We Get Mail!

I received the following email and was trying to figure out how to respond:

“I am new to the area… and am a young adult. I was wondering what kind of ministries you offer for young adults and roughly how many young adults attend your church?”

So here are a few responses I’m working on:

1) Define “young”

2) Maybe I should lie –

“Oh, we have tons of stuff to do & hundreds of really cool, hip happening folks just like you so you never have to get out of the comfort zone of your own generational sub-culture’s assumptions & prejudices – we even have free Wi-Fi!

3) Or be honest –

“No, we probably have little that would interest you – unless you treasure hearing preaching & teaching grounded in the gospel and based on the whole counsel of God, singing old hymns of the faith & new songs of the faith, and learning from people who have been on the planet longer than you have and developing relationships that will encourage you, stretch you and help you be a better follower of Jesus. You see some of us have been following Jesus a long time and have the scars and fruit to show it. We believe that God calls the church to be multi-generational and not age-segregated, that it’s not healthy for people just to be with those “just like them” all the time, that doing so leads to strange mutations of belief and opinion that do not reflect the fullness of the church as God intended it to be.  Your inquiry also seems to indicate that you may have no concern about what we believe or practice as a congregation. What if we are smiling bunch of heretics who intentionally cater to young adults with lots of fun and things to keep you busy so you never get around to considering what we offer is the truth or spiritual poison until it’s too late? There ought to be more to your criteria for choosing a church than if there are people one’s own age and much to do –such as ‘is the gospel preached and lived and will I become a more faithful & fruitful follower of Jesus as a result of the relationships I form?’

What would you say?