EDITORIAL
In the Trenches | Eric Geiger
Several years ago, I was overwhelmed and blessed with a burden for young adults in our church and community, to help them connect to each other and to nurture them in their faith. I often heard from young adults at Mariners Church, where I am lead pastor, that I was “like a father” or “That message was what I wish my dad had told me.”
I was burdened to do more for them, to give more to them. So, we began a Thursday night worship service for young adults that gathers thousands throughout Southern California. But we did not begin with the vision for a program or a service. We began with a burden for a generation.
I am still learning about those we are serving while we are seeing God do a gracious work in the young adult community, but here are three overarching observations about young adults:
1. They want to belong.
We know God created us for himself and for community, declaring early in the Scripture that “it is not good for man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18). The desire to belong is true for all of us, but the young adults in this current generation seem to have an elevated desire for belonging. This generation is filled with people who lived through the isolation of COVID-19 during critical moments in their lives, missing key events or soldiering through them via Zoom.
Many have worked “from anywhere” for hours a day in isolation and long for relationships. They have scrolled through social media platforms under the guise of being connected while not really enjoying community. And some have swiped and swiped and yet are in the generation that is marrying at the lowest rates. The thirst for community is elevated when the relational landscape has been parched.
2. They are unsatisfied with the world.
The world has always left people unsatisfied, but perhaps the speed and pace at which the desires of this world have been presented to young adults have sped up their dissatisfaction and exhaustion with unfulfilled promises. Being dissatisfied with the world puts someone in a great place to receive the grace of Jesus. Being exhausted with the world puts someone in a great posture to hear about the rest Jesus provides.
3. They are hungry for Spirit and truth.
In my years of leading and serving the church, I have heard and read lots of cultural reflections on different generations. Some have said, “This group is hungry for the Spirit” to describe the desire of a group of people for preaching, not teaching, for experience and not education, and for worship that is raw and honest and passionate. Some have said “this group is hungry for truth” to describe those who want deeper teaching and messages that don’t shy away from challenging topics or passages. My experience, so far, is that young adults want both. An encounter with the Spirit of the Living God and messages rooted in God’s timeless Word.
What an amazing season to be serving young adults!