Do churches really want young adults to return?

Steven Argue

It's often noted that young adults leave the church when they move from home. Of course, many churches desire to see them return. But as a former teacher of mine, Steven Argue, asks, Why do they want them to return? In a recent post on the Immerse Journal blog, Steven challenges churches to examine their motives and tactics:

• If your church wants emerging adults to come back because you eagerly desire to understand the pressures they face in their complex and unstable worlds, that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back because you believe that each generation’s (each person’s) journey toward Jesus is a unique path that will likely challenge and expand your own understanding of God and gospel, that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back because you want to expand your idea of community with people who may hold varying social, political, and faith perspectives from you, that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back in order to help you connect your church with the globe rather than just your country, that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back because you want to seriously reorient the way you invest your ministry resources, that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back so that you can learn different ways to teach, learn, and process the biblical narrative, that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back because you need them to help you explore the gray-area issues, in order to take risks on behalf of those viewed as outsiders, that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back so that you can use your power to advocate for them rather than getting them to conform, that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back to introduce you to their friends—both straight and gay—that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back so that you can listen very closely to what good news means for them (rather than you prescribing it to them), that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back in order to hear them prophetically point out (often with honest questions) your congregation’s contradictions between right thinking and right practice, that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back because you’re willing to let go of some traditions to create new ones, that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back simply to be with them, letting go of grand ideas of reforming them, that’s a good reason.
• If your church wants emerging adults to come back so that you spend more time laughing, crying, wondering, and changing with them, that’s a good reason.
• If you don’t want many of these things, then it’s better to be honest. You may not really want them to come back quite yet.