Engaging Young Adults in New Ways

This is part one in a series about Resonate Global Mission’s work of engaging young adults in mission and how God is working in and through these young people to further his kingdom.

Why are so many young adults leaving the church today?

While studies show that this disturbing trend is real, there is no simple, one-size-fits-all explanation. Even so, as some young adults themselves have noted, although many of their peers are leaving traditional churches, not all are walking away from their faith in Christ. Instead, many are looking for a different way to live out their faith. 

Resonate Global Mission missionaries, campus ministers, and ministry partners meet and work with young adults every day who are passionate about their faith in Christ and are asking questions about what it means to live as Christians in today’s world.

As a result, Resonate has been working to meet that need through ministries and partnerships that focus on intentional community and spiritual formation. These ministries might look a little different from ministries that have flourished in the past – and that’s okay. The heart of these ministries remains the same as in programs that have been around for decades: discipleship.

“I think one thing that we’ve noticed is that it seems like big events, where you have lots of young people all together, are not as attractive anymore,” said Gillian Bruce, who leads Resonate’s volunteer ministries. Instead, she said, taking the time to go “slow, deep, and relational with fewer people” seems “more attractive to younger generations” today.

Resonate has learned that one way to do this is to build intentional communities and opportunities for spiritual formation specifically for young adults. About 10 years ago, Resonate started Cohort in Central America. The ministry concept quickly expanded to Detroit, Europe, and the Middle East. Resonate has also partnered with ministries like the SOCO Beach Project and Act Five in Ontario as well as with more than 30 campus ministries throughout Canada and the United States.

All of these ministries involve young adults’ coming together to spend time and live in community as they engage in deep spiritual formation.

“When I was twenty-something, I had key people invest in my life who were Christians living authentically, imaginatively, and with integrity. That really shaped the trajectory of my life. I wouldn’t be who I am today, or doing what I’m doing today, if God had not used those people to influence me early on,” said Willemina Zwart, a Resonate ministry leader who started the SOCO Beach Project.

Today Resonate ministry leaders are seeing a lot of growth in young adults through your investment in Resonate’s programs and partner ministries.

“I see young adults gathering together to offer mutual support and care, to pray for each other, and to build each other up in their faith,” said Brian Bork, Resonate’s campus ministry coordinator. “I see this happening in small groups, huddles, pub discussions, and dinner groups and through taking on active leadership roles. They lead worship on campus, learn how to host events and offer hospitality, and do behind-the-scenes planning for ministry programs. They learn to make connections between what they're studying and who God is calling them to be. They volunteer in their neighborhoods and in other countries. They also receive wise and compassionate mentoring from our campus ministers!”

And what can the rest of us learn from young adults?

“It’s nothing new, but I think God intended for us to be multigenerational and to learn from one another,” said Beth Fellinger, a Resonate regional mission leader. “There’s so much freshness in their voices and in their abilities to do things. I would hate to have worked so many years in ministry [without leaving an opening] for someone else to do it better.”

Over the next several weeks, CRC News will be sharing stories from Resonate’s young adult ministries. Subscribe to receive CRC News weekly in your inbox, and encourage others in your congregation with an interest in young adult ministry to subscribe as well.