Last weekend I finished reading “Lost and Found: The Younger Unreached and the Churches that Reach Them,” by Ed Stetzer, Richie Stanley and Jason Hayes. From the first day I heard about the book, I was intrigued by the title and the focus on this particular “slice” of the unchurched population promised by the book.
The book did not disappoint; it truly did speak to the uniqueness of this demographic and even contrasted it with those unchurched older in life who had some surprisingly different thoughts and attitudes about life and the church. But the strength of “Lost and Found” is not in the research done on the younger unchurched; it is instead on the churches that are effectively reaching them.
The book is divided into three major sections. The first, entitled “Polling,” deals with this demographic’s beliefs, ideas and perceptions of God and the church. The second, entitled “Listening,” deals with their value systems and mindsets. The third section, entitled “Reaching,” deals with trends among the churches in North America that are effectively engaging these young adults.
The book gets progressively more interesting, at least for someone like me. I found it a struggle to work my way through the first section in particular, which chronicles the data in statistical formats on a number of issues like God, Jesus, the church, individual Christians, ways churches can impact their lives, spirituality, the afterlife, the Christian “religion,” where they’d go if they needed “help” and the relationships they have with Christians. The impression is that this information is to establish a “baseline” to inform the reader but also to move the reader to action with this age group. It certainly accomplishes the former; but for me personally, it almost kept me from wanting to do the latter. I liken my experience to wading through a swamp, where at times I felt like I was about to go under. I had to fight the tendency to escape back to the safety of the shore rather than traverse this tedious terrain.
This is not to say that the section is without value. Quite the contrary! For example, in the very first chapter, the distinctions between differing kinds of unreached young adults–always unchurched, de-churched, friendly unchurched, hostile unchurched–helped me analyze those in this demographic I personally know to determine where they’re “at” in their feelings and perceptions of God and the church. The authors acknowledge “some overlap” among these four differing groups; I personally think of these people as more of a matrix of two layers (layer one: always unchurched and de-churched; layer two: friendly and hostile). I am thankful that the authors included this overview. I found value in its contribution to my own life as well as my ministry.
Section Two for me personally grabbed my interest in a greater way. It was more engaging to read what makes these unchurched young adults “tick”–the values they hold so dear–rather than simply what they think or believe. At this level I felt like I was learning something that could give me some insight into relational bridges and ministry opportunities that would be needed for me and my church to impact them for Christ. Three of the four significant “markers” in their value system–community, depth (and content), responsibility and cross-generational connection–caught me by surprise and left me intrigued and wanting to know more. Only community was “a given” to me that I would have deduced on my own; in this way the authors provided an important service to me and others like me. In addition, the derived implications at the end of each chapter of section two were filled with many suggestions for improving ministry and relational connections to twentysomethings who are not a part of current church life.
The third and final section was far and away the best part of the book for me. In it the reader is able to learn from churches across the continent who are effectively reaching this demographic with the Gospel and engaging them in life through the church. The authors note that nine common characteristics were found in the life and fabric of these particular churches. These characteristics include:
- Creating Deeper Community
- Making a Difference through Service
- Experiencing Worship
- Conversing the Content
- Leveraging Technology
- Building Cross-Generational Relationships
- Moving toward Authenticity
- Leading by Transparency
- Leading by Team
The chapters that accompany these characteristics are much shorter and more anecdotal than any of the rest of the book. In some ways this makes this section more interesting; it left me wanting more and immersed me in stories and personalities. On the other hand, my fear based on what I read is that some will look at these characteristics and attempt to make programs out of them…some of that will be easier to do (service, team, fellowship, worship). All are meant, I believe, to be more process-focused and implementers will find their lasting value there. Some of these chapters grow directly out of the values found in section two; others are “logical” or “implied” corollaries to the research gleaned and may take a step beyond the known. Even so, nothing here failed to make sense or seemed like less than a valuable contribution to the knowledge needed in connecting with this age group.
