Discover the 7 biggest young adult ministry trends of 2026 from our national survey of ministry leaders. Download the free State of Young Adult Ministry report.

8 Must-Read Books Every Young Leader Needs in 2026. If you want to lead with clarity, courage, and conviction in a chaotic world, these books will shape your mind, strengthen your faith, and sharpen your leadership.

If you lead a young adult ministry in 2026… pay attention! These are 8 things actually working right now — not theory, not trends, but fruit we’re seeing across the country. Leading young adults can feel isolating — you don’t have to do it alone.

It’s easy to overlook young adults. They’re often told to “wait their turn” or “grow up first.” But history—and the Bible—remind us that young people are far from powerless. In fact, some of the most world-changing movements started with young adults.

When it comes to young adult ministry, we haven’t invented anything. The focus is to go make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples. However, there are some things most successful young adult ministries do. Here are 10 steps to launching an effective young adult ministry:

Young adult ministry isn’t a church within a church, it’s not just youth 2.0, and it’s not a social club. There is a move of God in the next generation and we’re here to support Gen Z and Gen Alpha - because they need it now more than ever before!

In light of everything happening in our culture both positive (from church attendance rising among Gen Z and Millennials, Bible Sales being up 22% over last year) and negatively (like violence on college campuses, the murder of Charlie Kirk, school shootings and so many challenges in our world… there’s never been such a greater opportunity to invest strategically into the faith of the next generation!

What if I told you that Amazon is doing a better job of reaching young adults than most churches?

I know — that’s a bold statement. But if we take a closer look at what Amazon is doing intentionally to reach the next generation, there's a lot we can learn as ministry leaders, pastors, and church leaders.

Learn how to ride a tandem bike together. You both need to pedal at the

same time, making sure you are heading the same direction and ready for an

adventurous ride in ministry. One can’t be pedaling while the other is slamming

on the brakes because you will both go flying off the bike. If you are called to

ministry with a spouse, you should be in cadence with one another. Never leave

each other in the ditch or try to drive the other one off the road. When both

spouses are pedaling in unison, there’s a dynamic synergy that is greater than

1+1=2.

Here are 3 primary factors that form lasting faith shared by Matt Markins via the youngadultstoday podcast

Join us this May 17th-19th, 2024 in Alexandria, MN for the Young Adult WKND!

96% of Gen Z is missing a biblical worldview. This should concern us as leaders...

How can we effectively understand, engage, reach, and lead them towards Christ? 
The Alpha generation by the way is made up of those born in the year 2010 and after. Which means the oldest among Gen Alpha are 14 years old, just 2 years away from earning college credit in high school, and they will be full blown young adults in just 4 years. Here are 3 key traits of the Alpha Generation shared by Dr. Rob Hoskins via the youngadultstoday podcast:

On March 2-3 rd , over 60 leaders gathered at Zoe Church for the 4 th annual youngadultstoday conference. These leaders and their teams are serving 18–30-year old’s on their college campuses and in their churches.

Micah Kennealy unpacks 3 things to aim at in leadership and 3 things to avoid…

Have you ever asked the question: “What Does a Healthy Christian Relationship Look Like?” That’s what this article is all about. There’s five things to look for in that other potential partner before you hold hands or commit to dating:

It’s hard to believe that this month marks 3 years of recording the youngadultstoday podcast! What started as a hobby 3 years ago with a dream to resource young adult ministry leaders has grown to a library of over 150 episodes. We are also now launched as a full blown 501c3 nonprofit ministry! A lot of times people ask us if we have a favorite episode or conversation, and they all have been incredible. Here’s some of the most downloaded conversations of all time: