Date: August 4, 2022
Today, I want to focus on the third strategic priority for TryTank, youth and young adult ministry. I’ll never forget the first time that I realized that parents would change where they go to church based on the children’s ministry. A friend left the church where he and his wife were married to go to a church that provided more for their children. Couple that with the reality that most children then leave the church after they finish high school, and this seems like an area filled with opportunity.
So far, we have developed a new framework (based on the TryTank method for experimentation) that completely reimagines youth ministry by asking the youth what they want and how they want to do it. We are piloting the model in Charlotte.
We are also about to try a new way to do campus ministry that utilizes young adults as the conveners rather than being dependent on an ordained minister. We are also looking at how congregations—especially those smaller congregations with few members and resources—can still be known for their thriving ministry with children.
All of these are very important for our churches and for making more disciples in a secular age.
Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija
Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director, TryTank