Churches tailor services for Gen Xers
By Jean Chow
Advertiser Staff Writer
Once a week, the cafeteria at Moanalua High School is filled with more than 300 people, dressed in everything from shorts and rubber slippers to business attire, hands lifted high, singing praises to God. A message is given, a collection taken.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
But with three projection screens, a light-and-sound system, a band complete with guitar, bass, keyboard and drums, and twentysomething members of the congregation dancing to the rock-tinged music, the scene is a far cry from the stereotypical image of Christian worship.
New Hope Christian Fellowship's Xtreme Ministry targets Generation X with a full band and informal gatherings.
Unconventional to some, but the music, the lack of formal liturgy, the casual dress and the do-your-thing style of worship have proven to be successful for many churches seeking to draw in members of Generations X and Y.
Targeting Xers
This particular service is an Xtreme rally, a service created just for Generation X. Sponsored by New Hope Christian Fellowship, the rallies target people 18 to 40 years old and draw attendees from more than 100 churches on O'ahu.
Xtreme is not the only one of its kind.
Over the past several years, Gen X-targeted churches, ministries and fellowships have been popping up all across the nation and Hawai'i churches have come to realize members of the demographic, once labeled as apathetic slackers, are anything but.
"Gen Xers are not satisfied with the status quo. They're willing to work hard, try new things, keep reaching for something that 'works,'" said Lynn Kelly, Xtreme discipleship director.
For Gen Xers, searching for something that works often means "thinking out of the box" and experimenting with different ministry styles to reach their peers.
While Gen X ministries vary in style, some common elements include an informal atmosphere, a nonhierarchical leadership, an aversion to the trappings of "church" and an emphasis on building community in small groups, experts say.
• What: New Hope Christian Fellowship • When: 7 p.m. Thursdays, Moanalua High School Cafeteria • Information: 842-4242, Ext. 202
"Gen Xers want true spiritual values, and that's the most important thing to them as compared to form and formalities," said Larry Engel, a pastor at Waianae Seventh-day Adventist Church, which hosts its own Gen X group. "The traditional church sometimes works more with committees and the decision-making process — these guys see a need and just go for it."
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Xtreme rally
But along with ministering specifically to Gen Xers come the challenges of holding the attention and strengthening the faith of the post-boom generation.
"Their interactive style, taste of music — all that made our traditional service too low-key and too boring, especially for some of the new believers," said Jay Jarman, an associate pastor at Kaimuki Christian Church.
Different focus
The church's Gen X-targeted weekly meeting — which is not called a service because that sounds "too religious" — started in March when campus ministries from University of Hawai'i at Manoa expressed a desire to form a relationship with a local church. The group currently serves less than 30 Gen Xers in the 500-member church, but Jarman expects the number to increase to about 75-100 when the ministry officially launches in October.
"The campus ministry staff asked, 'Can't we do something else that would be for (the students), but more lively, more exciting and more focused on where they're at in life?'" said Jarman.
In an attempt to do just that, many Gen X ministries across the nation have incorporated modern, upbeat music to liven up worship, drama and skits to illustrate important messages and technology to further understanding of Jesus. For example, a church in Louisville, Ken., recently held a baptism service in which a DVD player was used to show images of icons from the Russian film "Andrei Rublyov" while the baptism was going on.
"(Xtreme rallies) are a lot faster moving and we think on multiple levels — visual, auditory, relational," Kelly said.
Not a typical service
Anne Maeshiro, 20, has attended Xtreme for just about a year and said that the Gen X-targeted messages, which are often more life-applicable than doctrinal, can seem a little watered down as compared to a strict biblical interpretation, but these entry-level messages are a way to reach out to non-Christians and to help them understand. While this might seem a dangerous trend, especially for these largely conservative, fundamentalist churches, pastors say the mainstream body is highly supportive of the outreach, knowing that "baby Christians" need time to grow mature in the faith, and tackle its more difficult mysteries.
"Usually a sermon is a one-way communication, but this is really a community searching together to see what God and Jesus means in our lives. Everyone has insights and we learn from each other," Jarman said
Some ministries also hold small group meetings, Bible study groups, and other events in addition to the weekly large meetings.
