Does the "Cult of Young People" Really Exist?!

[El_Paulo]

I’ve raised this tentatively on another thread but would like to see if there is mileage in giving it a thread of its own.

A Pentecostal Birmingham theologian (as well as some other Christian commentators) have suggested that the church is currently caught in the grip of the “cult of young people”. By this phrase, the implication is that many protestant churches (and an increasing number of Catholic Churches) are investing in young people to the extent that other groups and generations are being ignored or pushed out where mission and worship is concerned, as churches throw all their eggs into one basket.

I would like to hear what what folks think of this, especially our non-Catholic brothers and sisters, since much pioneering work (and much of it excellent work) seems to be going on in those communities. Equally, do Catholic Churches also see this obsession-with-all-things-young creeping in?

I am a Catholic youth worker/minister who works in a non-Catholic (ie Church of England) church - so I’m not anti-young people.

 

[JesusforMadrid]

This is a really interesting question. If you have a link on this from a theologian, please post it.

There are several practical considerations. My perspective on this is mostly European.

First, the Church (Evangelical, Anglican, Roman Catholic and Orthodox) in Europe and in many places in the US is in crisis. Church membership has declined steadily in all European countries during the past 20 years. Generally, both in the US and in Europe, spiritual interest and commitment is lower amongst the youth than amongst those over 50.

Second, to arrest this decline, the Church needs to re evangelise-- the “new evangelisation” as John Paul II called it. A UK Roman Catholic bishop has said, quite rightly, that in Europe today (and I think much of the US), there is a generation of people that is “sacramentalised but not evangelised”. People are baptised and married in the Church, but otherwise do not attend.

Third, historically, young people are much more likely to convert or make a commitment to follow Jesus than older people. Campus Crusade for Christ and other university groups recognise that the early 20s is when most people make decisions of this sort. Statistics from the popular UK Alpha Course suggest that most attendees are in their 20s and 30s. Why? I think people in their 40s+ are more established in their lives and less open to new ideas. In fact, the only churches that are really growing in Europe that I know of, for example Holy Trinity Brompton in London or Hillsong in London and Paris, are churches that focus on attracting young people. Roman Catholic groups that do not focus on attracting young people (such as Opus Dei) are currently stagnant.

Consequently, it follows that if the Church is to regain the battle for the hearts and minds of all people, it will need to focus on the young. I think this should be done with care, since church shouldn’t be “trendy” or it will fall out of fashion as quickly as it enters into fashion. However, it must necessarily focus on the young, or it risks becoming irrelevant.

 

[El_Paulo]

This is a really interesting question. If you have a link on this from a theologian, please post it.

Yeh. This was something he commented on during his radio show - there are some others but I don’t have them to hand at present.

Here’s Dr Beckford’s (rather sparse) homepage:

Dr Robert Beckford

There are several practical considerations. My perspective on this is mostly European.

First, the Church (Evangelical, Anglican, Roman Catholic and Orthodox) in Europe and in many places in the US is in crisis. Church membership has declined steadily in all European countries during the past 20 years. Generally, both in the US and in Europe, spiritual interest and commitment is lower amongst the youth than amongst those over 50.

It’s a depressing thought! It has been suggested that it’s getting to the point where things are starting to turn - people are thinking seriously about why they go to church rather than being kept there by fearful sermons of hell and damnation - the church is having to think carefully about the message it wants to deliver.

Second, to arrest this decline, the Church needs to re evangelise-- the “new evangelisation” as John Paul II called it. A UK Roman Catholic bishop has said, quite rightly, that in Europe today (and I think much of the US), there is a generation of people that is “sacramentalised but not evangelised”. People are baptised and married in the Church, but otherwise do not attend.

