Lead a Weblog for Young Adult Leaders

I vividly remember what it was like to serve on a summer camp staff the summer after I was married. On a team of about 20 young adults, there were only two married couples. My wife and I had been married around six months when our summer started; the other couple was maybe three or four months further along their marital journey than we were. In all honesty, I didn’t mind the juxtaposition all that much. I loved my wife and looked forward to sharing my life with her, much more so than going to sleep every night in a room with a bunch of messy guys. I didn’t even see myself as all that different from the non-married guys. My job was the same as everyone else’s, and my day looked exactly like my teammates’, except for when “lights out” hit. But the perception from my team toward us? That was very unexpected. People were nice enough and made efforts to connect with us, but the idea that married people could be the same as everyone else was kind of lost on our team of mostly singles. The perception that I was so different just because I was married nagged at me for a while. There was a definite separation that I didn’t understand … until much later.

Dale Bynum, the associate pastor for adults at Oakwood Baptist Church in New Braunfels, Texas, asked me a very good question at a conference last week that you may be asking yourself: “Does Sunday School work for young adults?”

It all began with a seemingly innocent question: “Does anyone have any prayer requests?” An hour later, the prayer requests were still going strong.

For many women’s small groups, this is a common occurrence. Prayer requests and even Bible study time can often turn into long-running therapy sessions in which women unload the anxieties and worries of their weeks onto a sympathetic group of listening ears.

A popular question in young adult ministry is: Should I divide my Bible study groups into demographics? This is a valuable question, especially since most young adult ministries span the ages of 18-34 and may include college students, single adults, and young married couples with or without children.

As the body of Christ, we affirm the Bible as bedrock to our faith and the plum line for our interaction with this world. As we’ve said before, young adults are looking for truth. However, many of them don’t know where to find it or what it looks like. We must never lose sight of what we can offer this generation—the truth that is found in the Word of God. Biblical depth becomes a non-negotiable in ministry.

If you truly want to follow Jesus, to become His servant and to help others follow in His footsteps, practicing discipleship is required. Don’t leave discipleship to chance. Don’t make it a program. Make it a living, breathing part of your daily ministry. Make it a practice.