Barna Group President, David Kinnaman posed this poignant question to over 600 registrants attending You Lost Me. Live! this Spring, hosted by Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church in Texas. The question struck close to home as local congregations are witnessing 59% of their young adults evaporate from church life — the Adventist church not spared.
A difficult phrase to hear from anyone, but when the demographic research of the Barna Group points to upwards of 60% of young adults saying this about their church experience, it is a sobering sentiment indeed. The Adventist Church not spared, these statistics are finding a whole generation of young people feeling lost and disconnected from the faith community of their childhood.
Challenged by the realities facing the local church, over 600 ministry leaders from across the nation registered for the You Lost Me. Live! Dallaslearning experience this past Spring, hosted at the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church in Texas. Barna Group President, David Kinnaman, author of the book, You Lost Me, facilitated a day’s worth of presentations, conversations and interviews meant to inform and challenge attendees regarding the church experience of young adults ages 18-29, also known as Millennials.
Those who attended You Lost Me. Live!—25% of which were Adventist leaders, pastors, parents, and young adults—came away with a renewed vision for reaching out and retaining the next generation.
“We all need to tune into the frequency where young adults are broadcasting their needs, hopes, and challenges,” commented Richard Castillo, a communications consultant with the Oklahoma Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. “You Lost Me. Live!helped tune me in clearly, placing me in better touch with ways we can make a difference with young adults, an important segment of God’s kingdom.”
In addition to union and local conference leadership, many pastoral leaders attended the gathering.
Pastor Shiphrah Fepulea’i from Garden Grove, California added, “After one day in Dallas—literally, one day—I am back in SoCal with more courage to be proximal with young adults. . . that’s the courage to be close enough to Millennial culture to influence it.”
Pastor Dan Serns from North Dallas shared that You Lost Me. Live! “offered clean, clear, crisp challenging presentations of the needs to reach the young adult generation.”
“The You Lost Me. Live!presentations spawned creative ideas that could be utilized at our local churches,” observed Sharon Leukert, a pastor’s wife who traveled from East Texas with husband Karl. “I wish this had come along 20 years before. There is hope for the future—as well as the here and now!”
Perhaps the most poignant feedback was shared by the young adults who attended.
“You Lost Me. Live! was great,” raved James Castillo, Jr. from Houston, Texas. “I am a Millennial myself, and growing up no one really took the time to teach me how to love Christ. I am now a youth leader at my church, trying my best to show young people how to love like Christ did. You Lost Me. Live! will help my youth spiritually and help them make a stand for Christ with love.”
Produced by the Barna Group, You Lost Me. Live! Dallas was a free event for all the registrants. Thanks to sponsorship by the North American Division, Southwestern Union, and Texas Conference, Adventist attendees were not only enriched by the free presentations, but were also afforded a post-event reception supper to talk with others about their insights. Then, each Adventist attendee was given the You Lost Me DVD media curriculum to take home and spark fruitful conversations with their church and young adults about helping the lost come home.
“Despite the grim reality suggested by the statistics,” offered Pastor Lenworth Sealey of Lufkin, Texas, “I left with a very real sense of hope and resources to help facilitate change in my church’s approach for the better.”
Similar You Lost Me. Live!events have been held in Phoenix, AZ, and Orlando, FL, with tour stops still planned for Indianapolis, IN, and Colorado Springs, CO. To register, or for more information on the remaining You Lost Me. Live! experiences, go to http://www.youlostmelive.com
Author Byline:
Costin Jordache, MA, MBA
is the Assistant to the President for Communication,
Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Collegians through young professionals are especially invited to the all-day 2013 Young Adult Festival of Worship, Saturday, April 20, beginning at 9:00 AM [CST], at Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church, 4409 Pleasantview Drive, Arlington, TX 76017-1427. Centered on the theme, Jesus. All. young adults can enjoy worship sessions, community service opportunities, seminars, and a 7:00 PM evening concert featuring awarding-winning recording artist, Chris August. The entire day is free except the evening concert which is $8/general admission. For tickets and more information go to www.YGchurch.com
Other featured participants include vocal duo, The Only Way; The University Singers from Southwestern Adventist University; and speakers Leah Jordache and Russ Laughlin.
