EA Resources | Tag | ministry

McDonalds faces ‘Millennial’ Problem

Posted on October 27, 2014 by G. David Boyd 0

I am a pretty big fan of McDonalds. I was actually there early this morning. Sitting at a hightop table working on my computer while sipping my large sweet tea and making good use of their free wifi.

So I am sad to hear the news that McDonalds sales are slumping due to the majority of Millennials who prefer other restaurants (however, I won’t be losing any sleep over it). Here is the article. McDonalds must make changes and shift with the changing culture if it wants to stay at the top of the industry.

While it is not important to me whether or not Millennials are going to McDonalds, it does bother me to know that so many emerging adults are leaving the Church behind. I believe that a spiritual community is foundation for a follower of Christ.

This week, I am consulting with a church in Austin, MN. This church has a desire to reach the Millennials in their town, and I look forward to how God is going to speak to us.

If your church is interested in reaching the Millennials in your community but doesn’t know where to begin, please let me know. I would love the opportunity to come alongside your group as we seek to reach a new generation.

Dr. G. David Boyd is the Founder and Managing Director of EA Resources. If you are interested in having him speak to your community about Millennals, and how your church can build a ministry to emerging adults, you can contact him at gdavid@earesources.org.

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Six Steps to Naming Your Young Adult Ministry. (Includes 40 Name Possibilities)

Posted on September 15, 2014 by G. David Boyd 3

I want to admit that the reason I am doing this post is because I know that people spend more time researching online for ministry names than researching how to ensure that it will be healthy. Buried within the church is a false belief that image is more important that behavior. We have forgotten that, “A rose by any other name is still a rose.” This desire is driven by hope that a fancy name and graphic will cause people to show up.

So to feed your misguided need, I have included over forty possible names for your ministry; however, I will warn you that some of them should NEVER be used. After getting a few ideas, I hope that you will look deeper at the other resources provided, and join in the discussion as we try to empower the church to help emerging adults.

Web 2.0 Logo Collage from Flickr via Wylio

Six Steps to Naming Your Ministry.

1. Pick a normal household item and put “the” in front of it.

Examples include: the livingroom, the porch, the green room, the couch, the table, the upper room.

2. Pick any ordinary item and put “the” in front of it.

Examples include: the element, the branch, the well, the gathering, the flock, the bridge, the oasis, the river, the journey, the pathway. Double points are scored if the word is used in the Bible.

3. Revive the 90’s, and make up an Acronym.

Examples include: YAM – Young Adult Ministry or YAF – Young Adult Fellowship, or C&C – College and Career. I am just kidding. Please do not. If you are tempted, please remember those churches who used the acrostic for Adult Sunday School.

4. Mix a portion of your church name with words like: explosion, collision, point, power, life, limit, beyond, limitless, path.

5. Search the Web for what other churches already are using.

A quick search for me brought me to: Mosaic, Tapestry, Epic, Lifeline, Anchor, Catalyst, Lead, Ignite, T&T (Twenties and Thirties), Ethos, Rooted, Overflow, Driven, Resonate, Savy, Reach, Reality, Renew, Core, and Illuminate.

6. If these don’t work, try something random like…

Your favorite trendy word + A color you are wearing + An item you ate for breakfast

My results were… awkward blue bagels. No, I am serious. Give it a chance – the marketing possibilities are endless.

Alright, so the last one didn’t work.

Maybe we should be focusing not as much on what it is called, but what we do.

Maybe we should rely on grabbing attention because of lives that have been changed.

Maybe a strong name is not the source of our power.

Maybe a trendy name is not a replacement for being relevant.

Thanks for coming to our site –

Please check out our other FREE Resources for churches.

Dr. G. David Boyd is the Founder and Managing Director of EA Resources. He has a passion to help churches build healthy ministries to young adults. If you want to see change at your church, contact him at gdavid@earesources.org.

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A Guide for Setting Expectations on Emerging Adults in Your Church Community

Posted on August 29, 2014 by G. David Boyd 0

Thank you for believing in emerging adults! May God guide you as you seek to set expectations on emerging adults in your community.

Before you begin:

Include church leadership from the highest level.
Include emerging adults in the discussion (participation will cause ownership).
Educate participants on the current challenges and characteristics of emerging adults.
Hand out discussion questions before the meeting.

Discuss Questions:

What characteristics do we desire for our emerging adults to have? How are we going to help them develop those characteristics?
Is it our goal to provide an extended “youth group” experience that will keep them interested in church?
How will we assimilate them into the adult population and activity of our community?
What are the needs of emerging adults in our community? How are we specifically designed to meet any of those needs?
What roles do we desire for our emerging adults to have within our congregation? How are we going to identity and create space for them within our community to help them fit those roles?
What kind of relationships are important for emerging adults? What can we do to provide ways for these to be established?
What problems are emerging adults facing? How can we empower them as they face these obstacles?

Before you leave:

What are some actions steps to take because of your discussion? Who is taking responsibility for each step?
When will we meet again to check in about progress in this area of our ministry?
Are there any key players that were not able to attend, but need to brought into this discussion?

This is just the beginning of issues that need discussed by churches. Add your thoughts or questions to the article by commenting below.

Dr. G. David Boyd is the Founder and Managing Director of EA Resources. If he can help your community minister to emerging adults, you can contact him at gdavid@earesources.org.

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