Anthony Zamble Director of University Ministries Judy Peterson

�Anthony Zamble, Director of University Ministries �Judy Peterson, Campus Pastor �Nathan Albert, collegelife Coordinator

Emerging Adulthood (EA/YA) �Young Adulthood is period of transition on the journey to adulthood. It is described by experts in the field as an in-between state where people between the ages of 18 and 25 identify themselves as moving toward adulthood, but not quite there yet. This has given the rise to a term—Emerging Adults (Jeffrey Jensen Arnett) (AZ)

Emerging Adulthood �Characteristics Less civic engagement—politically (AZ) Very socially aware—justice/injustice (AZ) More service oriented than their predecessors (AZ) Openness to other perspectives – diversity is real (JP) Skeptical and cynical about institutions and authority (JP Gifted – a generation that has been resourced (NA) High expectations for their future, but little resilience (NA -JP) Desire for Authentic relationship—they smell spam (NA) Leaving, moving and choosing are all real options (JP)

Identity Exploration and Formation Period of Transition – everything is up for grabs (AZ) Constituting a Worldview � Experimentation and Exploration Re-examination of “old” beliefs & values— • 1 Thess 5: 21 -22 “but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject whatever is harmful. ”

Unique Generational Challenges They lack a repertoire of safe places (AZ) Rapid movement from high structure to high ambiguity � From helicopter parents to real choices with real risk (JP) They want to be heard and taken seriously (NA) Seeking wisdom over information but have easy access to information and little access to wisdom (NA) Programs and prescriptions have little draw and hardly any holding power – what they are looking for takes more time than we currently have (JP)

Paradigms and Possibilities �Bounded vs. Centered Sets, Paul Heibert (JP) Bounded – focuses on who is in and who is out � Hard at the edges and soft at the center � The Way Centered – concentrates on which direction one is moving in relation to the center � Soft at the edges and hard at the center � Thy Ways

Paradigms and Possibilities �Fences vs. Wells, Bruxy Cavey (JP) Seek the Source Yourself Go deep Young adults aren’t afraid of the deep end. . . they’re bored with the shallow waters Don’t be afraid to be disturbing. Learn how to “Say it in a Different Way” � Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan, 85 percent of the food found in the center aisles of a US grocery store is made up of the same 15 ingredients just reshaped, reflavored and repackaged. Feed people a diverse diet.

Paradigms and Possibilities �Incarnational Ministry is the next big thing The Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1: 14). The incarnation allowed God to speak face to face with his people rather than through another medium (Heb. 1: 1 -2) The incarnation gave people a reason to believe that God understood their life, their joy, their pain, and their temptations because he knew what it was like to live in skin (Heb 4: 15) The incarnation gave people a chance to see and feel the full extent of God’s love for them � Jesus the Christ let children climb upon his lap, cared for the prostitute and the adulterer, touched the skin of those who were untouchable and washed the feet of those whom he outranked. (Luke 18: 16; John 8: 1 -11; Matt 8: 1 -3; John 13)

Paradigms and Possibilities Create a safe place for people to ask questions/explore (NA) � There are questions that need to be asked � There assumptions that need to be challenged � There are doubts that need to be expressed � There are frustrations that need to be heard � There are real issues that only have complicated conclusions � There is a need for model communities that stay together through deep disagreement and unresolved issues � Canned answers won’t cut it

Paradigms and Possibilities Create real opportunities for EA/YA to contribute to the life of the Church (AZ) � Give them actual responsibilities – 1 Tim 4: 12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. ” � Cultivate a church culture that celebrates rather than critiques EA/YA contributions � Risk the blurring of the line between the secular and the sacred � Give them a safe place to try and fail and try again

Paradigms Possibilities Intergenerational Relationships are Critical (NA) � You can’t do this without elders …you can’t do this without elders willing to be shaped by those they are shaping � Shift toward discipleship and away from packaged programs � Don’t condescend � Be willing to invest in EA/YA even if they never make up a critical mass at any church service

Paradigms and Possibilities � Faith that works (AZ, JP, NA) �Provide opportunities to do justice and the work of the Kingdom �Reveal through your own story not just the truth, but how the truth works in practical ways in and through your own life story �Be an embodied apologetic - Be like Jesus

Embodied Apologetic � “I want you to be someone I want to grow up to be like. I want you to step up and live by the Bible’s standards. I want you to be inexplicably generous, unbelievably faithful, and radically committed. I want you to be a noticeably better person than my humanist teacher, than my atheist doctor, than my Hindu next-door neighbor. I want you to sell all you have and give it to the poor. I want you to not worry about your health like you’re afraid of dying. I want you to live like you actually believe in the God you preach about. I don’t want you to be like me; I want you to be like Jesus. That’s when I’ll start listening. ” - Emma Sleeth, student, Lexington, Kentucky You Lost Me. Why Young Christians Are Leaving the Church…and Rethinking Faith, David Kinnaman