The festival is open to young adults and their families, kindly sponsored by Southwest Region Youth Ministries, Southwestern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Texas Conference Youth & Young Adult Ministry, the One project, and Younger Generation Church, the vibrant young adult ministry of the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church. For more information on the festival or other upcoming events, go to www.YGchurch.com
Media is the vehicle that drives our North American mission—To reach the North American Division with Hope and Wholeness. In addition to traditional mass media, social media is causing a societal sea change. Social media users are more trusting, have
more close friends, are more politically engaged, get more support from their peers, are reconnecting with the friends
of their youth, and are using networks to revive dormant ties with lost connections. Social media helps the church connect in new and effective ways with the strengths of our mission, message, and members.
To what extent has the Church used media to reach our territories? Using the United States as an example, the Barna Group randomly sampled a panel of more than a thousand Americans to discover how much they knew of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The results highlight the crucial need for media renders our target publics more receptive to the message of Hope and Wholeness offered by the Church.
Nearly 40% of youth from 18-24 have never heard of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Of all US adults, 2% claim an awareness of HOPE TV and 1% Three Angels Network. Clearly, bolder approaches are needed if we are to REACH our NAD territory with hope and wholeness.
Role of Social Media as part of the North American Division Media Strategy
During 2011 and 2012 intensive analyses have been undertaken to identify the best way to manage Adventist media in a way that maximizes impact, minimizes wasteful duplication, and advances mission.
Although these studies are still in process, the Division has given intensive attention to the changing role of social media as part of the mix. Social media has the potential to advance all of the other strategic “blocks”: young adults, Adventist education for everyone, transformational evangelism, emerging immigrant populations, and women clergy hiring and enhancement. The following statements summarize these contributions:
Goal: Retention of young adults
For young adults there’s no such thing as online/offline. Young adults connect and share everything in their lives, and
this extends to their faith. Social media can help us meet this new culture of connectedness. The Adventist message
can be mobile and meaningful to our young adults. Like the companies they admire the most, we can aspire to exceed their expectations.
Goal: Adventist education for everyone.
The Adventist commitment to personal development through education is one of our most distinctive strengths. We can use social media to leverage this strength to engage and energize our members and our students and to attract new audiences for education. Online media is fundamentally changing how education is delivered, and now it has the capacity to reach everyone, everywhere.
Goal: Reach emerging immigrant communities.
Immigrants have flocked to social media platforms, creating their own communities and using mobile media at higher levels than their counterparts. Social media is the means they use, both to stay connected with roots and to build new connections with new
communities. Any successful strategy to reach emergent communities must include a social media and mobile strategy that is designed by these communities for these communities.
Goal: Women clergy.
Women dominate social media networks. Facebook and Twitter are both 60% female. Pinterest is 79% female. For many women, the most likely source of input about life issues will be the people that they know and connect with online. The social platforms are excellent environments for affirming the role of women in ministry, and for bringing women into ministry with other women.
Partners.
As noted above, media involves virtually every ministry. Therefore it is essential that ministries are seen as contributing partners rather than passive bystanders. The NAD media strategy, when completed, will spell out in detail the role and function of all entities converging together in ways that create a dynamic synergy.
Strategy.
God calls us to use every avenue to tell the Gospel story. Social media can readily serve various ministries. We can use social media to engage with our communities for service, renewal, and outreach. We can equip our pastors and lay leadership with a dynamic understanding of how to use social media. We can develop specific social media tools and products to meet ministry needs, as well as the metrics for measuring their impact. Social media can help us build relationships that are rooted in eternity.
Younger Generation Church [YG] is the vibrant young adult ministry of the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church, TX, USA. Since it’s inception, it has made integral use of media in its worship experience and has utilized the internet as a primary ministry delivery system to their larger online audience. As an example, you will find their sermon library available on iTunes as a free downloadable video podcast.
