After opening with songs of praise to the Lord the one day conference was introduced by Phil Stone, Sunday School Director for the Baptist State Convention. Jason Hayes was the speaker. He's authored a number of books; most recently co-authoring, Lost and Found, a research-based book about the young adult age group ranging from 18 to 39. Jason is on staff at Lifeway ministries serving in a position emphasizing the young adult crowd. He also serves as a strategist for Threads Media.
Jason stated three main themes young people deal with: pain, life struggles, and insecurity. From their research for the book it was learned the fastest growing ministry is recovery from addiction. Through the bulk of their research the authors discovered four distinct "markers" associated with young adults: 1) community, 2) depth, 3) social responsibilities, and 4) connection. This article shares what Jason shared from his research.
Trust, purpose, and meaningful relationships make up community. Jason found that what young adults are looking for are characteristics that can be found in God and in what the Church is called to be. To accomplish this connection Jason presented a change in the traditional model as we the Church tend to follow: