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{"id":4964,"date":"2008-11-26T00:20:14","date_gmt":"2008-11-26T05:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/2008\/11\/26\/what-will-we-do-about-it\/"},"modified":"2008-11-26T00:20:14","modified_gmt":"2008-11-26T05:20:14","slug":"what-will-we-do-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2008\/11\/26\/what-will-we-do-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"What will we do about it?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

1. The elderly people are exiting the church\u2019s back door.
2. The younger people are not entering the front door.<\/p>\n

This means the numbers are declining. If something isn\u2019t done about it soon, the church will be facing a crisis in the next twenty years unlike anything the American church has ever seen. At a pragmatic level, it will mean a dramatic reduction in budgets \u2026 I could go on. The more pressing issue is speaking the gospel to a new generation.<\/p>\n

What will we do about it? Call for a conference. What are we doing about it? Here\u2019s what I think we need to do:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nBefore I say a thing: What do you think we should do?<\/b><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my suggestion: Increase the budget for, and focus our attention on, youth ministry [and young adults]. From the cradle to 35 years old. Not just the cradle to high school. We need a focus on youth and I\u2019m using \u201cyouth\u201d here for anyone who isn\u2019t yet \u201cmarried with children of four or five years old.\u201d [There is no intention to ignore single folks either. What we\u2019re getting at is that from about 18-35 we\u2019re seeing precipitous declines.] If the numbers I\u2019m hearing are right, that means from the cradle until about 35.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I\u2019m not suggesting ignoring the 50 or 60+. I\u2019m suggesting we begin to focus on the future (survival) of the church.<\/p>\n

That is why I\u2019m keen right now on reading what is going on with youth ministry. I just read Mike King\u2019s new IVP book called Presence-centered Youth Ministry: Guiding Students into Spiritual Formation<\/a> $\"\"$
\n<\/strong><\/em> and I like it.<\/p>\n

This book won\u2019t tell you everything, and it won\u2019t give you a new-fangled \u201cprogram\u201d that will solve all your problems. It aims to get to the heart of what youth ministry is all about: leading the youth (I still mean 35 and under) into a spiritually formative relationship with God, into following Jesus, into spiritual practices, into centering life where God would have us center it. It aims at authenticity. Instead of looking to the immediate fix \u2014 invite some special speaker or a hot band \u2014 Mike King looks to the long haul. \u201cThis takes commitment,\u201d Mike says, \u201cto a lifelong journey of faithfully seeking the face of God and living in the way of Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike King is old enough to have washed ashore with all the trends in the last 40 years or so in evagelicalism; he\u2019s been there and he\u2019s already done that. He\u2019s tired of the programs and the catchy theories. He calls us back to the center, to knowing God, to being known by God, and living \u2014 and ministering to youth \u2014 out of that knowing and being known. And because he\u2019s washed ashore with all the trends, his analysis of evangelicalism is deadly serious and alarmingly insightful.<\/p>\n

With pastors like Mike King we\u2019ve got glimpses of changes that will speak the gospel into the next generation.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"