This is very true. As a volunteer youth worker in the Catholic Church during the 90’s, this stuff was the driving force behind our work - I was part of a YWAM style mission team for Catholic schools and parishes and we were called “a Community for the New Evangelisation”. While it was a great experience for me and for many, I realised that we were missing something of the spiritual richness that can make the Catholic faith attractive to young people. My youth work now involves a lot more traditional (though still quite radical) styles of prayer such as material from the Manresa by St Ignatius Loyola. It seems to be quite attractive to young people, I’ve found, even to non-Catholic’s.

Third, historically, young people are much more likely to convert or make a commitment to follow Jesus than older people. Campus Crusade for Christ and other university groups recognise that the early 20s is when most people make decisions of this sort. Statistics from the popular UK Alpha Course suggest that most attendees are in their 20s and 30s. Why? I think people in their 40s+ are more established in their lives and less open to new ideas. In fact, the only churches that are really growing in Europe that I know of, for example Holy Trinity Brompton in London or Hillsong in London and Paris, are churches that focus on attracting young people. Roman Catholic groups that do not focus on attracting young people (such as Opus Dei) are currently stagnant.

I agree very much with this final point. We ran an Alpha course in our Catholic parish and it went down a storm. I think it was due to the fact that people, for the first time, were able to pick apart their faith, to question it and to disagree even! It was a safe place to speak your mind though many people came out the other end with a stronger faith as a result.

I think our young people deserve that same opportunity. Maybe Catholic parishes will never grow in the way many evangelical churches grow but what I hope to do in my youth work is to offer them a genuine experience of their faith - not one that ticks all the boxes and gives them all the answers, but one which can be of help when faith is difficult and beliving seems nonsensical.

Consequently, it follows that if the Church is to regain the battle for the hearts and minds of all people, it will need to focus on the young. I think this should be done with care, since church shouldn’t be “trendy” or it will fall out of fashion as quickly as it enters into fashion. However, it must necessarily focus on the young, or it risks becoming irrelevant.

You hit the nail on the head - fashionable churches can go out of fashion! I think this is where the “cult of young people” is at it’s most dangerous. Though it doesn’t excuse the church from neglecting the needs of young people.

 

[Malcolm_McLean]

I’ve raised this tentatively on another thread but would like to see if there is mileage in giving it a thread of its own.

A Pentecostal Birmingham theologian (as well as some other Christian commentators) have suggested that the church is currently caught in the grip of the “cult of young people”. By this phrase, the implication is that many protestant churches (and an increasing number of Catholic Churches) are investing in young people to the extent that other groups and generations are being ignored or pushed out where mission and worship is concerned, as churches throw all their eggs into one basket.

I would like to hear what what folks think of this, especially our non-Catholic brothers and sisters, since much pioneering work (and much of it excellent work) seems to be going on in those communities. Equally, do Catholic Churches also see this obsession-with-all-things-young creeping in?

I am a Catholic youth worker/minister who works in a non-Catholic (ie Church of England) church - so I’m not anti-young people.

If a church has a body of committed young men, and no other assets, then that church has an exciting future.
On the other hand, if there are beautiful buildings, large congregations, schools and political influence, and money in the bank, but no young men, then the church is living on borrowed time.

So it is reasonable to put most of your resources into the young men.

 

[El_Paulo]

If a church has a body of committed young men, and no other assets, then that church has an exciting future.
On the other hand, if there are beautiful buildings, large congregations, schools and political influence, and money in the bank, but no young men, then the church is living on borrowed time.

So it is reasonable to put most of your resources into the young men.

No problem with that piece of common sense!

I was just wondering if, inspite of a wide range of people in a church, folks noticed whether churches were still majoring on the young people at the expence of others age groups?
In my experience, some churches are.

However, here’s a conundrum - a friend of mine commented that some churches he viseted (as part of his job) were made up of lots of older people. After returning a few years later he noticed that they were still made up of old people, just different ones! Evangelisation seems to be alive and well even within the so-called ‘dead’ or ‘dying’ churches!!

(Glad to see another UK forumer on the site - I’ve not noticed too many others round about - have you?)