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What Young Adults Want
Posted on Monday, February 19, 2007 at 11:41 AM by Jason Barker
Terry Mattingly recently wrote a column about the efforts of some churches to create special "singles ministries" where it is possible for post-college singles to mingle and - at least potentially - find spouses. The column itself is at most tangential to my Bible studies for teens, but there is a quote at the end of the column from Dawn Eden that I believe is equally applicable to teens, and is quite applicable to this ministry:
What congregations should do is rally single adults around worship, prayer, books, the arts and service to others, she said. Then friendships and relationships can develop out of activities that strengthen the faith of those that choose to participate.
"You really don't have to dumb things down for us," said Eden. "There are plenty of ways for single adults to get less church if that is what they really want. Why not talk to some of your young adults and ask them what they really want. They may want more church _ more faith _ not less."
I am deeply concerned with ensuring that Orthodox Christian Bible studies do not "dumb down" the content for teens. It is obvious that the content must be somewhat basic and general - the target audience is in junior high through early college, not seminary or graduate school - but I strive to provide a relatively full approach to the material, rather than merely making it entertaining or removing any difficult passages. Teens need - and, as many studies indicate, increasingly want - biblical studies that, in Eden's words, gives them "more church _ more faith _ not less."
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