieds, or young adults. Families would have a greater income to tithe from, not to mention it helps numbers increase. If you could spend $10 of church advertising to get a younger adult or $10 to get a family of 4, it would make greater sense to market to the family. Not to mention the added benefit of children. Suzy invites Jenny to the movie night at the church and the next thing you know, Jenny and her parents both attend the church. Then Jenny brings HER friend. I know this is a better use of the tithed money, but seriously.
<--me.All I want to find is a non-Jesus Camp, non-liberal extreme church with some younger adults that attend. Is that too much to ask?
11 comments:
Some of this is the area you live in. While SCAD is a decent sized school, it's not a LARGE state school. So I would suspect the young college age church crowd is not that big.
I think you have some point. Churches are missional for the group that they want to come. You'll notice that there are certain churches that just pack in the college age crowd and others that have almost none. Examples would be GCC or Vintage21 for ones that really draw in the college ages.
Honestly, my church is almost all under 35. I'm happy to see people over that age, but they're the exception rather than the rule. BUT some of this is just Raleigh, which tends to be a pretty young city. Not the case so much with Savannah.
I don't think it's all the money though. And you wouldn't want to go to a church like that anyways.
No, I don't think it is either, it's just an interesting thing to ponder. I agree that part of the problem is the city (LOTS OF OLD PEOPLE) but there also have got to be some young people around here...and there are. I know several young people. It's just that none of them go to church...which is interesting to me. Makes me wonder why. Why so much more this age group than others?
I think the reasons are numerous.
-Churches don't really cater to the young singles/marrieds (because they don't know how to)
-So many people have been rubbed wrong by mainline denominations and don't know what to do about it. A LARGE portion of the church I went to in Charlotte were people who had been burned in one way or another by mainline denominations (usually SBC) and had left church until they found this one. I don't know if there's a church like that in Savannah...but I haven't found it yet.
-And, honestly, tons of young people are so disconnected from community that they don't even look for it. Kids connects you to a community (t-ball, schools, etc) and it's natural that you would look for a church then.
Let's put yourself in the church's shoes. Am I going to start a college program when I have no college people attending? Probably not.
Obviously, I think there's a lot going on here.
yeah, I agree. Especially with the last statement.
"Am I going to start a college program when I have no college people attending? Probably not."
But...does that mean that there shouldn't be? Not necessarily.
JUST SOMEONE POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, PLEASE. Thanks. :)
Haha.
I still say this is the place you should holla at. http://www.ekklesiasavannah.org/
Statistics will show that young married folks don't go to church because most of them are highly unmotivated (and finding themselves as you previously stated) and when they have kids feel like they need to go back to church to raise their kids "right." That's why they cater to young families and "young singles" programs fail because they turn into a matchmaking session on Sunday mornings instead of good Bible study.
So because the young folks your age don't come out to traditional church (have you gone to one with really loud contemporary music? they might be there...) churches don't have programs for them. Sad, but true. Perhaps you shouldn't be so interested in what a church will give you as you should what you can contribute to a church? You and Billy are both very gifted individuals who could make a contribution any number of places and maybe you'll meet some interesting older folks along the journey and get free Sunday lunch at the Golden Corral. It's worth a shot.
The Ekklesia church Jeff found might be worth a shot because they boast that the age range of most of their members is 18-35, but I'm hesitant to attend any church that doesn't put the pastor's name on the page that lists all of the information about him. I couldn't find his name anywhere. A little vague if you ask me. I think it's a SBC contemporary worship service they've deemed as "emergent" when it's really just focused toward what they think young people want. Perhaps when I come to Savannah we'll go there and they can prove me wrong.
Super jealous you got to see Ashley and Lance this weekend. Miss you big!
Well said there Kelly.
Ok, some info from that website...
Pastor:
Family
Married to Christina in 1974.
Two children, Erika (married living in PA), and Kristofer
Education
1974 - B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Drexel University
2003 - Master of Ministry, Covington Theological Seminary
2004 - Doctor of Ministry, Covington Theological Seminary
Credentials
Mar 7, 2004 Licensed by Burkhalter Baptist Church
Jan 9, 2005 Ordained by Burkhalter Baptist Church
Ministry Experience
2004 to date - Church Planter & Pastor, Ekklesia
2002 to date - Professor, Covington Theological Seminary
2001 to date - Missions Team Coordinator, SBA
1999 to 2004 - Director Single Adult Ministry, Burkhalter
1999 to 2000 - Interim Pastor, First Alliance Church
1991 to 1992 - Interim Pastor, First Alliance Church
1990 to 2004 - Area Coordinator, Gideons International
Personal
Interests - Outdoor sports, fishing and the beach.
Focus
Our Mission
To make disciples by creating a culturally relevant ministry patterened after the early church.
Our Target for Evangelism
We are focused on reaching a postmodern culture with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our major target is people between the ages of 18 and 35.
•Armstrong Campus ...............6000 ~ 5000 un-churched
•Un-churched People............. 42,500 in 5 mile radius
•Households w/o children..... 8,826 in 5mi
Our Ministry to Members
Our membership consists mainly of people in the age of 18 to 35. These are college students, single adults and couples without children. Our ministry is designed to meet the needs of this group. Thus, we do not have a traditional Sunday School, children's program or nursery.
Our Missions Involvement
We believe that, as the body of Christ, we should be active in ministering to the needy in the community and surrounding area. We constantly look for areas of local missions work, such as children's homes, nursing homes, etc. We also support oversea's missions through annual giving.
sounds aight.
I just can't believe they didn't put the pastor's name on there anywhere. Pretty big oversight if you ask me.
It sounds pretty good, if they do what they say they do. I have a hard time believing anyone patterns church after the "early church." Which early church would that be? Most of the ones I've learned/read about were full of controversy and arguments over what was "right"... oh wait, nevermind...
Yeah, Kelly, I've thought about that...
"Perhaps you shouldn't be so interested in what a church will give you as you should what you can contribute to a church? You and Billy are both very gifted individuals who could make a contribution any number of places and maybe you'll meet some interesting older folks along the journey and get free Sunday lunch at the Golden Corral. It's worth a shot."
I have considered that several times. I'm just wanting younger people that I can find more people our age to hang out with that aren't graphic designers. I mean...I don't have projects due EVER and sometimes I would rather talk about something other than what professor to take for Type II. I love hanging out with Billy's friends...I just wish I could find some friends I have some things in common with. Idk... But maybe those friends are going to be 40. I'm just frustrated and ready to have an answer for us.
in time, dear friend. the answers will come in time. you can call me yoda. thanks.
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