Today's Young Adults Session

Preparation

• Look through the comic strips in your newspaper and magazines to find funny illustrations that answer the question, what does it mean to be a young adult? Cut them out and prepare them for sharing with your participants.
  
  
• Borrow a copy of demographic studies that have been done for your church community. Prepare a summary of information from the report that has implications for young adults. If your church does not have such a study, assist your pastor or staff person in getting a study from your Baptist state convention office. (Ask for the Scan US office.)

Reflect and Practice

1. As group participants arrive, share the comic strips with them.
   
   
2. Open the discussion with prayer.
   
   
3. Distribute copies of the summary of the demographic study of your church community. Ask, "What implications do you see for our young adult classes and groups?" Continue the discussion about what your study group could do to help your church respond to the church community. For example, did you find a nearby ethnic group that needs a church family? Did you find that your community has a significant number of single young adults?
   
   
4. Pair group members to select one of the primary needs of young adults. Ask each pair to present creatively one way teachers and leaders can meet that need. After 10 minutes, begin the presentations. After each presentation, spend a few minutes reflecting on how the young adults in their groups express these needs.
   
   
5. Conclude this session by making a list of implications for teachers and leaders to consider for their classes or groups as a result of this session.
   
   
6. Close in prayer. Remind participants to read the section for the next session.