Foundational Books: Young Adult Faith Formation

Big Questions, Worth Dreams: Mentoring Young Adults in their Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Faith (Revised Edition)
Sharon Daloz Parks (Jossey-Bass, 2011)

Building on the foundation she established with her ground-breaking book, The Critical Years, Parks invites us to take up responsibility for providing thoughtful mentorship and mentoring environments during the wilderness years of young adulthood. In this updated edition she addresses recent current events: violence in our culture, smart phones, mixed spirituality/religious identities, social media/networking, the economic crisis, changing racial identity, cultural shifts and other forces shaping the narrative of young adulthood today. She provides concrete ways of employing the theory in different types of mentoring communities, more on the relationship between meaning-making (faith/religion/spirituality) and disciplinary learning and includes new (and more timely) stories and illustrations.

Connecting Young Adults to Catholic Parishes
Committee for Laity, USCCB (USCCB Publishing, 2010)

Create a young adult friendly parish using the wisdom, insight, and examples from the authors in this unique book. This resource highlights how to do ministry with the young adults who are already present in the life of your parish. This text builds on the vision of the Catholic bishops’ pastoral statement Sons and Daughters of the Light to motivate parish leaders to draw young adults into the life of the community and receive the gifts that they bring. Chapters cover a wide range of topics in young adult ministry: prayer and spirituality, catechesis, discernment and vocation, community life, pastoral care, evangelization, liturgy, justice and service, families, Hispanic/Latino perspectives, and forming faith communities. 

For Such a Time as This: Young Adults on the Future of the Church
Kathryn Mary Lohre, editor. (Judson Press, 2014)

Churches in the U.S. are grappling with unprecedented change. Financial challenges, globalization, the digital revolution and church-dividing topics are taking a toll on the institution and membership. Americans are increasingly not affiliating themselves with any religion, including one third of adults under 30. In light of all this, what is the future of the churches? In For Such a Time as This: Young Adults on the Future of the Church, Christian young adults offer an invigorating, new, and timely word on issues such as eco-justice, immigration, interfaith relations, peace and justice, and inclusivity of those on the margins. Lohre and her contributors, representing a broad spectrum of cultures, races, and Christian traditions, offer a mutual exchange of ideas, experiences, and insights. This book is designed for intergenerational study and discussion. It offers a starting place for thinking about and moving towards the future together. 

Greenhouses of Hope: Congregations Growing Young Leaders Who Will Change the World
Dori Grinenko Baker, editor (Alban Institute, 2010)

Do you know a church where young people regularly shape the liturgy with words that speak their truth in ways that also inspire their elders? Do you hear about congregations that reach out in quirky new ways to their ailing neighborhoods, instead of locking doors and shipping out to a suburb? Do you find churches creating hospitable space that invites the live wriggling questions and doubts of young people in unhurried, unworried ways?  Do you see congregations where young people's gifts are not stored in the basement or bracketed into "contemporary" worship services but are brought forth and celebrated? The authors who collaborated on this book launched a quest for such vibrant, life-giving, greening congregations and observed the diverse practices that grow there. They named these churches "Greenhouses of Hope." A Greenhouse of Hope is a Christian congregation freeing itself to experiment with both newly imagined and time-honored ways of following the path of Jesus. Its members respond to God's love through practices that genuinely embrace the gifts of youth and young adults. Out of these greenhouses emerge young leaders who want to change the world. In Greenhouses of Hope, Dori Baker and six contributors tell the stories of these remarkable congregations, helping others think about how they can create space for the dreams of young people to be grafted into God's dreams for the world.

