Is shacking-up the next step you should encourage for your young adults?

I grew up in and worked for the church in Australia with the oldest average demographic.

It wasn’t uncommon that I was the eldest of “the youth”, with the next oldest above me at least a decade older. Sometimes significantly more.

But, I was in churches where young adults grew to become members of the church - thus my 100+ posts on the topic.

Usually, the young adults I’ve w irked with have had three destinations. Get married. Move away, usually fuelled by financial pressures or job opportunities. Leave their home church in order to connect with more people of their own age, particularly if they have no romantic prospects at their current church. Or, unfortunately, fall away.

But, for those who stick around, what should a church recommend that they do post-young adult?

Should a church hope that those who are unwed move in together?

Frankly, I think, this is a wiser option than living alone.

Financially, it makes sense. Especially living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, as I do.

Spiritually, I’d hope that living with other believers is a beneficial decision.

But, can a church nudge their unattached young adults of the same gender together? Should they?

Unless the process happens organically, I suspect the whole process could get very messy.

The last thing that you want is for your church to become unsettled because of cliques which form or stresses from home bleeding into church.

But, if your young adults are looking fir a good way to step away from the nest, doing it with fellow believers is definitely something that the church should encourage.