a Shared Life

I just got back from coffee with a few friends (20-somethings) to talk about plans for the young adults on Sunday nights. Although several of us currently go to the evening service at our church, we’re looking at doing a small group(s) in order to connect with more young adults.

We have a few small groups for our young adult ministry that meet regularly, but we could definitely use more. One thing I am certain of, especially after The Interview Project, is the need for small groups in young adult ministry. The churches we interviewed may do groups differently, but ALL of them do small groups. To effectively reach and teach young adults, groups are essential. To get some young adults connected in small groups, I’ve been asking young adults who don’t normally go weekly:

• Why don’t you go to night church? Do you like the current way (Worship, Brief Sermon and Small Groups) we do it?
• Our values in the young adult ministry are Connect, Grow, Serve and Share–what do you do to live these values on a regular basis?
• Would you go to a small group if we offered more groups?
• If you were to go to a small group for one or more of these, when would you be most likely to go? Nights? Mornings? During the day?

Most people enjoy the current format of our evening worship experience, but don’t come because they are busy, busy, busy–which is no surprise considering that Americans are VERY busy (TOO BUSY!). And in this case, a lot of them take classes, work long hours, etc. Almost everyone seems open to, and even excited about, small groups. I’m excited about some of the new ones forming now! The big question is whether everyone will actually come when the new groups start.