Who are the young unchurched, and how can they be reached with the good news of Jesus Christ?
In a poll result highlighted by CNN Headline News and USA Today, nearly half of nonchurchgoers between the ages of twenty and twenty-nine agreed with the statement, "Christians get on my nerves." Now, researchers behind the larger study present Lost and Found, a blend of dynamic hard data and modern day parable that tells the real story of an unchurched generation that is actually quite spiritual and yet circumspect, open to Jesus but not the church.
As such, Lost and Found is written to the church, using often-surprising results from the copious research here to strike another nerve and break some long established assumptions about how to effectively engage the lost. Leading missiologist Ed Stetzer and his associates first offer a detailed investigation of the four younger unchurched types. With a better understanding of their unique experiences, they next clarify the importance each type places on community, depth of content, social responsibility, and making cross-generational connections in relation to spiritual matters.
Most valuably, Lost and Found finds the churches that have learned to reach unchurched young adults by paying close attention to those key markers vetted by the research. Their exciting stories will make it clear how your church can bring searching souls from this culture to authentic faith in Christ.
Those who are lost can indeed be found. Come take a closer look.
Ed Stetzer (missiologist in residence, LifeWay Christian Resources; Planting Missional Churches), Richie Stanley (team leader, Ctr. for Missional Research, North American Mission Board), and Jason Hayes (young adult ministry specialist, LifeWay Christian Resources) focus on 20- to 29-year-olds who don't currently attend church, outlining nine best practices for a church to reach such young men and women successfully.
The first section contains statistical analysis of current beliefs and attitudes toward religion and the church (some very surprising) as indicated in polls of members of this age group.
The second section delves deeper into these attitudes with results from focused interviews.
The authors develop some broad themes, backed up by statistics from the first section.
The final third of the book highlights nine strategies churches are using successfully to reach these unchurched adults. Helpful graphs and tables are included throughout as well as visuals such as text boxes made to resemble sticky notes, making the book both readable and useful. Highly recommended for practitioners and all interested in this topic.—Ray Arnett, Fremont Area Dist. Lib., MI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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