In 2016 twelve “innovation hubs” worked with the Center for Congregations to help congregations throughout the country conduct experimental ministries for supporting the spiritual and religious lives of young adults.
For five years, they worked thoughtfully with more than 100 Christian congregations who represented many ecclesial contexts, geographic regions, theological traditions, and racial and ethnic communities. As they conducted these experimental ministries, they worked alongside and with young people. They embraced a willingness to learn from success and failures and to share their experiences broadly with other ministry leaders and young adults.
STAR (Stories, Tools and Resources for Young Adult Ministry) presents the collective insights of the twelve innovation hubs. These insights were identified through an independent evaluation conducted in 2022 by Springtide Research, and they have been curated here under eight themes:
Under each of these eight themes you will find a variety of resources and tools – including podcasts, books, articles, and other materials – as well as inspiring and relatable stories from many ministry contexts. We hope that these stories, tools and resources will help you and many ministry leaders from diverse Christian communities design and implement their own ministries with and for young adults.
You can view resources, learn more about the innovation hubs, get quick access to all the best practices, and listen to real young adults and ministry leaders share their stories.
This website was created and is maintained by the Center for Congregations, an Indiana organization that supports congregations through resource consulting, grantmaking, and education.
The work of the innovation hubs and this website are generously funded by Lilly Endowment, Inc.