Imagine if you will… In your home congregation…

That emerging adults (EAs: aged 18 - 24) are integrated into the life of the church, and have strong connections with each other. They are involved in both intergenerational and age cohort activities that satisfy spiritual and social needs. They are encouraged to hold flexible positions of leadership throughout the church, and their perspectives and voices are valued, not just because of their generational lens, but also because of their leadership abilities. Their leadership is felt in many aspects of congregational life. Emerging adults are (becoming) a large part of our identity as a faith community, it is truly THEIR congregation, too.

Are you interested in making this vision a reality? Here are some guiding questions and tips that we hope you’ll consider:

Guiding Questions

1. In what ways are you currently ministering to 18-24 year-olds? Has the congregation meaningfully stayed in touch with their youth group alumni / emerging adults? What does multigenerational ministry look like in your congregation? Are all ages and stages involved in worship? RE? Stewardship? Governance (Yes, even governance!)? Here is a wonderful resource, the Emerging Adult Resources Hub, that you can share with your EAs and others to help support you in this vital ministry..
2. Is ministering to emerging adults a priority? If so, is it something the congregation does well, or does it keep getting pushed down the to-do list? What might need to get bumped to make this keystone cohort a priority? What pastoral care offerings exist for youth and emerging adults, especially now? (The UUA offers a Pastoral Care Network for our EAs, too). Does the minister make an intentional connection with youth and emerging adults at least twice yearly? How are emerging adults invited into service and leadership, recognizing their ephemeral lifestyles and bustling existence?
3. Is your congregation focusing on multigenerational ministry? Are you meeting the needs of families through life transitions like bridging and entering emerging adulthood? Lifespan Faith Engagement’s Re-Imagining Bridging Playlist and Karen Bellavance-Grace’s work on Full Week Faith are great resources!
4. Are you reaching out to emerging adults? What programs, offerings, and outreach are you making to emerging adults from your community? Your families? Your young adult families with children? The UUA’s National Emerging Adult Taskforce (NEAT) can be a consultant and partner in this outreach work.
5. What does justice and inclusion look like in your congregation? Are conversations happening around dismantling systemic oppression? Are they integral? Meaning, included in all offerings and events? Are they spiritually grounded in our faith, with meaningful reflection both before and after? Identities matter. Honestly… How interculturally competent is your leadership and laity when it comes to race? To gender? To class? To ability? To age? How might you promote communication and an atmosphere that aligns intent and impact?

Ideas and Best Practices for Emerging Adult-Friendly Congregations

1. Stay in touch with your bridgers, like many of our congregations do. You can send care packages if they’ve moved away or drop one off if they’re still in town. This is more important now than ever! Invite them into fun leadership roles that match their interests such as teaching RE or leading a multigen activity or doing a reflection or music during online worship. If they’re out of town, you can invite them as guests when they’re home.
2. Host virtual youth group reunions. We do have congregations who do this well! Summer and winter holiday seasons are good times for these events. Make sure they have some fun structured activities, and some spiritual components. You can invite current youth and bridged youth or just the alumni, depending on the size of your program and the bonds folks share.
3. Work on making your congregation more welcoming to emerging adults or think through starting an emerging adult ministry. You might want to try a small group using Becoming Together (PDF) or better yet, NEAT is hosting small group ministries using a wonderful, new Wellspring curriculum called, LOVE: YEA! Get your EAs plugged in!
4. Offer support to local UU students, whether they grew up in your congregation or not! Many congregations support local campus ministry efforts and you can too. There are different levels of engagement (PDF) if you’re not ready to go all in. Look at the Campus Ministry Handbook (PDF) for some steps on getting started.
5. Support emerging adults in your network attending intensive UU experiences such as virtual camps & conferences, Leadership Schools, General Assembly, Meaning Makers, or GROW Racial Justice. These important experiences carry emerging adults through when they’re struggling to stay connected. You can make sure your bridged youth know about these options and you can also offer money to support them attending!
6. Help bridgers plug in if they have moved away. A great way to do this is to schedule a video conference with them and look to see if there are young adult ministries in their area. Religious professionals or the emerging adults can also email their Youth and Emerging Adult Specialists to add them or add them directly to the Emerging Adult Database. Through this platform there are invitations to regular Zoom Hangouts, pastoral care offerings, worship, and other faith affirming gifts from the UUA.

Above all, don’t be afraid to engage in this critical ministry. Do everything in your power to answer the questions above, create an action plan (evaluate and revisit), and reach out and welcome emerging adults, and who knows...?

For more resources visit Emerging Adults or reach out to your Congregational Life Staff Contact for more support.