For me personally, the chapters on authenticity and transparency were worth the price of the book. These are the best discussions I’ve ever read on the two values and the ways churches both understand and apply the values in their collective life. Long after my thoughts on the rest of the book are gone, I’ll still be referring back to these chapters for the lessons I learned here and want to pass on to others.
What’s this mean for you, the next potential reader? Here’s my thoughts.
1. Read this book if you are SERIOUS about engaging this unreached age group with the Gospel. It will provoke many thoughts and discussions among your leaders.
2. Don’t react to this content by building new programs in your church. Create processes that intersect and build two way bridges to this demographic in your community.
3. If you don’t value the things this group does, figure out why not and what are the obstacles that stand in your way to doing it effectively. You may decide you can’t or don’t value the things necessary to reach them effectively. If that’s true, don’t fake it; they’ll see right through that. But if you do, then make the changes necessary in whatever methods are appropriate for you and your church in order to reach these precious people for Jesus.
Finally, a word to the authors and/or publishers: Thank you for this contribution to Kingdom work. Your book will inspire and challenge many. If I had a suggestion for you in future editions of this book, it would be to minimize part one or move it to an appendix, and enlarge part three. In fact, I think you could easily write a whole book out of just that section. It was, in and of itself, very, very good.
Yet, in spite of my proclivities and preferences, I found the whole book interesting, enlightening and informative. I recommend it! Anyone who reads this will be better prepared to engage the future in making Kingdom impact for Jesus.
It’s the end of the week and time again for another “Friends & Family” edition! This week we begin in church planting with one of my colleagues of whom I have the utmost respect, Bob Roberts. Bob, who pastors NorthWood Church in Keller, Texas, recently blogged on “The Shape of Theology” in his own life and how it both affects his behavior and worldview as a church planter and trainer of other church planters. It’s a must read for every new church starter! Check it out here.
Speaking of theology (and social media), Leonard Sweet, author of so many thought-provoking books and articles (Soul Tsunami was a life-changer for me; thanks, Len), recently became a “Twitter-er,” and as is typical with Sweet, he jumped in with both feet and got quickly involved. He recently posted on his site an article that is definitely worth the read in regards to this: “Twitter Theology: Five ways Twitter has changed my life and helped me be a better disciple of Jesus.” You can get to it from here.
Ed Stetzer on his blog recently interviewed Steve Addison, the Director of Church Resource Ministries (CRM) Australia, and author of a new book, Movements that Change the World. According to Ed Stetzer, Steve “is called to encourage church planting movements around the world and is therefore a student of the history of movements that spread the gospel.” Steve’s book focuses on the five common characteristics found in these historical movements that have had such far-reaching impact. You can read about the book and the movements it studied by going to Stetzer’s site from here. By the way, this book is published by Missional Press, the same company who published our book PlantLIFE, as well.
That’s right; Mr. Purpose-Driven himself, Dr. Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California. Wow; great picture…
Finally, this week is the LAST CHANCE for my Boston Red Sox to stay in the Eastern Division race of the American League. A pivotal three game series with the Yankees starts tonight at Fenway Park in Boston. After losing all four games last week in the Bronx, the Red Sox must sweep this series or be banished to fight for the “Wild Card” through the rest of the year. As you can see, I’m not ready to write them off, just yet; after all, they’ve won eight games in the series this year to only four for the Yankees. You can read about the series and watch a video preview here. Will they do it? Stay tuned. It all starts tonight at MLB.TV.
Just a heads up for all of you out there who are interested: Dan Kimball, church planter, pastor, author, blogger and one of the leading voices among younger evangelicals in America, will be with us here in Columbia, Maryland, on Tuesday, May 12. “A Day with Dan Kimball” will focus on what’s happening among emerging generations and why they are disappearing from our church.
California. He has written a number of cutting edge books, including The Emerging Church, Emerging Worship and most recently, They Like Jesus but Not the Church. He is currently completing his Doctor of Ministry degree from George Fox Seminary. 
