Engaging young adults with the Bible …
How do we engage young adults with the Bible?
To begin, we can’t continue doing what we used to do. Young adults don’t think and act like their parents or grandparents. Marketing a cool new Bible or promoting a radical Bible reading plan no longer works. Different approaches and tools are required.
So, if the models and paradigms of yesteryear don’t cut it, what does? How do we create new strategies and resources to capture the attention of young adults and help them engage with the Bible?
Shifting from prescriptive to interactive models.
Perhaps the first step is knowing that they value authentic relationships, respect personal stories and experiences, prefer non-prescriptive interactive approaches, and enjoy opportunities to grow in understanding through discussion and partnership. They’re also suspicious of the institutional church, wary of authorities, and distrust meta-narratives.
Facilitating encounters through technology and social media.
If the first step is to understand the core values of young adults, then the second step is to be aware of how they exist in and are defined by a digital world dominated by technology (unlike their parents, who may be digital immigrants, young adults are digital natives). This generation is intrinsically linked to the devices and software they own and use. For many young adults, being offline or unable to interact on social media sites is intolerable!
Advocating for the relevance of the Bible.
Building on the first two steps, the third step may be advocacy (reestablishing the Bible’s relevance and credibility). Because young adults distrust metanarratives and view the church with suspicion, their fears need to be allayed. This is a mammoth challenge. Confidence in the Bible has declined over many decades, and it will probably take many years of collaborative efforts to reverse the decline.
Closely associated with the need for advocacy is the need to discover new ways to help them read/hear/see/experience the Bible. Before a young adult uses the Bible, they must be exposed to it in multi-sensory ways, tie it in with their core values, and build relational trust.
Creating effective strategies.
Finally, the strategies and resources that are developed to help young adults engage with the Bible should facilitate the following:
- online and face-to-face connexity
- dialogue, questioning and sharing
- discovery of truth and meaning
- sharing of stories and experiences
- living out the biblical faith
How does this fit with your perspective? Join the discussion. Comment.
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Hemorrhaging Faith: Why Young Adults Leave the Church
Summary
Engaging young adults with the Bible requires a shift from traditional approaches to more interactive and personalized methods. Understanding their core values, such as the importance of authentic relationships and non-prescriptive learning, is crucial to creating effective strategies. Young adults, shaped by a digital world, also need Bible engagement that integrates technology and multi-sensory experiences. To restore trust in the Bible and the church, advocacy efforts must focus on re-establishing the Bible’s relevance while fostering connections through dialogue, shared stories, and practical applications of faith.
© Scripture Union Canada
