"Moses was getting old, and Joshua would run away." This is how a rural pastor humorously summarized the loss and scarcity of young people in his church in recent years. In their community, an increasing number of young believers are leaving the church to seek opportunities elsewhere, including active church workers and theological students.
However, in a series of recent visits and exchanges, I have encountered youth fellowships that are exploring and experiencing success in receiving, shepherding and calling young people.
Choose a form that speaks to the young
At a newly emerging urban church in a coastal city, for example, nearly one-third of its members are under the age of 30. Its team of volunteers has succeeded in becoming largely youth-oriented in just a few years.
At the turn of the century, Church L was merely a century-old rural church on the outskirts of the city. But thanks to local urban development and planning, it has become a heavily urban church. To attract more young people, they decided to begin by changing the style of worship.
The church has added an extra Sunday service especially designed for young people, in which the proportion of praise and worship has been increased. It incorporates more contemporary worship songs. During the period of praise, the congregation is free to stand or walk around a little while offering praise to God with more free-style gestures.
The congregation has also formed a band made up entirely of young believers, providing them with space and professional training. "Every Sunday afternoon the church holds a public and free music interest class. A professional teacher instructs the young on how to play modern electronic instruments such as guitar, drums and bass. Afterwards, they can then test the results by playing on stage during Sunday services," the pastor added.
According to the church, the number of new believers has grown by dozens every year in the past five years and the proportion of young believers being baptized is also increasing. Of the 70 baptized in the summer of 2023, more than a third were young adults.
Unlike Church L, which focuses on the interests and hobbies of the young, Church J, located in a nearby city, pays more on the psychology of young people.
In the youth fellowship of Church J, welcoming newcomers is a priority. During each welcoming session, the lead pastor and ministers arrive 40 minutes early in order to personally greet and have brief conversations with first-time attendees.
Senior Pastor C stated that contemporary young people generally have strong boundaries in their interpersonal relationships. Overly direct and blunt invitations not only fail to help them get into church – they can even be counterproductive. "First, we need to transition from being pastors to becoming friends, and then gradually lead them to better know and understand the church."
"Now, one or two newcomers arrive every week, and in recent years, more than 20 young people from within our youth ministry get baptized every year."
Retain believers by building loving connections
Born in the mid-1990s, Pastor C grew up in the youth fellowship. After receiving theological training, he returned to the fellowship in a leading role.
Through interaction with fellow believers of the same age in the fellowship, Pastor C keenly noticed that contemporary young people often express their social anxiety and disdain for communal life in a playful and teasing manner. Yet deep down, they still have a strong desire for belonging and love. They long for an identity. "So this is what we hope to achieve: To let believers cast aside all their burdens and truly treat this place as their home."
Pastor C explained that around 70 members were divided into five small groups according to their age. Each group consists of 10-12 people and is organized, cared for, and led by one or two group leaders. At irregular intervals every month, the fellowship organizes activities such as camps, dinners and outings for all the groups together.
"Not only that, small group life is the primary way we build relationships."
During the week, the group leaders not only work out a flexible devotional study time that takes into account each member's daily routine, but also actively encourage and guide group members in carrying out "door-to-door" visits. If a member encounters difficulties or lows, the group readily offers prayers and assistance as needed.
During the Corona pandemic, a male member in the fellowship, while on a business trip to Lhasa, briefly fell into a state of mild coma due to high-altitude sickness. During the time he spent afterward in his hometown for recuperation, believers took shifts in order to stay with him in the hospital room.
After years of exploration and adjustments, many believers are now involved in the church's visitation ministry and the youth choir, thereby becoming mainstays in the service of the church. However, compared to Pastor C's initial vision, there is still room for improvement.
He stated that even though each small group currently has one or two leaders providing personalized care, in groups with over ten members, the two-leader system has its limits. "Ideally, I would like each group to have three leaders."
Discover believers’ spiritual gifts and train them to be leaders
In churches around the world, the shortage of youth is a common problem, and brain drain is most prevalent in the less-developed regions of the world. However, in urban churches with population growth, there are simply too few younger people who are capable and willing to serve.
Pastor D from a nearly 150-year-old county church stated that nearly half of the church's 11-member core pastoral team were young seminarians in their early 30s, or younger. During 2023, two more seminarians graduated and returned home to serve. In addition, young people could be seen everywhere in the church's 10-plus ministry groups which include painting, calligraphy, writing, sacred music, visitation, sound and light control. All of them came, without exception, from the church's youth fellowship.
Pastor D mentioned that the passion with which they served could not be separated from the youth fellowship’s three guiding principles: vision, cultivation and legacy.
"Since the 1990s, we have set the leadership benchmark of 'engaging every young person in practical service', and this is still the core vision of our youth fellowship," Rev. D said. Therefore, over the past 30 years, all the pastoring, care and training of the church's youth has been centered on "promoting transformation in service".
For instance, when faced with young people who have just entered the church and don't know where to start, the fellowship pastors focus on discovering their spiritual gifts and providing opportunities for skill enhancement.
The pastor recalled as an example a young female believer who now helps lead the youth choir. When she first came to church, she was very quiet. However, during a praise session, the pastor noticed her unique gift for pitch. Shortly after that, the congregation invited a voice teacher from a local college to come and teach. The young female Christian was invited to attend. With encouragement from fellow believers and guidance from the teacher, she has blossomed into being a core member of the choir.
In addition, the youth fellowship emphasizes "mentoring" and "giving back" in a way that allows more mature members in spiritual life and service to lead the next generation.
In terms of Pastor D's viewpoint, J, the youth pastor, strongly agreed. This autumn, Pastor J continued his postgraduate studies in Nanjing Union Theological Seminary with support from all the former pastors of the congregation. "I still want to equip myself more while I'm young to see the bigger world that God has opened up. I look forward to our mother church being revitalized through the work of the new generation.”
- Translated by Abigail Wu
