symposium

 
 
DISCOVERING GOD WITH AN ATTITUDE
by Jolynn R. Fisher
 
 
"Attitude, the very gift God gave to [Generation X] is the gift we're trying to take away. It's that very attitude which is needed to get through to this sinful world." With that statement from Jose Rojas, North American Division Youth and Young Adult Ministry Director, the generation X symposium (gXs) exploded into Tuesday night.
 
More than 125 youth/young adult ministry professionals, family life ministers, educators and laypersons from around the world met in San Diego for gXs November 18 and 19. The countries represented were: Canada, Austria, Cook Islands, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and United States. For those who didn't speak English the programs were translated into French.
 
Allan Martin, dre.am VISION ministries co-founder and himself an Xer, planned the meetings which preceded Youth Specialties' National Youthworkers Convention, a massive Christian youth ministries convention held biannually.
 
Through its wide range of presenters, the symposium focused on provoking new thoughts and challenging previously held assumptions regarding Generation X. Instead of rehashing all the research and analytical studies done on Xers, gXs participants were challenged to fashion specialized tools and locally relevant strategies in reaching pre-believing Xers and in nurturing/empowering Adventist young adults.
 
"The purpose of gXs was to foster a team approach to young adult ministry and outreach that could go beyond the event into actual praxis," said Martin. "Our hope was to spark young adult ministry synergy through spiritual and experiential interaction among the participants, to deepen empathy with Xers, and to seek Christ in the midst of the journey...ours and theirs. I am elated with how the sparks flew at gXs and am eager to see the fire grow."
 
Featured speakers were: Janet Lea (Bernardi) Waldo and William P. Mahedy, co-authors of "A Generation Alone, Xers Making a Place in the World"; Steve Daily, La Sierra University campus chaplain; and Mike Yaconelli, owner of Youth Specialties.
 
Waldo and Mahedy spoke tag-team style about the premise of their book, their insights from ministering with young adults, and practical ways it could be applied in working with Xers. Waldo concluded her presentation saying even though Generation X as a whole has more going against it then any other generation, they also have more opportunities then any other generation. She challenged the Xers present to view their supposed drawbacks as unique opportunities. She called delegates to cultivating relationships of trust and integrity with non-believing Xers, helping fill the God space that they unknowingly or knowingly have.
 
Shasta Emery, Adventist Intercollegiate Association President, facilitated focus groups Tuesday evening. She was joined by La Sierra University students who took time away from classes to meet with the delegates at gXs. In small group meetings with the individual LSU students, gXs delegates were able to bounce ideas and opinions off actual Xers in hopes of finding viable options for reaching their youth and young adults.
 
Mike Yaconelli, co-founder of Youth Specialties, presented the Wednesday morning devotional encouraging the gXs delegates to work with the Xer need to explore life and find purpose. He shared a story of a young Xer who dropped out of college, much to her parents chagrin, and spent three years living first in Hawaii, then in a remote ski resort, and finally living on a mission boat in South Africa. Yaconelli asserted how her parents were beside themselves with worry for her future. As her stint on the mission boat drew to a close she wrote home of her experience and how God had been providentially present throughout her quest for identity.
 
"It was then we knew our daughter had found what she was looking for," said Yaconelli. "She had found God."
 
Primary sponsors for gXs included the Association of Family Life Professionals, the Association of Youth Ministry Professionals, and dre.am VISION ministries.
 
An exceptional resource generated by the symposium is the gXs notebook which includes the presentation outlines, an extensive Generation X bibliography, and a wide array of Xer related articles, resources and reviews. A limited number of gXs notebooks are available by calling PlusLine, 800-SDA-PLUS. A nominal charge of $10.00 can be placed on Visa or MasterCard to cover the cost of the notebook and shipping/handling charges. Contact Elvina Wolcott, gXs registrar and PlusLine consultant for more information.

An Xer herself, Jolynn R. Fisher is the Assistant Communications Director for the Pacific Union Conference