By Jonathan DuHamel, Originally published by Jon on June 24, 2023

If you are reading this, I am assuming that you find yourself in the difficult situation of having few or very few young families attending your church regularly. It seems as though we need young families to reach young families, and so without young families, we are stuck. Although it may be more difficult, it is still very possible. Below I will give you just two things you can do that will hopefully help you reach young families in your community.

1. Inspire Your People

I was working as a Youth Pastor and was told by the Lead Pastor that I had to work my normal 9-5 in the office. Before this, I was the type of pastor that would take students out to McDonalds during the day, coach sports teams, and volunteer in schools, but this time I wasn't allowed to do these things. I was angry, more so at God than my leader, as my passion is for evangelism. God said something clearly to me as I drove a little too fast on my way to work one morning. He told me that I needed to train my students to reach students. So, although the ministry only had a few students in it, that's what I did. I emphasized a few things in that ministry that now continue to follow me in every ministry setting. These are those few things.

Experience: In order to inspire people to share their faith, they need to be experiencing God for themselves. Powerful, heartfelt worship, times of prayer, and opportunities to serve the larger community as a church community.
Discipleship: I had to teach my students the Word of God and how it practically applies to them and the world around them.
The Work of the Spirit: To this day, I pray the same prayer before I preach/teach. I pray that God would speak to the people's hearts. Every time I do this, I talk for less than 30 seconds to emphasize the need for the Holy Spirit to share the Gospel.

As I emphasized these three things, students would invite their friends that were asking hard questions and seeking more than an event or club. The friends they invited were looking for purpose and finding it in Jesus. Although my story was with a Youth Ministry and not for a whole church, I have witnessed this work for other leaders, and I believe that as people experience God for themselves, are discipled, and see and rely on the work of the Holy Spirit, they are driven to share the love and power of God with those they interact with.

Although you may not have younger people in your church to reach those young people, your people may still possibly interact with younger generations at work and in the community. If your church is full of retirees with no connections to a younger generation (I've been there), the second is just as important as the first.

2. Serve the Community You Want to Reach

Churches and Pastors have become so bogged down with programming. I work as a Children's Pastor now in a medium-sized church, and just my ministry alone has three programs on a Sunday (x2 as we have two services), a midweek, a kids Bible study, a toddler ministry, plus monthly family events, and a couple of camps. If you're serving in a church as the lone ranger (done that, too), being program-heavy is not feasible. So, pick one need within your community that greatly impacts young families. This could be (but is not limited to) cost of living/finances, education, or single-parent homes. Pick just one need that impacts those you want to reach, and fill that need. Maybe it's providing free tutoring, an after-school program for kids, a food bank, or free babysitting once a month. Do it consistently (with those who are older serving the ministry), and as your people are driven to share Christ's love, people will, by the grace of God, gravitate to your church.

You're not alone. Reading these two points may be discouraging to you. You have been trying for months, years even to draw people in, but those sheep God has entrusted to you have no fire, no life, no desire to reach a younger generation. You need to know that you are not alone. For a short six months, I was a Lead Pastor in a church that said with their mouths, "We want to reach our community," but didn't really mean it. If you find yourself in that position, talk to a friend, or if you have no one to talk to, click here and send me a message. I want to encourage you and pray alongside you.

Jonathan DuHamel is the Children & Young Families Pastor of Lacombe Pentecostal Church. He is married to his wife Heather and has 3 kids. For fun, he likes to binge-watch shows with Heather, play video games, and coach football. He is not a Stampeders or Elks fan but is a true Toronto Argonauts fan (you can blame his upbringing in Ontario for that).
Jon has been doing ministry with kids since he was one, but most recently has spent time working as a Camp Director, Educator, and Pastor. His passion is for young people to experience the life-altering presence of God.