Engaging with Young Adults: Information Session at Convention

National—One of the information sessions at convention was ‘Engaging with Young Adults’ led by Rev. Daniel Cunningham and Dcn. Samantha Neeb. In this session, Rev. Cunningham and Dcn. Neeb shared some characteristics of young adults, encouragement for local congregational engagement, and ways that young adults are currently gathering across the synod.

General Characteristics

For the list of characteristics of today’s young adults, they gathered information from an LCMS study, Relationships Count, which focuses on engaging and retaining millennials. That research can be found in a free eBook, obtained through Amazon Kindle. Other sources used included, but were not limited to, Barna and the Institute for Family Studies.

According to these sources, today’s young adults are more likely to delay milestones of adulthood, compared to 40 years ago. These milestones include having a full-time job, being financially independent, living on their own, getting married and having a child. Instead, today’s young adults are looking for their purpose and identity, and they value authenticity in their relationships and in their faith. They often see ‘actions speaking louder than words’ and they want to make a difference in the world.

Young adults can often be described as digital natives, some of them have never known a world without the internet or a smartphone. Because of this, they expect instant answers and connections. The technology is always ‘on’, so they are receiving more information than previous generations. This constant stream of information often causes everything to feel urgent and important, which in turn can affect their mental health. These younger generations place a greater emphasis on mental health, often reporting higher levels of anxiety and depression. Many often report feeling lonely on a regular basis or isolated. Notably, they are not afraid to talk about their mental health.

Encouragement for Local Congregational Engagement

An encouraging note is that young people are coming into the church. A number of session attendees raised their hands when asked how many of them have had young adults come into their church seemingly out of nowhere. These young adults are searching, and as a church we have an opportunity to meet their needs. They want something deep and authentic; so, we should not shy away from our theology. It provides an answer to a young adult’s search for identity and purpose in our understanding of our baptismal identity in Christ and living out our unique vocations.

Churches are one of the few remaining places where there are people from multiple generations gathered together. This provides a unique opportunity for young adults to be integrated into an intergenerational community, especially for those reporting regular loneliness and isolation. As an action-oriented group of people, young adults are looking to make a difference in the world, and should be encouraged to serve and lead with their gifts and be mentored in these opportunities. Whether a congregation has a young adults group or not, relationships can and should be built with the young adults in your congregation, as all members share in Christian love and mutual conversation and consolation.

Young Adults Across Synod

There are young adults across the synod who are already serving and leading in various ways. There were a number of young adults at convention as delegates, Lutheran Laymen’s League of Canada (LLL) ambassadors, and registered guests. Others are working as summer students for BC Mission Boat Society (BCMBS), LLL and LCC. There are others serving on teams with BCMBS, LAMP, and in their local congregations.

There are also a number of opportunities for young adults to gather in person. Whether it’s in a congregation’s or circuit’s young adult group, or a retreat. In the East Region, East District Lutheran Young Adults (EDLYA) host 4 retreats every year. The next one is August 21-23 in Ottawa. Trinity Lutheran Church in Winkler, Manitoba, hosted their yearly retreat May 29-31, and has been running a young adult weekend for over 10 years. The second Young Adult Camp at Camp Lutherland, Saskatchewan is coming up August 5-9. Bethel Lutheran Church in Sherwood Park, Alberta, has been hosting a yearly winter young adult retreat for the last few years, and more information will be released this fall about a Canadian young adult gathering next June.

There are also opportunities for online connections. After last year’s young adult camp, a discord server was started to keep the young adults from that retreat connected through the year. This online community has grown and includes a weekly Bible study led by Rev. Cunningham and other pastors.

Session attendees left with the encouragement to continue to build relationships with the young adults in their midst and a resource list with links to the information and resources shared.

Dcn. Samantha Neeb
Associate Director of Family Ministries, Lutheran Church–Canada

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