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I'm noticing a trend - 10/21/2009 12:41:36 AM
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bigfrank
Posts: 76
Joined: 12/2/2005
From: Battle Ground, WA
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Seems like the young adults not only are leaving the church in my area, but they're also not very active here. I wonder why that is...? And are there any of the old young adult people from long ago left?
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 10/21/2009 7:08:20 AM
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keithyhuntington
Posts: 814
Joined: 7/7/2009
From: Tulsa, Okla.
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guilty as charged.
i just don't feel like i have the ability to offer that kind of responsibilty to a group. i would like to do something for teh church... but it can be so demanding. i look around and see 1000 people... and probably only 100 people volunteer, so i'm not the only one. i enjoy being in the audience, and i feel my attention span would be greatly diminished if im running a camerea or cueing verse slides or something.
in the same breath, i don't recall my church asking for volunteers either, so it leads me to believe everything is spoken for anyway.
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 10/22/2009 12:59:17 PM
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RHardin15
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From: Greenville, SC
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I'm here.
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 10/22/2009 11:26:10 PM
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nuclear_sidewalk
Posts: 206
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Helping to run a young adult small group at my church, as well as doing stuff with the men's ministry.
It's all about priorities. Our generation needs to work on them.
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 10/27/2009 1:28:08 AM
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Lea_3
Posts: 300
Joined: 3/7/2006
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I think you need to be an active congregant before you can really be active in the church. Having strong-faith church volunteers is better than having churchgoers who just go there for the social experience. I am speaking from the perspective of guilty as charged. It's taken me a long time to understand the true value of wanting to go to church for the sake of going to church for my own spiritual benefit.
Young adults are a large demographic of church-leavers because people often lose their faith in college. We're constantly surrounded by messages that repel us dramatically-- such as my school campus there are these "preachers" who come around every now and then and tell EVERYONE that there's no room in heaven for them-- to the messages that tell us that we don't "need" Christianity and it's filled with lies to control us. The biggest issue with that is premarital sex.
I also believe that many fields of study in college with young adults practically kill faith. There isn't a single field I can truly think of-- except the finance fields-- where secularism hasn't taken over completely. I once met a girl who is a biochemistry study and she told me her first 2 years in college were all about "killing" faith but she is still a very strong Christian.
I always find it interesting that young people leave the church, yet as they get older they return after having made many mistakes and try to reverse their ways of error. Wouldn't it just be easier to stay in church and get the information and teaching you need about making Christian-lifestyle choices? That's just my opinion.
Our generation DOES have to fix these things, but what's worse is that many of our parents taught us these things by not stressing the spiritual importance of being a Christian in heart, words, and action, and going to church.
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 11/5/2009 12:57:00 AM
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Lea_3
Posts: 300
Joined: 3/7/2006
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Correction cries-within: Young SINGLE adults get left out of the picture.
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 11/7/2009 2:01:00 AM
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mrlucky8ball
Posts: 31
Joined: 9/30/2009
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I'm noticing this as well. It seems as if each generation is getting less and less devoted to faith. It actually kind of worries me.
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 11/9/2009 3:25:16 PM
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GregandJenny
Posts: 665
Joined: 2/16/2006
From: Near Seattle Washington
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I think this generation is having a hard time being consistently committed. We are in a generation where nothing stops. There are no defined weekends, not defined time off, and so what we get is a group of people reluctant to get participate because they can't really be committed. they want to be apart of the body, but they work Sunday, they want to be part of the bible study but they can't make it every time.
I think this issue hits alot of churches.
Another think I think needs to be looked at is all the ministries that have always excluded those who are now young adults from the church body.
We start out with Children's ministry, and then youth ministry, and then when they graduate and go off to college we expect them to come tback to a group they never really belonged?
Just something to think about.
G
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 11/9/2009 5:02:54 PM
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Lea_3
Posts: 300
Joined: 3/7/2006
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This is a contributing factor making it hard for me to find a church.
Young adulthood is also the stage in life where people lose their beliefs, end up making a lot of mistakes only to regret them later, and also lose a sense of community with other Christians. I have only heard of a handful of churches where they had a young adults ministry for people 18-30. The people who went to those churches would tell me how they were able to participate in gatherings or church activities when they would go back home during college, and then while they were at home during the summer were able to participate more fully.
I too agree that our generation has a problem committing. I work on Sundays-- however, when I was part of a church I would make an effort to be there before work and right after, headed to work and I would sit in my car across the street 10-15 before my shift started and ate my lunch. You have to make an effort.
What about those who are supposed to guide us? Doesn't the Bible state that older men are supposed to guide younger men, and older women are supposed to guide younger women? I daresay, I don't see that kind of accountability or relationship. In fact, this makes a very good thread to ask...
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 11/9/2009 11:00:57 PM
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cries-within
Posts: 243
Joined: 4/9/2007
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For me I guess its any and all young adults. Not just Singles. Some of the college kids around here are away at college or in the armed forces so yes they aren't there, but in some ways I think that's how it is just with this time period in your life. You spread your wings a little. I'm going to be transfering next year, and I wish I had something here now. Its part of why I want to go. While I'll miss my family and my friends, I also hope in going some where I find that christian fellowship that I don't get here.
Most of the adults in my church are way older than me. The youth group is so much younger than me. So its kinda hard. Like I don't fit in anywhere.
I wonder if this is why some kids loose their faith at this age. Without that accountability it can be hard to keep the faith. Being in and out of "youth group" or "fellowships" most of my life. The times I didn't have anything were the worst. I'd find myself either starving for that fellowship or drifting away from God. Like I didn't have anyone to share with the things I was going through; so nothing really changed.
I wish somebody step up to stand in that gap.
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 11/12/2009 12:26:32 AM
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Lea_3
Posts: 300
Joined: 3/7/2006
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I also believe it has to do with being single too. It seems that everyone has a group for the young teen, unmarrieds and then it jumps to married folks. There really isn't a group out there in a lot of churches that offer ministry to single young adults.
I think if we all mentioned these things to the lead pastor at churches, we'd see a change. Sometimes pastors don't realize that not everyone has a place in the church.
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 11/14/2009 2:15:27 PM
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GregandJenny
Posts: 665
Joined: 2/16/2006
From: Near Seattle Washington
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quote:
What about those who are supposed to guide us? Doesn't the Bible state that older men are supposed to guide younger men, and older women are supposed to guide younger women? I daresay, I don't see that kind of accountability or relationship. In fact, this makes a very good thread to ask...
It seems to me that the church has replaced this with youth group. I feel in many churches people aren't part of the church til they are 18.
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It does not have to be well with my circumstance to be well with my soul!
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RE: I'm noticing a trend - 11/19/2009 4:19:53 PM
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fluffmonkey
Posts: 858
Joined: 2/17/2007
From: some where over the rainbow
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I am still around here too, but last 2 weeks I have picked up hrs at work so I've been busy and haven't been around lol
I have seen it happen a lot where Youth Groups are HUGE and then you have an Young Adult Class and it either is small or non-existant and sometimes its because young adults move away and go to college far away or just escape away into doing their own thing... and get caught up in alot of worldly things AND I think alot of times with online and forums alot are just busy with studies and social life or work... and maybe all...
My Young Adult class at church was small only with a few dedicated people coming but we have a teacher who really puts his time and effort into teaching and helping us and we do a lot of things as a group and are very involved with helping at church and other functions and God has really worked on our class! we have a lot more people coming and we are doing work for God... and recently our Group just got our very own building and we are painting it now and working on it...and we are there today because a group of Obident Young Adults kept coming to him.
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