The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast CNLP 166 | Chris Durso on Culture, Justin Bieber and Reaching Young Adults in Hard to Reach Areas
7 snips
Nov 14, 2017 
Chris Durso, a New York City church leader and author who leads young adult ministry in Queens and Brooklyn. He talks about building authentic young adult communities, using music and culture as currency, balancing passionate services with accessible worship, reaching multicultural urban neighborhoods, and how relationships opened doors to cultural influencers like Justin Bieber.
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Reinstate Spiritual Disciplines For Growth
- Do keep spiritual disciplines and leader rituals in young adult ministry; removing prayer and leader gatherings reduced impact.
- Chris reinstated Friday prayer/fasting and leaders' meetings and quickly grew from 100 to 500 attendees.
Turn Young Adults Into Serving Mentors
- Do create small groups and invite young adults to serve so they move from consumers to contributors.
- Chris called groups 'tribes' for youth and asked young adults to serve as youth leaders, which built mentorship and ownership.
Use Local Culture As Church Currency
- Embracing local culture and creative expression makes church feel relevant without compromising the gospel.
- In Queens they used DJs, hip-hop, open mic nights and culturally diverse leadership to let attendees express gifts in church.
