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As we reflect on the last year of ministry with young adults, here are some of the biggest insights from our partner parishes. 

The goal of ministry is a relationship with the Lord. 

We speak a lot with parishes about setting their mission/vision and determining their metrics of success. One thing has become very clear in our work – without Christ as the foundation of ministry, we are glorified event planners. There is nothing inherently wrong with events; in fact, many of our parishes use events as an entry point for young adults in the parish. But young adults – all people, really – desire something more. The Lord desires a relationship with each one of us, and we do a disservice to our young people if we do not intentionally center everything we do on Christ. At the end of the day, our ministries exist to draw people deeper into the mystery of faith through community, prayer, worship, and service. Nothing else and nothing less.. 

“We have found that our young adults truly want to be challenged. We have so many who are hungry for more of the faith and are looking for ways to go deeper in their relationship with God. We have also discovered a desire to give back. They might not always know how or what to give, but they feel fulfilled when they do and desire more of it.”  

There is no substitute for personal invitation. 

Our world is saturated with noise. Our inboxes and news feeds are full of people and organizations trying to capture our attention, our time, and our money. In this milieu, a personal invitation can cut through the mountain of impersonal ones and get someone interested and invested because of the trust built in the relationship. Personal connections take time and effort to build, but there is really no other way to evangelize than the way Jesus himself did.  

“We have learned a lot this year...the planning team has learned that you cannot simply have events and expect people to show up. Personal invitation and accompaniment are KEY.” 

“We are continuing to learn the importance of intentionality. We are learning the value of patience as we overcome challenges. We have seen the fruits of our labor when it comes to personal invite.” 

 A leader’s job is to build more leaders, not just followers. 

How do you measure the success of a leader or a leadership initiative? You could say that success is seen in how many people they attract. As we continue to learn in this process, we would go a step further and say that a truly successful leader builds up other leaders – not just attracts followers. Leaders, especially in the Church, cannot do the work of the Gospel themselves. And we were not meant to! God chose humanity to be co-creators with him; Jesus chose disciples to advance the Kingdom of God on earth. With this model in mind, we continue to learn the importance of expanding the tent of leadership and forming the next generation of ministers. 

“I think the most significant lesson learned this year was to ask for help. I will not be able to set up and clean up for everything, so to keep reaching out to new people to help come early and stay after. To ask for new ideas on food or activities as well! I think asking people to do things activates them and empowers them to be great leaders!”

Inviting young adults into leadership is not sufficient; we must form them.

Many of our insights and efforts from last year centered around young adult leadership – specifically, inviting more young adults into positions of leadership. This year, we took it a step further by encouraging our parishes to walk with their young adults in leadership rather than just handing over the keys. Oftentimes, one of two things happens when we simply hand things over to young adults. The first thing that might happen is that they have an idea for an event or program, but they don’t yet have the skills to plan, invite, and execute the event. This can be compounded by the unfamiliar territory of parish dynamics and/or politics. The second thing that might happen is that the young adult is completely capable of planning and executing an event, but they hit resistance from parish leadership and/or older parishioners in leadership roles. Most of our experiences in 2024 dealt with the first scenario, which leads to the insight that leadership cannot be assumed; it must be taught, modeled, and supported. 

“Young Adults are spastic. I mean, really. We can plan something and have it be a success; we can plan something else, see a large engagement and good response, and then no one shows up. It is a challenge but also a gift in understanding the psyche and movements of young adults and how we can ‘make things easy’ to encounter them and help them encounter the Lord.” 

“Building relationships and trust takes time – sometimes years! Be patient! Accompaniment and becoming deeply invested in the lives of others is the best way to evangelize. Think quality over quantity.” 

The Church is about unity in diversity. 

Several of our parishes minister in a multicultural context, which creates challenges as well as opportunities for ministry. As a body is one though it has many parts, so too the Church. This truth is explored throughout Saint Paul’s letters, and it was experienced in a very real way in our parishes this year. The question – “How do we meet the diverse needs of our young adults while maintaining unity?” – does not have an easy answer. The reality is that both parts of this question are important; we have to hold both the needs of the individuals or small groups as well as the needs of the whole community together. What this looks like practically is still unfolding in our parishes, but the insight from this year is to have small groups for specific needs (state of life, language, disability, life experience, etc.) while providing opportunities for the whole community to gather together as the Body of Christ.

“My biggest insight this year is with regard to celebrating differences but finding paths to unity and community.” 

The Church is about unity in diversity. 

Several of our parishes minister in a multicultural context, which creates challenges as well as opportunities for ministry. As a body is one though it has many parts, so too the Church. This truth is explored throughout Saint Paul’s letters, and it was experienced in a very real way in our parishes this year. The question – “How do we meet the diverse needs of our young adults while maintaining unity?” – does not have an easy answer. The reality is that both parts of this question are important; we have to hold both the needs of the individuals or small groups as well as the needs of the whole community together. What this looks like practically is still unfolding in our parishes, but the insight from this year is to have small groups for specific needs (state of life, language, disability, life experience, etc.) while providing opportunities for the whole community to gather together as the Body of Christ.

“My biggest insight this year is with regard to celebrating differences but finding paths to unity and community.” 

Young adults’ needs continue to be as diverse as they are, and our response must be intentional and relationship-based. 

One of our very first insights from Phase 1 was that ministry with young adults is not one-size-fits-all. This insight continues to be learned in an experiential way as new leaders transition into our project. This insight deepened in this phase as parishes tried to move away from the “comfortable” landscape of event-planning into the more nebulous area of relationship-building and relational ministry. We encouraged our parishes not to plan events for their young adults until they knew exactly who they were and what needs they had.

“I think the biggest discovery was realizing that young adults aren't one size fits all. There are several phases of young adulthood, whether they are single, couples, or starting their families. They all probably need the sense of fellowship and feeling as if they belong, but all may have different needs for what makes them feel that way. I think as we proceed into the next year, we can navigate young adult parenthood and their needs and look into what we can provide for them to keep them involved in our parish.” 

“Our biggest insight was discovering who the young adults are and what they need. We learned that there are three different groups of young adults in our parish. One who are college-age, one who are older and single, and those with families.” 

To read more about the insights gained through the partner parishes, click on a link below.

2023 Insights

2022 Insights