EDITORIAL
Raise the Future | Rob Hoskins
EDITORIAL: Raise the Future | Rob Hoskins If you want a quick pulse of today’s youth, notice the words they say and the questions they ask. It is challenging to keep up with the slang the next generation uses; once a word becomes popularized, it just as quickly becomes outdated. The 2023 Oxford Word of the Year was rizz (defined as style or charm), and it is already losing favor with teens. Beyond this head-scratching vocabulary, we must ask: How intentionally do we seek to understanding your audience?
Whether you are a pastor in the heart of the city, a teacher shaping young minds, or a busy parent, understanding your audience is pivotal to effective ministry. Healthy growth occurs when we truly comprehend those we serve, giving us the ability to guide, teach, and mentor them in a relevant and impactful way.
One of my greatest joys is building and serving young leaders. It is an honor to address the challenges they face while celebrating their journeys. I am always seeking new ways to share timeless biblical truth, but I cannot properly minister to my family or partners without first understanding your audience. This intentionality creates space for vulnerable conversations and genuine life change to occur.
Understanding is not operating based on an assumption. It’s asking the right questions—often difficult ones—actively listening, and allowing research and data to illuminate the truth. We can dismiss or ignore the trends and questions of the next generation, but that would be a disservice and detriment to the growth of the church.
A common assumption is that many people aren’t interested in visiting church. In the Global Youth Culture study, 30% of non-Christian teens indicated they would be open to attending a Christian church service if someone invited them. Think of a teenager who is contemplating inviting their friend but is afraid that there’s only a razor-thin chance they would say yes. Imagine the youth pastor who is discouraged about stagnant growth because it seems like no young person is taking the practical step to extend an invitation. In reality, nearly one in three would say yes to going.
And it’s not just teens who are open to exploring faith. In a Barna study about spiritual openness that included 2,000 adults from the United States, 44% of respondents said they are more open to God today than before the pandemic, and three out of four want to grow spiritually. Statistics can help frame how to move forward.
We can’t operate out of assumption. Guessing isn’t needed because there’s the ability to go straight to the source, our audience, for insights.
The world is rapidly changing all around us. Let’s not use our past understanding to multiply a present audience. People seek answers to life’s biggest questions, and we can guide them to God, who has a great plan for them and knows them by name.
Yes, let’s use wisdom and experience to guide mentoring conversations, but a current understanding of our audience should lead the way.