Having a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Vimeo, and YouTube has been very valuable to Younger Generation Church, not only in the opportunity it affords in cultivating community and communication among regular attenders, but also in fostering relationships with potential viewers and extended networks of friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors of YG.
Here’s an example of a YouTube video utilized to introduce and entice online viewers to consider experiencing Younger Generation Church:
Posted on YouTube, facebook, and Twitter, the following is a photo montage clip expressing the mission of YG:
Finally, A. Allan Martin, teaching pastor at Younger Generation Church, has made various presentations internationally about the value of social media and young adult ministry. Find here a presentation he offered at the North American Division Media Summit showcasing a case study media festival derived from YouTube:
Your Samples and Comments
Enrich this blog by including your samples in our comment section and of course feel free to add your thoughts and questions.
“GODencounters opened my eyes to the fact that there’s so much we miss out on when we disregard each moment by dwelling on the past and future,” confided Beryl Quaye, an 18-year-old biology major at University of Texas at Arlington. “I’ve been thoroughly encouraged and uplifted by this conference. Now I feel strongly urged to make the most of each moment. Being present has become a life motto for me.”
For the second consecutive year, the GODencounters Conference was held in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Hosted at Younger Generation Church, www.YGchurch.com, hundreds of young adults came to the conference and experienced the KNEEL prayer room, encounters cafe, and nightly messages from Pastor Sam Leonor, chaplain at La Sierra University, Riverside, CA.
“Pastor Sam’s messages really resonated with me, especially the part about joy being a virtue of the faithful,” continued Quaye. “Since my dad passed away earlier this year, I’ve wondered whether I can really every be happy again. But now I know that it’s not happiness I desire—it’s joy. And knowing Jesus is the only way to achieve it.”
“GOD has used this conference to reveal a deeper level of intimacy that He is taking me to in our relationship,” raved legal assistant, Deanna Clardy. “GODencounters has been a soul-refreshing, life-enhancing experience I will never forget.”
Distracted by our regrets of the past and worries of the future, we too often fail to be where we are right now. The conference, especially Leonor’s talks, gave focus to Matthew 6 emphasizing “Be Present” as a call to enjoy GOD today, to dwell in His presence right now. Attendees were challenged to see what GOD is doing today, leaving the future and the past in His hands.
“Thank GOD for GODencounters!” exclaimed Jascilyn Same, an 18-year-old accounting major at Tarrant County College. “Attending GODencounters reminded me to take things one day at a time and not worry about the future because GOD’s already there.”
“Honestly, I was very nervous about coming to the conference, and was very undecided about attending until a friend invited me,” confessed Hope Wise, an 18-year-old student from Fort Worth. “But after the first session, I was very intrigued and I felt my fire for GOD reignited, and kept coming back for more.”
Broadcasting each session live on the internet, GODencounters welcomed thousands to the conference Saturday morning, enjoying three full worship sessions. Throughout the weekend, YG Worship led the attendees in heart-felt musical worship experiences.
“As we were led in worship with the song ‘How He Loves Us,’ I completely let go and allowed myself to be swept away in His presence and felt a peace that I hadn’t allowed myself to experience in over a year,” admitted Wise. “I was in tears, just sobbing because of how simple it really is. GOD loves me just because. I believe GOD used YG Worship to remind me that I don’t have to earn His love, I just have to allow Him back into my life so He can love me.”
Culminating the conference, Pastor Leonor shared a closing challenge and YG Worship shared a full concert debuting selections from their first full-length recording, “ALL IN,” which they released that very evening.
“The concert was absolutely amazing!” expressed Clardy. “Music has always been a burning passion of mine, and YG Worship sure knows how to fan the flames!”
“What I loved the most about the YG Worship concert was how everyone seemed to be so comfortable praising the Lord through songs of worship,” noted Same. “Hands in the air, voices lifted up—the Holy Spirit’s presence was definitely there.”
GODencounters is a movement of next generations pursuing a 24/7 experience of Christ Jesus. This year’s conference marks a decade of gatherings, expressions, and initiatives—all intended to deepen the devotion of young adults to GOD and challenge them to live for His renown.
