College Campus Ministries leader offers 6 necessary changes 'for reaching the next generation'

A director for a California-based ministry that seeks to evangelize college students offered six important adjustments he believes American churches should undertake when reaching young people.

G'Joe Joseph of Campus Outreach San Diego out of Redeemer Church in Encinitas, wrote a column published by The Gospel Coalition titled "6 Needed Shifts for Reaching the Next Generation."

"By no means are we proposing that we shift away from clear biblical teaching on important truths such as our legal guilt before God," clarified Joseph.

"We are merely saying that shifting intuitions may require new starting places in evangelistic conversations and discipleship relationships."

The first shift Joseph advised was to move away from the assumption that a preacher's audience is going to be knowledgeable about the Bible.

"At least on the West Coast, the days have long past when one could start talking about Jesus and assume people knew his identity and claims," wrote Joseph.

To justify this point, Joseph pointed to Acts 17, where the Apostle Paul used different methods when communicating the Gospel to non-Jewish audiences.

"The apostle Paul, who was quick to jump into the message of Jesus with Jewish audiences, shifted his approach when speaking to the unprepared Athenians," Joseph explained.

"Unlike his typical messages laden with Old Testament references and Jewish assumptions, he was patient, contemplative, and slow with unprepared audiences."

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