Got Religion: How Churches, Mosques, and Synagogues Can Bring Young People Back
Naomi Schaefer Riley (Templeton Press, 2014)

Why are young people dropping out of religious institutions? Can anything be done to reverse the trend? In Got Religion?, Naomi Schaefer Riley examines the reasons for the defection, why we should care, and how some communities are successfully addressing the problem. The traditional markers of growing up are getting married and becoming financially independent. But young adults are delaying these milestones, sometimes for a full decade longer than their parents and grandparents. This new phase of “emerging adulthood” is diminishing the involvement of young people in religious institutions, sapping the strength and vitality of faith communities, and creating a more barren religious landscape for the young adults who do eventually decide to return to it. Yet, clearly there are some churches, synagogues, and mosques that are making strides in bringing young people back to religion. Got Religion? offers in-depth, on-the-ground reporting about the most successful of these institutions and shows how many of the structural solutions for one religious group can be adapted to work for another. The faith communities young people attach themselves to are not necessarily the biggest or the most flashy. They are not the wealthiest or the ones employing the latest technology. Rather, they are the ones that create stability for young people, that give them real responsibility in a community and that help them form the habits of believers that will last a lifetime.

The Hyphenateds: How Emergence Christianity is Re-Traditioning Mainline Practices
Phil Snider, editor (Chalice Press, 2011)

Can emergence Christianity help established denominations understand that radical transformation means more than a new worship service? When hearing complaints that church is irrelevant, can mainliners understand that reclaiming relevancy means more than changing meeting locations from church buildings to coffee shops? As an increasing number of mainline communities wonder how the emergent church influences their own structures and practices, this book brings together the perspectives of several of the most prominent “Hyphenated Christians,” i.e. those with one foot in the emergent conversation and the other foot in the mainline church—Presbymergents, Anglimergents, Luthermergents, Methomergents, etc. With a passion for both mainline traditions and the emergent conversation, “Hyphenateds” offer a vibrant and contagious vision of the ways in which the church might undergo the transformation necessary to faithfully embody the love of Christ in the midst of an ever-changing world.

In Real Time: Authentic Young Adult Ministry as It Happens
Mike Glenn (B&H Publishing, 2009) 

As the need for relevant young adult ministry programs increases, the best example of a successful one in action today is Kairos, a weekly worship gathering of more than one thousand young single and married people in Nashville. In Real Time tells the story of how this ministry unfolded, and its overriding message is one that churches everywhere can take to heart and apply. Mike Glenn is the senior pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church where he also leads Kairos. “Young adults are serious about life. They want basic and straight,” writes Glenn. “In the church, we have thought people were bored with the basic message, but in fact, they have never heard the gospel at all.”

The Next Christians: How a New Generation Is Restoring the Faith
Gabe Lyons (Doubleday, 2011)

In the wake of the stunning research from his book, UnChristian, which revealed the growing disenchantment among young generations of Christians. Lyons has witnessed the beginnings of a new iteration of the faith. The Next Christians eposes a whole movement of Christians—evangelicals, mainline Protestants, Orthodox, Pentecostals, and others—who desire to be a force for restoration even as they proclaim the Christian Gospel. They want the label “Christian” to mean something good, intelligent, authentic, and beautiful. The next generation of Christians, Lyons argues, embodies six revolutionary characteristics: 1) Provoked, not offended; 2) Creators, not critics; 3) Called, not employed; 4) Grounded, not distracted; 5) In community, not alone; and 6) Countercultural, not “relevant.” Website at: www.nextchristians.com.

Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation
Carol Howard Merritt (Alban Books, 2010)

Much has been written about the changing landscape the church finds itself in, and even more about the church's waning influence in our culture. Carol Howard Merritt moves away from the handwringing toward a discovery of what ministry in, with, and by a new generation might look like. What does the substance of hope look like right now? What does hope look like when it is framed in a new generation? Motivated by these questions, Merritt writes Reframing Hope with the understanding that we are not creating from nothing the vital ministry of the next generation. Instead, we are working through what we have, sorting out the best parts, acknowledging and healing from the worst, and reframing it all. She explores the spirit of collaboration that has grown up in our culture as the diffusion of authority continues to move toward a network of sharing resources and information. She shares the spiritual longing she sees in those of her generation and acknowledges that people will no longer settle for one-way preaching and entertaining services—they want their worship to become meaningful; they want their spirituality to lead to action. 