“GODencounters, for me, couldn’t have been described better than the name itself,” reflected Julenne Gil, a 24-year-old, pre-physical therapy student from Oklahoma. “It was a time to encounter GOD—to be in His presence; not from afar, but in person—close up and intimate. I got to encounter Him on a more personal level.”
“This conference was amazing, I couldn’t ask for a greater blessing. . . I certainly felt GOD’s presence around me all weekend,” summed up Allen Tom of Houston, TX. “And the best part is. . . It was all for GOD.”
To obtain YG Worship’s debut album “All In,” and/or to view the GODencounters conference sessions on iTunes, go to www.YGchurch.com
For more information on GODencounters, a growing young adult movement that is celebrating a decade of recklessly living for GOD’s renown, go to www.GODencounters.org
Author byline: A. Allan Martin, PhD, is the teaching pastor of Younger Generation Church, www.YGchurch.com, the vibrant young adult ministry of the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church [TX].
Studies show that most Americans go to religious services of some kind during childhood and then drop out of church during their young adult years—after they leave high school and up through the time they become parents. This is just as true among Seventh-day Adventists as it is for the rest of the population. Over the past decade, a small number of Adventist ministers have been quietly developing a ministry that has helped thousands of young people establish a strong connection with God, even when they may be disconnected from organized
religion.
This initiative is significant because it has sustained its efforts for more than 10 years without becoming an official denominational program. Adventist Today interviewed Pastor A. Allan Martin, one of the co-founders. He helped plant the Adventist congregation in Celebration, Florida, the planned city developed by the Disney Corporation. He then taught at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, and more recently he returned to local church ministry as a pastor at the Arlington Adventist Church in the Dallas metropolitan area.
How did GODencounters get started?
In 2000, Pastor Jeff Gang was asked to plan activities for the young adult division of camp meeting in the local conference where we were both serving at the time. The venue could seat about 700 people, but only about 20 or 30 young adults came during the week, mostly because they didn’t want to go to the main camp meeting. Jeff asked if I would join him in rethinking what had become routine and irrelevant. We knew we didn’t want to perpetuate a faltering program. We wanted to deepen the devotion of new generations to Jesus through worship, so in preparation we spent almost a year gathering with a group of young adults and pastors, praying and dreaming what it might look like.
During that process, we discovered that many of our young adults had a very myopic view of what worship was. “Worship” was something that happened Saturday mornings for an hour or so; it was something you went to because your parents always did. Reflecting on these perceptions, we found ourselves asking the questions:
What if we didn’t simply go to worship, but rather made worship a way of life?
What if we sought an encounter with God, beyond one day a week?
That’s how GODencounters was born; now it is an international movement with thousands of young adults involved in spiritual gatherings, private faith practices, and affirming communities in real time and online.
The name itself really presents the core of what we’ve been trying to do over this past decade: helping young adults encounter God. The heart of our efforts is to see Jeremiah 24:7 come to life for new generations. My loose paraphrase of that text is that God has placed it in our hearts to return to him. It’s God’s intention to call us his people, and by his initiative we’re invited to call him our God.
So GODencounters is not simply a program, or events you attend, or a religious fad you buy into; it’s about heart-hunger—
new generations seeking out God to discover who he really is.
What are the goals of this ministry? GODencounters is a movement among new generations wholeheartedly pursuing an intimate, 24/7 experience of the living God, recklessly living for his renown. It seeks to deepen devotion to Jesus by developing disciples who walk assuredly in his footsteps. Our desire is to:
Live lives of worship.
Be agents of present gospel.
Gracefully express compassion.
Pray without ceasing.
Embrace Sabbath as soul CPR.
Morph into God’s likeness.
Celebrate in Jubilee.
