Why young adult ministry?

The Church is a complex organism made up of many different and distinct groups of people. One group that has received a considerable amount of attention in recent years is Young Adults. This is the section of our population between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five (approximately) which, on the whole, is not a statistically dominant group in our congregations.

Despite the presence of Christian churches in nearly every community, young adults in America today still ask what the older generations consider uncomfortable questions. Anyone who teaches young adults eventually will be confronted by some troubling questions.

Life right after high school is one of the most critical times in someone's life. It is during this time that a person either starts college, starts a career, or starts a family. This is a time of newly found freedom, independence, and search for identity. So many young adults start college and don't complete their first semester. They come back home, find a job, and always look for things to do. Some go to college and stay there. They only come home when they have to. While on campus they have plenty to do, but they are exposed to elements both social and scholastic that can threaten all they have come to believe. Then there are the young adults who never go to college. They just find a job and could care less about anything to do outside of their home. Young adults can easily miss their true calling/purpose in life during the most important time for them to know it. They can easily make bad decisions at a time when they are no longer viewed as children. A young adult ministry can help with the needs that seeking young adults have with their freedom, independence, and purpose in life.