Often I hear questions along the lines of: “where are the kids/youth in church today?” Admittedly, often I hear this question voiced with a pinge of grief – recognizing that an era of Sunday School classrooms filled with dozens of kids might not be our current reality. But the truth is, our kids/youth are still connected to their faith…just perhaps not in the traditional ways we might anticipate.
This past week, thousands of youth and young adults gathered for the ELCA Youth Gathering and the ELCA Young Adult Gathering. Throughout the week, the Gathering made it easy to follow along on social media while also sending out blog updates of what youth, young adults, and leaders were up to (check out the links to learn more!). But in all that I read, and all that I witnessed through a screen, what made the most impact on me was that youth and young adults in the world around us are on fire. They are passionate. They are filled with the love of God. They are looking for ways to serve and give of themselves in the world. And they are looking for ways that they can be brave, authentic, free, and disruptive, just as they learned each day at the Gathering.
The question for us – for those of us who weren’t at the Gathering, and for those of us who might be of a different generation from our youth and young adults – is: will we receive them as they are created to be? And, will we listen to them as a part of the church? Will we accompany them, encourage them, and bless them as they discern how they are called to live out their unique identity?
Each day, whether as a part of a formalized church event or not, we have the opportunity to intersect with our youth and young adults. They have much to teach us. And, we have the opportunity to uplift them by seeing them and speaking well of them. Might youth and young adult ministry look different now than it did decades ago? Yes, hands down. But our youth and young adults are still around…and are still seeking the truth of Jesus Christ.