When we started, we emphasized one of these themes each year. Others, who have started GODencounters where they are, don’t necessarily do it this way, but we felt that given the mobility of new generations, it was important to try for depth with a theme in the span of a year. Our hope was that by the end of the year, exploring the theme from various angles, individual “GODfollowers” would have gone deeper in their faith practice and understanding of that biblical concept and incorporating it into their lifestyle and values.
We try to express the theme through more than just preaching and teaching at our GODencounters gatherings. We use the visual
arts, architecture, design, media, hands-on activities, environmental ambiance, music, and discussion groups. We want participants to
comprehend the theme in “languages” they resonate with. We are trying our very best to purposefully introduce young adults to God
in “languages” that they speak every day and to inspire them to live intentionally for the sake of God.
Your website says that GODencounters is “not an act or a program, but an every day, every moment way of living.” What does this mean? Although we relish the spiritual high points afforded in a special gathering, a powerful worship service, or a meaningful event, we’ve challenged ourselves to ask, “So now what?” after the event. We want those who participate to go away thinking, “What does God have to do, if anything, with my mundane Monday?” Through the GODencounter themes, we are hoping to reveal to each other how God is “in the midst” of every moment and how God is attentive to our every need, desire, and hope. We’re encouraging new generations to become aware of God’s presence in their everyday ordinary lives, to see where God is working in our world, and to join him in what he’s doing.
Beyond “doing,” GODencounters is also interested in “becoming.” Being intentional in deepening our devotion to God emerges from a journey, a process. GODencounters intends to cheer one on as he or she continues the trek to the center of God’s heart.
How many young adults have been affected by this ministry over the past decade?
It’s hard to say precisely, but easily several thousand have been touched by GODencounters since we started. GODencounters gatherings have been held across North America, and we have seen it spring up in other countries. At the last General ConferenceSession in Atlanta in 2010, more than 3,000 young people attended a GODencounters event on the final weekend.
A book entitled GODencounters: Pursuing a 24/7 Experience of Jesus has been published by Pacific Press. With the advent of
social media platforms like Facebook and online broadcasting, there are literally thousands more who are joining the movement
electronically.
GODencounters are basically retreats for young adults. Can you sketch what actually happens in a weekend?
When GODencounters started, it took the form of a nine-day camp meeting gathering. It’s also been held as a weekend event in
a retreat setting and as a conference on a public university campus and in local churches. It really takes the shape that the young adult planners deem best to reach their peers in a given situation. In the Northwest, one church plant has actually incorporated GODencounters into their mission statement and made the themes part of the sermon cycle of their church calendar.
There are many things that happen at GODencounters events, all intended to create opportunities for attendees to personally and corporately experience Christ Jesus. Beyond worship sessions, concerts, service projects, and seminars, there are some unique activities at GODencounters, including a prayer room and the Encounters Café.
When we first started GODencounters, a couple of young adults who owned an interior design business wanted to contribute their skills to the events. So they asked permission to transform a couple of classrooms into prayer rooms, where young adults could express their prayers in creative and multisensory ways. It’s been amazing to witness the enthusiasm of young adults with design skills to be involved, and over the years many attendees have expressed that some of their most memorable encounters with God have come in these sacred spaces.
Encounters Café was invented because our first GODencounters planning group recognized that the “real”meeting for young adults often occurs after the program, in the parking lot or at some local restaurant; so we decided to create a place—a café-styled space—for fellowship and conversations to occur informally. Encounters Café creates a casual, comfortable place where young adults are invited to chat, enjoy refreshments, and relax. Inevitably many of the conversations have turned from small talk to discussions about life and God. It’s been amazing to see how God has worked in Encounters Café activities. While young adults are making new friends and sharing life stories, it’s fascinating to see how God shows up in the midst of the relationships they are building.
Will secular young adults actually come to an event where God and religion are going to be talked about? Young adults in general have a great fascination with God and spirituality. Some also have skepticism about organized religion. Many are disenchanted with those who claim to be Christians while acting contrary to the ideals Christ espoused. I have observed that young adults are less interested in going to an “event” that talks about God or religion; they crave a personal experience with the living God. Young adults are not the only ones who crave this type of encounter. We always have some outside the “young adult” age group who attend our gatherings.
