Daily Devotional

As the new College Pastor at Campus Bible Church, one of my responsibilities is to reach the next generation (18–30-year-olds). Churches love talking about reaching the next generation. But what does it really take? Some people say it’s the music. If you have loud drums and blazing guitars with smoke machines and lasers, then you will reach the next generation, but I believe there’s more to it than that. And so does the next generation.

1. They expect us to be authentic from the top down
Some pastors put the emphasis on achieving the perfect worship service; perfect preachers, perfect musicians, and a perfect production. But when it comes to reaching the next generation, it’s less about perfection and more about authenticity. We need leaders who are willing to do whatever it takes to reach people with the gospel. We need preachers and worship leaders who are authentic, not just talking about mistakes they made many years ago, but mistakes they made last week. That’s real.

2. They need us to emphasize Jesus
We talk a lot about God, but do we talk about Jesus? Of course Jesus is God and God is Jesus. Jesus is the 2nd person of the Triune God. But God can mean different things to different people in this post-Christian culture. Jesus is far more specific. When we focus on Jesus and what He did for us at the cross, dying for our sin and rising from the dead three days later, we focus on hope. That is more real to young adults than simply talking about God.

3. They desire us to pursue healthy growth
I love being part of a multisite church here at Campus Bible; one church, two locations. Each of our two sites has a different culture based on demographic. Some of the people we are reaching at Palm would never come to Maple, not just because of location, but because of culture. When the merger took place between Maple and Palm ten years ago, the vision was to reach a different demographic in a different area of Fresno. And God has blessed that. Palm’s AWANA and youth ministry has grown and continues to grow. The Glow outreach each fall is packed with people from the neighborhood. Young adults get excited when they see healthy growth in a church.

4. We must be willing to take risks
Reaching the next generation requires a certain level of risk-taking. Because of my work with the Fresno State Band, making Campus Bible a destination for their recitals and concerts, I have been invited to be an honorary member of a music fraternity called “Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia”. I have never been in a fraternity before. It’s a bit of a risk, but I am excited about how God might use this to help me build relationships with young adults moving forward. Young adults get excited being part of a church that’s willing to take some risks for the sake of accomplishing the mission.

5. God is calling us to clarify our mission
Too many churches let money follow mission. We say things like, “We have this opportunity to start a new site, but we don’t have the money. Once we save the money, then we’ll start the new site.” But if you wait for the money, it can be too late. The opportunity has come and gone. The pastors I’ve talked to who are doing a good job reaching young adults would say “clarify the mission, and the money will come.” You staff toward mission. You program toward mission. You spend toward mission. When you’ve got a clear mission, the money will be there.

What is our mission? Jesus gives it to us in Matthew 28:19–20. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

New American Standard Bible®,
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