I saw this blog post posted on my bishop’s site. After reading it, it really makes sense. Mostly, it is trusting that God is in charge and the Holy Spirit is guiding us, should we choose to respond to the Spirit Of Truth. Take a look, see what you think.
http://careynieuwhof.com/2015/10/5-surprising-characteristics-of-churches-that-are-actually-reaching-the-next-generation/
I think the first two (Passion & Jesus) are the key and that the other three aren’t so much cause as they are effect of the first two. What polish did the fishermen apostles have at the beginning? I don’t know, of course, but I’m guessing not much. What they did have, though, is passion, and plenty of it.
Besides, what have we as a culture been doing the last score of years if not raising our kids to be focused on feelings? It has been too often to the detriment of thinking in my opinion, but nevertheless it has given us a young generation today that responds to emotion as the paramount determiner of value. It only makes sense, then, that passion should be so strong an influence on younger adults.
(To be fair, passion/emotion are influential to older adults too. It’s just that older adults also have life experience that may serve to temper the impact.)
As regards the focus on Jesus… isn’t that why He became incarnate, after all?