By Glen Simpson, Young Adult Ministry Coordinator

The church seems to have found itself between a rock and a hard spot. When one begins to look into young people's ministry and the church, it doesn't take long to discover that the church is not only struggling with how to reach the younger generation, but where to start. Generations upon generations will continue to evolve at a rather steady pace and with that, so must the church. I know, I know, it seems as though these first few sentences are becoming an all too often "opener" to an all too commonly written article. You guessed it, the next sentence will ask... "How do we reach young people?"

I recently came across a blog related to leading young leaders in the church and within this blog it talked about the popularity of the "WWJD" bracelets. You know, "What would Jesus do?" Remember those? These bracelets were everywhere and many were able to connect with these bracelets. I'm not suggesting we return to the WWJD days, rather we explore a new question in which the bracelet might read WDJD, What Did Jesus Do? How did Jesus Lead? If we explore the basis for how He might have lead leaders, then we may develop a strong foundation on which to build on and reach the younger generation.

It is the mission of the United Methodist Church to 'make disciples for the transformation of the world.' The disciples were the leaders in Jesus' day and today we look to a younger generation as the new modern day disciples, or so we hope. Studies upon studies indicate why younger people are leaving the church, or in fact, not even attending the church. Very few of these studies indicate how we are to reach young people. Well, I guess if we knew how to do that, this wouldn't necessarily be the discussion of choice. Reaching young people is a task that we must all take on. No one ministry or organization will be able to facilitate this in a group, rather the church as a whole will begin to make a shift in a direction that is intentional about being inviting, relational, and having the ability to truly develop.

Invitation: Sure we can send out postcards, or even build the latest and greatest in websites, but the fact of the matter is the best way to invite is through personal invitation. Jesus didn't create an application process, he personally invited his disciples.

Relational: Beyond the invitation it is important that we take the steps to be relational with young people. I can't stress this one enough. Rather than looking at young people as a "key component" to the "success" and leadership of the church that we all seem to desperately seek, develop a relationship that is based on a friendship. As a young person, I am eager to greet and converse with my friends throughout the week and on a Sunday morning.

Develop: Like His disciples, we all need to continue to develop and more importantly, be willing to do so. The process to reach young people will continue to be a revolving door. The moment we set step-by-step directions as to how we will reach young people, is the moment the system will fail. Participate in the conversations, express your views and ideas, and be ready to take the necessary steps to develop as one.

I would like to end with an excerpt from a article recently posted by author Aaron Stern, in which he said "If people get the sense that you only want them around because of what they can do for you, the relationship will be short-lived. People can quickly see when they are being used. We must build people, viewing the task as a vehicle for doing that. This means we have to be more interested in who they are as a person than in what they do. One way to help us treat people well is to refrain from referring to them as resources. When we view something as a resource we see it as something to consume and then dispose of. Money, buildings, and equipment are resources; people are image-bearers who are worth dying for."

I know what you're thinking, at this point it would be so much easier to ask, "What would Jesus Do?" But let's go deeper and ask ourselves how He would do it. As we explore this latter question, let us all be prepared to take on the task before us and together we will build a church that is intentional in inviting others to part of a great story. The idea of doing this the Jesus way is exciting to me and I hope you will join!