Young Adult Today Pilot Program
What We Know
Young adults are increasingly becoming disillusioned with Sunday School. Across the nation, churches are reporting a decline in Sunday School attendance among people ages 18-35. There is a need for new, improved techniques to reach this audience.
There are three things that are very important to this audience when it comes to Christian Education: Be Real; Be Relevant; Be Relatable.
Be Real.
The Christian life isn’t a perfect life. In fact, Jesus Himself said, “In this world, you will have trouble” (from John 16:33). And although He has overcome the world, young adults are constantly working to overcome the myriad of issues they deal with every day. Any Christian Education publication needs to address these issues faithfully and palpably. Otherwise, it comes off at inauthentic and fluffy.
Be Relevant.
One thing the Apostle Paul was great at doing was reaching audiences right where they were. He did this when he met with Athenians at Areopagus. He took something they were familiar with (i.e. a monument) and preached the Gospel using that familiar item (see Acts 17). Relevance among Young Adults means that your church has to be engaged where they are—in social media and on mobile devices.
Did you know that close to 48% of African Americans use Facebook regularly? Did you know that nearly 28% of African Americans have used Twitter and 13% use it daily? Specifically, over the past two years, daily usage of social networks has nearly doubled for African Americans between the ages of 18-35.
Be Relatable.
Jesus had the uncanny ability to relate to people. It didn’t matter how eccentric or quirky the person was, He always found a way to minister to them relationally. Shouldn’t the same be said of your church? The ability to relate is one of the most cited reasons for lack of Sunday School attendance for young adults.
Here’s the good news! Urban Ministries (UMI) has created a way to engage young adults in all the ways mentioned above. With these facts in mind, UMI has decided to revamp its entire Young Adult publication.
Starting in September 2013, the publication formerly known as Young Adult Today (Student and Teacher) will be relaunched as Urban Faith. The new Urban Faith will soon provide teachers and students with content that is relevant, real, and relatable.
Each Issue will include:
- Feature articles on hot topics
- Interviews with young ministry leaders
- Weekly lessons that address applicable, real-life situations
- A full redesign of our previous Young Adult Today publication
- Supporting tablet and smartphone app (both iOS and Android devices)
- Audio, video, and other interactive features (including regular social media engagement)
And don’t forget to take our digital initiative survey to keep us informed on ways in which we can best meet your needs.
