“We go downtown every Friday night, and we pass water bottles to people who are coming out of the clubs or just hanging around,” says Sonia Figueroa, student ministries director and pastor to 20s and 30s at Faith Assembly of God (No. 72 fastest-growing) in Orlando, Florida.
“There was one girl we gave a water bottle to. A few weeks later, she showed up at church. She was going through a hard time and decided to come. She came for a few weeks and then she gave her heart to God. A year or two later, she decided to intern for us. She met her husband at church. Now she and her husband are on staff. She is our assimilation coordinator. The very ministry that God used to save her is the one that she now runs.”
How Growing Churches Are Reaching Young Adults
Each year we seek out stories and principles behind the numbers that churches report for the Outreach 100 Fastest-Growing Churches list. This year Lifeway Research interviewed those seeing encouraging things happening in their ministry to those in their 20s.
As we spoke with leaders of ministry to young adults, their tactics are not identical. Recent ministry changes did not all move in the same direction. But each leader and church represented is fully invested in discipling young adults. Their insights and the thinking behind their changes and strategies point to important elements we believe will help most churches in their ministry to young adults.
Young Adult Focus
For some of these fast-growing churches, young adults are a large part of who they are. At NPHX Church (No. 23 fastest-growing) in Phoenix, Arizona, 59% of new members in the last 15 months are people ages 18 to 30. “It’s not like they’re a minority,” says Rich Nibbe, executive pastor of ministry and discipleship.
Similarly, the target for Mosaic Christian Church (No. 39 fastest-growing) in Elkridge, Maryland, is 25-year-old unchurched males. “I refuse to have a young adult ministry, because our whole church is basically one big one,” exclaims Lead Pastor Jonathan Moynihan.
One of their strategies is hiring young and constantly indexing down in age. Many of their staff are in their 20s and only two are over 40. When young adults see that, Moynihan argues, “they see this is a place where young people contribute, and I can contribute.”
In the typical church, congregations that have more middle-aged and older adults, raising the profile of young adult ministry has yielded tangible results.
At Mariners Church (No. 17 fastest-growing) in Irvine, California, young adults and singles pastor, Dallas Viva, describes their move in 2024 from separate gatherings each month for college and 20s and 30s to a weekly service for all young adults on Thursday nights. It is the first of their weekend worship gatherings taught by their senior pastor, Eric Geiger. This service averages around 1,000 in attendance, more than double what they saw each month in the separate meetings.
Taking Ownership
At Peace Church (No. 61 fastest-growing) in Middleville, Michigan, it was the young adults who wanted more. Logan Bailey is the discipleship pastor, with young adult ministry as one of his many responsibilities. He had to tell the young adults, “I can’t do the things that you’re wanting to see. We need to do it together.” This core team of young adults helped them move from a Friday night meeting every other week to a weekly meeting every Tuesday night. They didn’t have the staff to do it any other way, and the young adults didn’t want a youth group for those in their 20s. The leadership team for this ministry is all young adults.
At Faith Assembly of God, Figueroa has a coordinator for young adult ministry and an associate pastor who helps with preaching. Most of the ministry, however, is done by 75 volunteer leaders in their 20s and 30s.