The experiences of a group of young adults who rode bicycles across the United States last year are a part of history but their movement continues on. “BikeMovement the Documentary – A young adult perspective on church†has been released and is now available on DVD. The documentary follows BikeMovement, the group of young adults who rode across the USA from July 10 to August 25, 2006 as an initiative to engage in open conversation regarding their perspectives on and visions for the church.
Franconia Mennonite Conference Associate for Communication and Leadership Cultivation, David Landis, served as the trip’s general coordinator. Landis established BikeMovement as an extension of the ideas he heard from various young adults across the country who voiced a longing for a way to more openly converse about their faith.
The documentary summarizes conversations that took place both within the BikeMovement group and with over twenty church communities they visited along the way. A common question asked in many of these church conversations was “Why are many young adults who grew up in the church not returning?†The BikeMovement group discovered in their own conversations and in conversations with other young adults that there is no single answer to this question; everyone has their own unique experience. The documentary, however, attempts to identify common threads and offer suggestions to create safe places where generations can come together and better understand each other.
Topics covered in the BikeMovement documentary include: examining what it means to live in a tight-knit community while inviting people in; asking tough questions; exploring ways to create intergenerational dialogue despite language and other generational differences; and responding to the other unique challenges young adults face in connecting with a traditional church setting. The documentary also includes a study guide with activities and questions to initiate discussion and aid groups in working through the various issues together.
Franconia Conference has been an ongoing funding partner with bikemovement, including production of the documentary.”
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For more information, contact David Landis at dplandis@gmail.com
Published with permission from BikeMovement
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.