To want to reach young adults, to matter in the public sphere, to make a difference in the life of millennials, these are very good ambitions, and I say this because I fear being misunderstood. I am confessing that my desire to be a hipster pastor who planted a hipster church had more to do with vanity than it had to do with gospel influence. And that’s why it was a problem. For me.
The Lord had to do a lot to change me. I received well-deserved hard feedback from loving church planting assessors, the church the Lord planted in reality turned out to be far different from the church I planted in my imagination, and God sovereignly put good, godly books (think of authors like Wendell Berry and Eugene Peterson) in front of me as a corrective, sanctifying force.
And, stubbornly, I still believe that God wants to use our local church and his local churches around the world to reach the next generation. But I don’t think that God wants to reach millennials by planting churches that prioritize millennials. I don’t know if you truly reach anybody (you may attract them, allure them, and charm them) by prioritizing them. Jesus reaches us not by catering to us, but by prioritizing his Father’s glory.
How is that for a ministry model?
So maybe the best way to reach young adults, and by reach I really mean attract, transform, and equip, is to plant and lead un-millennial churches. Read More
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