Naomi Schaefer Riley researched congregations and organizations that have been successful in engaging the "nones" and distilled some lessons for faith leaders.
Do …
Treat young adults as young adults. Give them responsibility.
Go local. Focus on a neighborhood and getting people who are nearby to get involved.
Include singles. With the rising age of marriage, we can’t have all of our messages in church just for people who are married or who are about to get married.
Be American. This came out of my interviews with Muslim young adults. Many religious institutions in the U.S. have an old-world feel culturally.
Get new people to come at the same time. It’s a little less intimidating than coming to a new place alone.
Don’t …
Go overboard with technology. I’m not sure that the payoff is really there for the money.
Invest in slick marketing campaigns. These young people are very savvy.
Segregate this generation. Eventually, we have to come to terms with the fact that we want them integrated into a multigenerational institution.
Underestimate them. Just because these young people are living in their parents’ basements, it doesn’t mean that they’re children.
