[Josh Carney]…serves as teaching pastor at University Baptist Church, about a mile from Baylor’s campus….
What are overchurched college students like? What challenges do they pose for ministry?
They’re students who went to church their whole life without really knowing why. It seems we have a lot of students who were either taught good theology but had no praxis to accompany it or vice versa. When people are exposed to the repetition of liturgy””and all churches have some kind of liturgy””without understanding why, they often get frustrated or lose interest.
What has the transition toward more age diversity been like? Any bumps?
It’s been exciting. My heartbeat is for families, and as this group grows it presents an opportunity to get to know and love more people. The major hurdle has to do with congregational identity. An increase in families means a need for more resources for them, and when we shift resources we make statements about mission and identity. We are trying to figure out who we are in a way that both affirms the historical and makes room for the new.