Young men are returning to church. That is the headline which is grabbing all the attention right now. But an equally striking trend is unfolding that is not being considered by Christians. Young adults are also returning to live with their parents.
These are the “boomerang kids”, whose parents sent out but have come back. Their number is growing. A survey by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that 18% of 25- to 34-year-olds still lived with their parents. This was more likely among young men (23%) than young women (15%). With 18- to 24-year-olds this is over half.
It’s fantastic that young people want to come to church. But where are they? Many of them will be living in their parents’ home. That means evangelisation of this age group cannot be left to churches in university towns. Every church must ask how to disciple and evangelise people in this stage of life living with parents in their area.
How do we reach postgraduates with the gospel?
With a long history of undergraduate Christian Unions in the UK, it is rather less difficult to start a workplace …