Here is a list of curriculums for emerging adults. Need some help picking some curriculum? Here are some helpful hints.
If you know of additional resources, please contact me at gdavid@earesources.org.
Dr. G. David Boyd is the founder and managing director of EA Resources, and the EA Network. If he can equip your community to minister to emerging adults, please contact him at gdavid@earesources.org.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Robert Photography. Copyright 2017. www.aaronrobertphotography.com
As someone who has taught thousands of Sunday School and bible studies, I know how a good curriculum can make or break an evening. When I launched a small group for emerging adults, it was difficult to find something that was both age appropriate and well-written. There is currently not a huge selection targeted to young adults, but I believe the number will grow as churches realize the unique challenges facing emerging adults.
Remember that curriculum is never a finished product. If your first look at the curriculum is while you are opening your group in prayer (I might know from previous experience.), then you are in trouble. Curriculum is a tool to help you craft your lesson. Never present curriculum to your group, but use curriculum as a tool to create something crafted specifically for your community.
Become a student of emerging adults. If you already possess a knowledge of the characteristics and challenges of emerging adulthood, then you can take any curriculum designed for adults, and use it for your group. If the rest of the church is doing a specific bible study together, then include your group. Using the same curriculum, can build bridges between emerging adults and the rest of the congregation.
Learn to ask great questions. Asking great questions doesn’t happen naturally, but takes time and skill. Asking the wrong question can leave the group silent and afraid to speak. Asking a great question can lead members of your group to share their knowledge, offer a different perspective, share from their personal journey, or demonstrate how to apply the lesson to their lives. If I were training a new small group leader, I would rather see a page full of great questions than pages of notes. Emerging adults want to participate in the group rather than be silent observers. Great questions are a pathway to participation.
Regularly ask your community what curriculum or studies have worked, and what has not worked. Your group members have an opinion, and likely are not afraid to share it. Each group is unique, and rather than mass-market Christianity, they may need something that speaks to your particular community.
Ask yourself the question, “What interests me?” Passion (or a lack thereof) within the teacher always comes out. If you are bored, then how do you expect others to pay attention?
Here is a list of curriculum for emerging adults.
If you know of additional resources, please contact me at gdavid@earesources.org.
Dr. G. David Boyd is the Founder and Managing Director of EA Resources and the EA Network. If he can equip your community to minister to emerging adults, contact him at www.earesources.org.
I had the privilege of meeting with Corey Magstadt who runs a ministry to serve young adults in the community of Chaska, Minnesota. Corey seeks to minister to emerging adults and their parents through his Launch ministry. After years of running support groups for parents, he wrote a resource called, “You are Not Alone.”
Parenting emerging adults while rewarding is sometimes a difficult job. Parents often feel isolated because their words might embarrass either themselves or their adult children. This is especially true in the church where parents often feel as if they have failed. Corey writes, “Sadly, our churches often forget that one of the primary roles of the body of Christ is to be a hospital for sick and broken people.”
A desperate need exists for safe places for parents to share their experiences. Corey envisions small groups that meet on a regular basis to share a part of this journey. I believe that groups could be led by churches, educational institutions, non-profits, or other social organizations who have a passion for emerging adults and their parents.
The book includes a discussion guide for each lesson. Each week begins in a similar fashion including time for each individual to share. Then a different topic is discussed revolving around the specific needs of emerging adults and the transition of their role as parents. A Facilitator’s Guide is available which provides practical advice to launching your own group. It includes supplemental information for each of the 12 sessions.
Corey is the founder of Launch Ministry, a faith-based non-profit organization established to expose emerging adults between 18-25 years old to opportunities that will promote healthy, productive transitions into adulthood. Launch Ministry assists young people in a holistic transition by providing them with tools to develop life skills, opportunities to lead and serve, and by promoting spiritual and character formation. Corey lives in Cologne, MN with his wife Lori, and their children.
You can purchase You are not alone– Particpant’s Guide here.
You can purchase You are not alone- Facilatator’s Guide here.
