Defiant Hope, Active Love: What Young Adults Are Seeking in Places of Work, Faith, and Community

by Jeffrey F. Keuss (editor)

Genres: Ecclesiology

176 pages, Hardcover

Published July 30, 2024

About the author

Jeffrey F. Keuss (PhD, University of Glasgow) is professor of Christian ministry, theology, and culture at Seattle Pacific University. He is also the executive director of Pivot Northwest. He is a regular contributor to the The Kindlings Muse podcast on theology and culture and is on the editorial board of Literature and Theology. His books include Freedom of the Self, Blur, and Your Neighbor's Hymnal.

Reviews

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been nearly forty years but once upon a time, I was called by a congregation to serve as its associate minister, with a focus on helping to develop their young adult ministry. I was twenty-eight at the time and a younger member of the Boomer Generation. The ages of our group ranged from mid-twenties to mid-30s. Some were married with children, some of us were married without children, and the rest were single. I would guess most of us are now in our 60s or even 70s. A lot has happened in the intervening years, but churches are still trying to figure out how to minister to and with young adults. The question of course has to do with defining a young adult. In smaller churches, with fewer members under forty, a young adult group might run from post-college to approaching 40. The reality is that the younger cohort is less interested in religion, especially institutional religion.

"Defiant Hop, Active Love," is an edited book focusing on ministry to and with young adults. The context of this study is the Pacific Northwest, a region that is among the least religious and least churched regions of the country. More specifically, the focus is on the greater Seattle area. The contributors to this volume, edited by Jeffrey Keus, a professor of ministry, theology, and culture at Seattle Pacific University, are associates of a research entity known as Pivot NW Research. Most of the contributors are also either faculty, staff, or students at Seattle Pacific, an evangelical Christian university. The focus of this research entity is young adults ages 23-29.

The essays in this chapter, which emerged out of the research done by the participants in Pivot NW are designed to provide the kind of information that will be useful as churches seek to minister among young adults. The focus seems to be on evangelical churches, especially ones that are non-fundamentalist. The essayists recognize that this is a diverse cohort ethnically and that they are more open in terms of welcoming LGBTQ persons. How welcoming the researchers are is not clear since SPU has sent conflicting signals, welcoming LGBTQ students but maintaining a more traditional policy when it comes to employees, including faculty. I'm not sure that affects the study, but it is worth noting.

The book itself is based on research done by the Pivot NW team, who have surveyed congregations and faith communities, research that has revealed several distinctive themes. The opening chapter is titled "Emerging Faithfulness: Young Adulthood in the Twenty-First Century" and is authored by the editor Jeffrey Keuss and Robert Drovhahl, an emeritus professor of educational ministry at SPU. In this chapter, the authors explore life cycle theory and how young adults fit into these theories. As for the implications of this study when it comes to ministry, They note that emerging adults value community, seek communities that enhance their sense of well-being, and seek faith communities that will offer practices that lead to a sustainable faith.
Chapter 2 addresses religious affiliation and is authored by Gabrielle Metzler, a PhD graduate in industrial-organizational psychology, and Mathea Kangas, a PhD student in industrial-organizational psychology. They note that there is no one way that young adults approach Christianity.

In Chapter 3, Lauren St. Martin, an associate pastor of an Evangelical Covenant Church in the Seattle area focuses on "Deep Listening and Young Adults," a chapter that provides data from consultations with congregations. Chapter 4, authored by Linda Montano (PhD SPU) focuses on the "Church as Resource Station" for young adults in transition. She writes "As each cohort of young adults navigates the unique circumstances of its time as well as the biological and social clocks that constrain and enable those young adults, the church has a special role in contributing to religious coping that, when positive in nature, has been shown to make a difference." (p. 97). Mackenzie Harris, also a PhD student in industrial-organizational psychology at SPU, addresses involving young adults in leadership, in Chapter 5: "Identified not Developed." This chapter does raise some important questions about how to involve young adults in church leadership, whether in young adult ministries or the larger church. This is an important issue since young adults tend to be rather transient, so relationships between mentors to younger leaders can be complex.

Martin Jimenez writes Chapter 6, "Young Adults and New Church Models: When a Church Is Not a Church." In this chapter Jimenez, the program director of Pivot NW, introduces readers to four models beginning with the "Great Commission Team-Style" modeled by Mars Hill (Mark Driscoll), Neighborhood Incarnation, "New Community-Style," and "Household of the Spirit." He writes that the bottom line, whatever the model, is providing young adults with safety, security, and belonging.

