How is your church doing with your young members, those in middle school, high school, in college? Are the opportunities you currently offer meeting the particular needs of their age groups? Are you keeping up with them as far as technology goes?

LifeWay Research recently conducted an eight-month research project involving interviews with unchurched adults 18 to 34 years of age, unchurched adults 18 to 34 years of age, regular church attendees, and church leaders from across the country.

The study results indicated that “young adults are nonetheless longing for community and fellowship with peers, looking for ways to reach people in need and circling the church but not always finding a home in it.”

Statistics from the study included:

* 73 percent of church members and 47 percent of non-affiliated young adults indicated that community with other young adults is extremely important in their lives.

* The second most important thing for young adult churchgoers is participation in small-group meetings to discuss life application of Scripture (71 percent).

* Another high-ranking priority of today’s young adult population is the opportunity to meet the needs of others (social action) on a regular basis; 66 percent of churchgoers rated this as extremely important in their lives, and 47 percent of non-churchgoers said the same.

One of my favorite articles in this issue, our annual focus on Technology in the Church, tackles the topic of whether or not your church should be on Facebook.com as a ministry to the youth segment of your congregation.

Is your church already employing a social networking site as part of your outreach? I’m always interested in hearing from you. You can e-mail me at jill@rpnmag.com.

God Bless,

Jill Pinheiro
Managing Editor