Interesting article from a couple of days ago in the Christian Post talking about youth ministries and reflection on the old ways and vintage faith. Here’s a clip:

The cohort of young adults today have grown up on cell phones, the internet and in a materialistic world where their top goals are fame and fortune, a recent Pew survey found. And more youth ministers are trying to draw more teens to the church with a message wrapped in pop culture.

Schuller says young people are looking for something “beyond the show.” Vintage is the newest trend.

“They are looking for a deep and real intimate relationship and what I found is that people desire something more vintage, not something in style. Vintage is something that is older but really valuable.”

In fact, they’re looking for something that is even older than the older generation, Schuller says, such as going to old cathedrals for lay worshipping.

Amid the search for something vintage, there is also a wide gap between the younger and older generations. Youth leader Chris Folmsbee had noted a widening “chasm” between youth ministers who want to do ministry in a new way and older leader who want to stick to traditional ways in his new book A New Kind of Youth Ministry.

“There is a lot of butting heads about which one is right, especially in O.C. (Orange County), where there is a greater emphasis on youth,” Schuller says. “A lot of older generations have been offended. The younger generation feels bound by older generations. We try to resolve in all of this and create a forum in which three generations can have a meaningful experience.”

JG