Jeffrey Keuss offers a conclusion titled "Active Love and the Hope of Communities of Loving Defiance." He brings things to a close by highlighting one of the major concerns of young adults, especially those in the Seattle area, who come from very diverse, often marginalized backgrounds, who experience deep poverty, but not not only economic poverty but spiritual poverty as well. In response, he calls for the churches to engage in active love.

As a retired pastor who has served small congregations that have largely been populated by older adults, many of whom would welcome young adult participation, and would desire to help mentor them, I have noticed that we struggle to connect. Interestingly, many of the concerns expressed by young adults, especially concerns about social justice, as well as LGBTQ inclusion, are reflected in these and other Mainline congregations. Nevertheless, we struggle to connect. Even church plants have struggled. One of the questions that kept coming up in my mind has to do with how small congregations, which don't have a lot of resources can provide that home young adults are looking for. So, I struggled with what to make of the book. It seems addressed to a more evangelical audience, but more liberal Mainline Congregations might be good landing spots for these young adults. So, I have my questions. Another question that popped up has to do with the identity of young adults in the 21st Century. It seemed that the researchers/authors have Millennials in mind, but with few exceptions, Millennials have moved past age 30. The question then is whether the so-called Gen-Z, the current generation in their 20s are different from Millennials.

I didn't get all the answers I might have sought, but important questions have been raised. The chapter I personally found most beneficial was the one on involving young adults in leadership. That is a difficult task, but a necessary one. But it's also risky for both younger and older participants in the relationship.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: What young adults seek in places of work, faith, and community and how churches may respond hospitably.

Many congregations have witnessed an exodus of young adults. But Jeffrey F. Keuss and the researchers with Pivot NW who contributed to this work are convinced that this is not for lack of spiritual interest. Rather, their research showed young adults care deeply about faith and long for the creation of faithful spaces connecting worship, community, and the working out of faith in society that answers calls for justice.

They began by defining emerging adulthood and then researching those in this cohort. As a result, they identified six themes that characterized thriving organizations that served young adults: community, personal transformation, social transformation, purpose finding, creativity, and accountability. The question is not how to attract young adults. Rather, will the longing for belonging, believing, and becoming find a welcoming and sustaining space in churches?

However, the character and level of religious affiliation shapes what they look for. They identified four classes of religiosity: abiders, adapters, assenters, and avoiders. Then, the researchers identified on-ramps and barriers. On ramps include people care for each other; they are involved with the poor and disadvantaged; church is a place to meet people; it is also a place to deal with grief and loss; and leaders including pastors welcome them. Barriers include resistance to change; political differences; hypocrisy and judgmentalism of both people and leaders; and no space to talk about controversial issues.

Deep listening in interviews with young adults turned up themes related to what has already been noted. They longed for communities that actively listened to and obeyed God. They addressed spiritual formation needs of discipleship and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Churches need to be attentive to young adult needs for authenticity, an understanding of their lifestyles, the ways churches have and can wound, and for a God who can take the hard questions. Young adults long for a depth of community that extends beyond the church walls. Young adult ministry needs to be sustainable. Specifically, this means structures, leadership, relational focus, creation of space, and good communication. Young adult ministry also needs to have young adult leadership. Transition needs to be managed well. Finally, intergenerational relationships characterized by two-way mentoring are valued.

It is vital to recognize the liminal space of young adult life. It is one of transition. Churches that minister effectively accept that. People move away for work. Or they mature into a different life stage. Effective ministries see themselves as resource stations supporting this transitional space. They help people live well in the present rather than adding to the pressure to move on.

I’ve already noted that young adults need to lead young adult ministry. The researchers encourage identifying rather than developing leaders. Leadership also means recognizing the challenges of young adult life, which may include provisions for stepping back and sharing leadership. Mentors who can come alongside to support without taking over are vital.

Pivot NW outlines some of the different church models and how they engage young adults. Working in the Pacific Northwest, they address the Mars Hill model and its fallout. They describe New Community and household of the Spirit models. On the basis of their research, they posit that safety, security, and belonging are the bottom line.

The researchers conclude with a discussion of the deep poverty of metamodernism, both economically and spiritually. Reflecting the title, they summarize the thrust of their work as a call to building lovingly defiant communities.

This book is a rich resource for church leaders pressing into young adult ministry. They name cultural, generational, and ministry realities to consider. Each chapter offers questions ministry leaders can use to apply the material. The contributors strike a good balance of outlining research and summarizing practical implications. Finally, I appreciated the concise writing that offered substantive help in 176 pages!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.