Growing Young - Day 1

Unleashing the passion of young people in your church is possible!
 
This five day track from the Catalyst App, features Kara Powell, Jake Mulder and Brad Griffin’s new book, Growing Young.
 
When you complete each daily assignment from the track, you will be entered in to win a copy of his book! There are 5 available!

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 Churches need young people and young people need churches. http://ctly.st/2dNXcGyBut do you wonder whether a watered-down gospel would help you attract young people to your congregation? You're not alone. But there's good news. Young people are drawn to churches that take Jesus' message seriously-- not just churches that try to be cool.

 
Based on groundbreaking research with over 250 of the nation's leading congregations, the book Growing Young provides a strategy any church can use to involve and retain teenagers and young adults. This track will touch on some of the book’s ideas for promoting church growth--spiritually, emotionally, missionary, and numerically.
 
Get ready to start growing young!

DAY 1 – The Current Reality

 
“A lot of my friends don't really want to go to their church. But we want to be here, and the older people in our church can see that . . . so they want us to be here. Our whole church treats us like we’re the church of today, not just the church of the future.” —Ashlee, age 17
 
If your church is like many, you have bare spots. Holes created by the teenagers and young adults missing from your congregation. You see them on Friday night at the local movie theater and Saturday morning at the neighborhood coffeehouse, but they are absent from your Sunday morning worship services. These bare spots make your church feel incomplete.
 
The truth is, every church needs young people. Their passion enriches the soil around them.
 
If you’re wondering why your congregation is aging,shrinking, or plateauing, you’re not alone. No major Christian tradition is growing in the US today. A few denominations are managing to hold steady, but that’s as good as it gets.
 
Thankfully, the news for the church is not all gloom and doom. Despite the cloudy sky, light is breaking through here and there. Our team calls these “bright spots.”
 
The data detailing the decline and “graying” of congregations is convincing, but it’s not the full story. And it doesn’t have to be your story.

 
Reflect: How, if at all, have you seen signs of aging or shrinking in your congregation or other congregations? How have young people added vitality to your life and congregation?

Don’t forget to tell us your response to each daily reflection on Twitter (via @catalystleader) and be entered into WIN a copy of the book, Growing Young. 

Check out additional tracks, podcast downloads, and more on the Catalyst App.