Young Professionals – The Lowedown

Not long ago, I was on a Zoom call with Edgar (not his real name), a Young adult I’ve had interactions with for the last couple of years.

Edgar was frustrated as things weren’t going the way he had planned. Already in his late 20’s, Edgar was still trying to figure out what his ultimate career would be. One option he was contemplating was grad school, the idea being that it would potentially set him up for a specific job/career he was interested in. But he wasn’t sure he wanted to spend more money on education given how much he had spent on his undergraduate degree and how little he had to show for it.

Many Young Adults are frustrated and disillusioned. Photo by Road Trip with Raj on Unsplash

Edgar was disillusioned. He told me that he felt like he had been sold a bill of goods. Education was supposed to be the avenue to success and happiness and yet, with mounting school loans and no solid, long-term career prospects, Edgar realized that his degree was not the golden ticket he had been promised.

Edgar is not alone. Today’s Young Adults are disillusioned about a lot of things. They are disillusioned about the economy and the “American Dream”. Especially here in California, many of the Young Adults we encounter have no expectation of ever being able to own a home.

They’re disillusioned with the world. They see inequity and injustice and they struggle to make sense of it all.

And many Young Adults are disillusioned with the Church, failing to see its relevance to modern culture.

Our culture is drifting further from its historic Christian roots and each new generation is experiencing less and less influence from traditional Christian teachings and morals.

Young Adults today have grown up in a post-Christian culture, meaning they know very little about who Jesus is or what Christianity is about. Spiritually, they are a blank slate.

Young Adults are increasingly irreligious in their views. Photo by Mitchel Lensink on Unsplash

About 1/3 of Young adults identify as atheist, agnostic or none. They’re not necessarily hostile to Christianity or religion, but they simply have no religious beliefs – it’s simply not important to them.

About 2/3 of Young adults identify as Christian but only 4% have a Christian ethic. Simply put, they consider themselves Christians but their lives don’t necessarily follow traditional Christian moral values.

This is not surprising since only about 6 out of every 10 Young adults believe the Bible is true.

Our culture has been heavily impacted and influenced by postmodernism, which is a philosophy that emphasizes a person’s personal experience as the supreme factor in determining truth. The end result is people who may identify with the Christian faith in a general sense but when it comes to moral values, their own experiences and preferences take priority over any biblical standards, which may be regarded as archaic and outdated.

How do we minister to people who are disillusioned and feeling hopeless when faced with the realities of life?

One of our strategies and priorities is to help Young Adults see that God is ultimately our only source of hope and His Word provides guidelines for successfully navigating life.

One of the ways we’re accomplishing this is by providing premarital mentoring to young Adult couples who are preparing for marriage.

With so much brokenness in families and marriage today, we’ve found Young Adults are eager to hear how biblical principles can help them change the trajectory of their relationships and family history by providing guidance and direction for fulfilling and life-long marriages.

Dave led a group of Young adults through a 9 month curriculum on Biblical Stewardship and Money Management

Another avenue for helping Young Adults see the value of God’s Word in their daily lives is by helping them adopt biblical principles for stewardship and money management. Unfortunately, our consumer and debt-oriented culture doesn’t teach Young adults how to handle money responsibly and many Young adults cite finances as a major source of stress and anxiety in their lives.

Young adults are looking for alternative solutions to experience financial security and experience prosperity. Many are surprised yet excited to learn that the Bible provides incredibly sound advice and wisdom on how to handle money and honor God through our finances and by applying biblical principles to our financial situations, we can experience financial peace.

Ministering to a generation that has become further removed from any biblical foundation is certainly challenging. But the Lord continues to move, directing us to Young Adults who are eager to know God and follow Him.

Thank you for your partnership that allows us to help Young adults begin to experience real spiritual life as they learn to apply God’s word to their lives.

Have you ever asked for a recommendation for something, like an electrician, a mechanic, an accountant or something else, only to get a response from a friend who says, “I know a guy.” Perhaps you’re the one who knows a guy and have recommended someone’s services to someone else.

Recently, I was meeting with my friend Vince, a Young Professional who shared a funny story.

Vince is a Young Professional who is pursuing his passion to help teenagers succeed academically via his own tutoring business (vincecanhelp@outlook.com).

Vince was manning an informational table at church with another Young Adult named Wyat, whom he didn’t know. They started talking about the challenges they were facing in this post-college, single phase of life.

“It seems as if most churches are geared more towards families”, one of them said.

“True. Young Adults like us are often overlooked and under-served”, the other remarked.

“There is this one guy I know though, who seems to care about Young adults and has really helped me out.”

“Wait. You know a guy? I know a guy too. Who’s your guy? My guy is named Dave Lowe.”

“Dude…that’s my guy too! How do you know Dave?”

Scene from Ocean’s 11: “You know a guy?”

I love this story for many reasons.

First, it confirms the unique challenges Young Professionals experience as they seek to find spiritual resources and mentors to help them navigate the unique challenges they face.

Secondly, it shows the amazing power of networking, as I met both Vince and Wyat through a common connection they both had, though they didn’t actually know each other.

Third, it’s fun being thought of as “the guy” who cares about and ministers to the unique challenges of Young Adults. Actually, that is what we’re hoping for and trusting God to develop in our ministry.

Wyat is a recent graduate of UC Irvine, working as a Phlebotomist while he contemplates going to Medical School.

I was introduced to Vince last year through a mutual connection. When we met, I learned that Vince is from New York and received an appointment to West Point but opted instead to attend the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he received a degree in engineering. After working a few years for a big engineering firm, Vince decided to step out in faith to pursue his real passion, helping high schoolers succeed academically.

It turns out Vince is highly skilled at teaching young people just about any STEM subject you can imagine. He not only helps high schoolers improve in the classroom, but Vince is also proficient in helping teens boost their standardized test scores and navigate University Admissions processes.

Starting your own tutoring business can be extremely rewarding emotionally, but difficult financially. This is especially true for Vince, who not only supports himself, but is the sole provider for his mother.

Like any startup, increasing your client base and getting the word out is always a challenge.

Saul Goodman (from Breaking Bad): “Let’s just say I know a guy who knows a guy…..who knows another guy.”

Not long ago, I saw someone post on Nextdoor that they needed a recommendation for a tutor for their daughter, who was struggling in her Physics course. I was able to respond, “I know a guy”…and I shared Vince’s information.

When I met Vince, after sharing his humorous story about his interaction with Wyat, he thanked me for connecting me with the person from Nextdoor. He’s been tutoring this young woman and her understanding and test results have improved dramatically.

So if you find someone who needs help academically, you can say, “I know a guy” (vincecanhelp@outlook.com), or as Saul Goodman from the show Breaking Bad famously said, “I know a guy who knows a guy…”

And if you know a Young Adult who needs coaching or spiritual mentoring, you definitely “know a guy….and a gal.”

Please pray for Vince as he trusts the Lord to provide for his needs by growing his business, and pray for us as we seek to continue to serve the needs of Young Professionals in Orange County and beyond.