Others

Silent Exodus - A retention problem

There have been many reasons cited as to why the second generation Asian Americans generations don't attend church. I will list the most common reasons given and propose a workable solution.

1.) Leaders have difficulty relating to the second generation culture.
I've found that there are 3 ways for me to relate to people.
a.) Be myself and require the other person to speak at my level. This is an inflexible approach, resulting in very little communication.
b.) Pretend to be like the other person. This never works because people want to communicate with me, not someone that changes to who they are.
c.) Learn as much as I can about the other person's culture, values, perspective, and relate to them based on that information has proven to be the most effective.

I've found that there are two great ways to learn about other people's unique culture.
1.) Spend time with them, listen to what they have to say, and seek to understand why they feel or think that way.
2.) Read, Read, Read!
-Invitation to Lead by Paul Tokunaga covers Asian American Culture.
-Saving the Millennial Generation by Dawson McAllister covers Contemporary American / Western Culture in great detail.