What kind of young adult is most likely to have a good experience at a GODencounters weekend?
That’s an intriguing question. As I’ve watched God work through the GODencounters movement, I’ve come to believe even more fervently that God is the One who lays it on our hearts to seek him.
“I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart” (Jer. 24:7, NIV).
It’s my hope that any young adult who attends a GODencounters gathering or pursues Christ through the other GODencounters activities will experience how very good God is. I’ve been blessed to be a witness to God’s faithfulness in sharing his “goodness” through the years. I’m grateful to be a small part of what he’s doing through GODencounters.
What have you learned over the decade? Is there anything you do differently now than when you started?
It feels like we are constantly learning, and in some ways that is exactly as one would expect it to be if you are pursuing encounters with God. God continues to be fascinating, full of surprises, and yet so faithful to his Word. I hope that with each generation we continue to learn and grow, able to contextualize the expressions of the movement to the pulse of where God is working in young hearts and moving in young lives.
How has this ministry survived for a full decade? Will you keep going? I sincerely believe God must be credited for sustaining this and making it a movement. It’s been amazing and inspiring to see God transform young adult lives through the years. I believe God is the one keeping it going, and I’m just honored to be along for the ride.
That GODencounters continues to grow is a blessing, and with growth there are all of the various idiosyncrasies that make you cringe, cry, and celebrate. Like anything in life, GODencounters can be messy. Our “successes” are mixed with our “setbacks,” and truth be told, some of our best moments may have been deemed as accidents at that moment. Some of our most intimate times with God have been less than glorious, when we have been most desperate for him.
God always finds ways to encourage and humble us, so as we have the honor of participating in GODencounters, it really is beyond our control or direct manipulation. Faith and trust in God plays a major role in it. What has been amazing and affirming is to watch as God brings up “on the radar” these seemingly unconnected blips, all resonating with his intention to return us to his heart. Can we take credit for that? No! But we can certainly ride the amazing wave. And it has been quite a ride.
Where can we find out more about GODencounters?
Thanks to young adults, there are a variety of online resources to help you discover more:
www.GODencounters.org links you to our Facebook page filled with information and interactivity,
including dates of upcoming events.
For those interested in organizing a GODencounters event or group in their church or community, a Starter Pak can be obtained
at http://db.tt/iP8Y3nG1
Questions can be sent by email to info@GODencounters.org by individuals or on behalf of local groups
News Staff. (2012, September-October). GODencounters: An initiative to engage young adults is still going strong after a decade .Adventist Today, 20(4), 22-25.
2012 GODencounters Conference will be held August 30 through September 1 at the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church, 4409 Pleasantview Drive, TX 76017, opening Thursday night at 7:00 PM [Central]. Come experience our theme “Be Present” with La Sierra University Chaplain Sam Leonor and Younger Generation Worship. For more information on this free event, open to the community, go to www.YGchurch.com
In it’s tenth season, GODencounters continues to grow as a movement of next generations wholeheartedly pursuing a 24/7 experience of Christ Jesus. Their theme, “Be Present: Where You Are” intends to focus conference attendees on the present reality of GOD’s Kingdom, and challenge them to seek the righteousness of Christ today.
In addition to the worship experiences, the GODencounters Conference attendees will also enjoy evenings at encounters café, service opportunities, an experiential prayer room, and a free concert, featuring Younger Generation Worship, to culminate the conference Saturday evening. Forty days of devotion is currently underway, ramping into the conference, and all are invited to join in online, http://blog.godencounters.org/search/label/Gospel
“GODencounters invited me to draw deeper into my walk with GOD,” shared Dr. Matthew Gamble, last year’s conference presenter. “Being in an environment that is so saturated with His presence is unforgettable and refreshing. It seems to me that He is calling young adults into a real, living, dynamic experience with Him. GODencounters is an experience that is leading people to that end.”
2012 GODencounters Conference opens Thursday evening, August 30th, 7:00 PM [Central]. To discover more go to http://www.YGchurch.com
