DIY walls

Do your walls need more fun? Don can help, but if you want a DIY ("do it yourself") project Rust-Oleum comes in second:

They have products that will make the walls of your children's, youth, or admin space magnetic, glow in the dark, dry erase, or chalk board.

what's wrong with this picture?

LifeWay Research put this piece together and while I appreciate the valuable information in a user-friendly, aesthetic format, I can't help but cringe at the subtle message being communicated by the models.

The "Regular Attender" is an attractive young lady who has apparently been practicing her Vanna White moves. She's dressed casually, but nicely: jeans and a nice top. Her makeup has been carefully applied and she looks happy.

The "Not Regular Attender" looks less put-together. His body language is apathetic. His baggy, black t-shirt isn't working so well with whatever kind of brown pants he's wearing, and his hair and facial expression scream, "I got out of bed for this?"

One belongs and one does not. Of course I'm sure whoever set up this shot did not intend to paint a picture of who belongs in a church body and who does not, and that decisions were made regarding wardrobe and makeup based on past experiences and influences without a second thought as to their implications.

The stereotype remains, however. The fact that is was probably done unintentionally, and that you may not have noticed when you first saw the image, confirms this is what we blindly believe "Regular Attenders" and "Not Regular Attenders" look like.

So what? So how does this affect your student and young adult ministries? Who do we blindly accept as those that "belong," and who do we assume will never get it because they don't look happy to be at church?

How does this affect the design for spaces for these ministries? Are you making space for those who "belong" (i.e. who will come anyway)? Or are you making space for the "Not Regular Attenders," who really need the extra effort to feel comfortable? Is your student/young adult ministry reaching out, into the unknown, or in, to the comfortable?

young adults

We know from a myriad of previous reports and studies that young adults (ages 18 to 23 or 30, depending on the research group) are the least likely to attend church, and the most likely to feel unwanted. The Barna Group reports that three in four will drop out of church after high school. LifeWay Research recently took the research one step further to answer the "Why?"

According to a new report, the most common reason young adults give for leaving church is, "I simply wanted a break from church."

Among those young adults who did not drop out of church, most said, "Church was a vital part of my relationship with God." A close second-place reason was, "I wanted the church to help guide my decisions in everyday life." The third and fourth reasons given also spoke of the church's relevance to the young people's lives.

Scott McConnell, the associate director of LifeWay Research, commented, "The vitality and everyday relevance these young people experienced in church is a stark contrast to church dropouts who wanted a break from church and felt unconnected." You can read the whole report here.

Is your ministry speaking to young adults? Is there space in your facility that reflects and serves their culture? Where they can feel at home? Remember, the Rainer Research Group reported earlier this year that inviting social space is the most important part of a church facility to those between the ages of 18 and 24. How are you connecting with them?

take it from Jim

Hi everyone. I've been out of the country for two weeks - not slacking off. It's good to be home, and its been fun trying to catch up.

Jim Wideman posted his "Top 10 List for Life and Ministry Management" while I was gone. Several are good tips for building project management:

8. KEEP YOUR PRIORITIES IN ORDER
For a lot of ministries, this comes after actually identifying your priorities and that's okay. Once you get a healthy assessment of your church's situation and realize, for example, that there's a community college across town, keep your priorities in order.

6. PLAN FOR INTERRUPTIONS
Avoiding interruptions is nice, but don't count on it. A permit may take longer than you hoped, or your building committee will refuse to agree on how many restrooms you need, etc.

3. GET SOME HELP
Talk to other pastors who have been through this, talk to us, read a book. "Don't try to reinvent the wheel."

2. PLAN FOR GROWTH
"Remember, people follow people with a plan." People also follow people who are going somewhere. If you're not moving, no one can follow. If your church is building/expanding its building it's probably because you're growing. Think big.

1. PRAY
Amen.

futuristic

A couple weeks ago, futurist and theologian Leonard Sweet named the top five trends religious leaders should keep their eyes on. Number three is, "epic rules."

In Sweet's The Gospel According to Starbucks, the futurist calls the church to master the "EPIC" living that Starbucks has mastered. EPIC stands for Experience, Participation, "Images that trob with meaning," and Connection.

How many of these four epic principals are you making room for in your church's third place space?

Experience: Is your third place hosting events? Speakers, artists, clowns, etc. Are there experiences available?

Participation: Is there room for volunteers? Are your events participatory? Open mic nights are good for this.

Images: What are people looking at in your space? The same picture of Jesus in the same gold frame that was in their parents' church? Local artists expressions of what it is to find freedom? Does your third place space have a logo of its own? Is it meaningful? Is it displayed?

Connection: How are people able to connect in your space? Is there room to connect over business? Is there room to connect socially? Is there WiFi to connect internationally?

The Christian Post quotes Sweet as explaining, "The culture helps the church become more of an epic community." When was the last time we considered how culture could help a local church?