An Intentional Welcoming Church

As Gretchen is (stuck) on the road, we thought it would be fun to interview her oldest daughter, Silje, about what it's like being a college kid and looking for a church. We asked for questions from Twitter followers, mostly surrounding how churches can reach out to and encourage young adults.

Silje talks about the importance of being intentional, not just in regard to reaching young adults, but show the young adults that the church is intentional in all that it does, from thinking through how the sacraments are done, how the bulletin is laid out, and how the church is laid out. She talks about the need to lay down your burdens at church and hear a gospel rich sermon, because the long study and work hours just make everything too much. We talk about the importance of beauty, and fostering an environment where questions are welcome. 

We have a couple of disclaimers in this post: 1)the sound quality is off, as Gretchen was away from the podcast equipment, and 2) Silje is just one kind of college student and college students and their needs and views vary just as much as any other demographic. 

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