By Andy Hale
Most churches have a generational problem, with far too many congregations lacking whole generations altogether. The number one question most aging congregations ask me is how to reach young people.
But the answer is not as simple as most congregations want. Young people have deeply formed theology that influences how they see the challenges of our world and communities.
The challenge for most churches is to stop trivializing Generation Z but listen intently to them.
“The youth with whom we work may not be seeking to overthrow dictators or lead global movements, but they are yearning to free themselves from the white supremacy, ephebi-phobia, gender norms that control and objectify their bodies, educational policies that destroy their self-esteem and love of learning, ecclesial practices that discount them as full members of the Body of Christ, and economic policies that destroy their environment and saddle them with debt,” urged Dr. Elizabeth Corrie on the CBF Podcast Conversation.
Corrie is the Candler School of Theology’s Professor in the Practice of Youth Education and Peacebuilding and the Director of the Program in Religious Education. Listen to this week’s podcast here.
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Andy Hale is the creator and host of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Podcast. Hale is the Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina. He’s also served as CBF’s Church Start Specialist, the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton, and the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. Follow on Twitter @haleandy.