The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated
James Every White (Baker Books, 2014)

The single fastest-growing religious group of our time is those who check the box next to the word none on national surveys. In America, this is 20 percent of the population. And most churches are doing virtually nothing to reach them. The pastor of a megachurch that is currently experiencing 70 percent of its growth from the unchurched, White knows how to reach this growing demographic, and here he shares his ministry strategies with concerned pastors and church leaders, answering questions like: Exactly who are the unaffiliated? What caused this seismic shift in our culture? How can our churches reach these people?

Shaping the Journey of Emerging Adults 
Richard Dunn and Jana Sundene (IVP Books , 2012)

Between adolescence and adulthood is a new stage of life: emerging adulthood. Those in their twenties and early thirties find themselves in transition. This “provisional adulthood” is a time of identity exploration and instability in which one’s vocation, purpose, relationships and spirituality are all being renegotiated. Many emerging adults lose sight of God and experience significant confusion and brokenness. Others unexpectedly reconnect with the Christian faith and seek deeper discipleship, yet lack helpful mentoring and direction. Rick Dunn and Jana Sundene offer concrete guidance for those who shepherd and care for emerging adults. Dunn and Sundene emphasize relational rhythms of discernment, intentionality and reflection to meet emerging adults where they are at and then to walk with them further into the Christlife.

Spiritual Formation in Emerging Adulthood:  Practical Theology for College and Young Adult Ministry
David Setran & Chris Kiesling (Baker Academic, 2013) 

The shift from adolescence to adulthood, a recently identified stage of life called "emerging adulthood," covers an increasing span of years in today's culture (roughly ages 18-30) due to later marriages and extended education. During this prolonged stage of exploration and self-definition, many young adults drift away from the church. Here two authors--both veteran teachers who are experienced in young adult and campus ministry - address this new and urgent field of study, offering a Christian perspective on what it means to be spiritually formed into adulthood. They provide a "practical theology" for emerging adult ministry and offer insight into the key developmental issues of this stage of life, including identity, intimacy and sexuality, morality, church involvement, spiritual formation, vocation, and mentoring. The book bridges the gap between academic and popular literature on emerging adulthood and offers concrete ways to facilitate spiritual formation among emerging adults.

Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation
Carol Howard Merritt (Alban Institute, 2007)

Carol Howard Merritt has written a book that approaches young adults from the perspective of their inclusion in an intergenerational congregation. She describes the financial, social, and familial situations that affect many young adults today, and how churches can provide a safe, supportive place for young adults to nurture relationships and foster spiritual growth. There are few places left in society that allow for real intergenerational connections to be made, yet these connections are vital for any church that seeks to reflect the fullness of the body of Christ. Using the metaphor of a tribe to describe the close bonds that form when people of all ages decide to walk together on their spiritual journeys, Merritt casts a vision of the church that embraces the gifts of all members while reaching out to those who might otherwise feel unwelcome. By breaking down artificial age barriers and building up intentional relationships, congregations can provide a space for all people to connect with God, each other, and the world.

Who's Got Time?: Spirituality for a Busy Generation
Teri Peterson and Amy Fetterman (Chalice Press, 2013)

Meetings. Doctor appointments. Carpools. Job interviews. Not to mention meals and sleep—and more meetings. Who’s got time for anything else? Where does daily devotion time fit into our 24/7/365 living? In Who’s Got Time? Spirituality for a Busy Generation, Teri Peterson and Amy Fetterman suggest new ways of incorporating spiritual practices into the busy lives of generations X, Y, and beyond. Whether you’re a student or working several jobs just to stay afloat, single or with a family, or just seeking something else you can’t quite put your finger on, the authors help you find the holy in the mundane. Contemporary, hip, conversational, and practical, Who’s Got Time? helps you find time to feed your soul.