Rebecca Davis
AFA Journal staff writer
September 2015 – It all began with an email from a 16-year-old girl who complimented the American Family Association for its ministry to children and adults. But with all politeness, she pointed out a blind spot: AFA had nothing for teenagers. Nor were there many resources for young people, college students, singles, newlyweds, or young families with small children.
Her email hit home, a small group of Millennials on the AFA staff took action, and Engage was born.
Engage is the newest ministry of AFA that seeks to provide perspective on culture through a biblical worldview. It’s the first of several plans in the works by AFA to reach younger generations. Engage’s target audience is Millennials, young adults born during the years 1981-1997.
“Satan would have us believe that this generation is a lost cause, but we get our marching orders from a different source,” said Buddy Smith, vice president of AFA. “The church of every generation has the specific mandate from holy Scripture to get the baton of the gospel into the hearts and hands of the next generation.”
“In the near future, Millennials are going to be the leaders of the church as well as in all other aspects of society,” said Canada Burkhalter, AFA graphic designer and writer for Engage. The ministry’s website and first phase of its platform is EngageMagazine.net.
The purpose
“Our desire is that Engage will be used by the Holy Spirit as an explosive tool to reach the millennial generation with the gospel and equip them with a biblical worldview,” Smith added.
“Everything we do comes back to worldview,” explained Teddy James, editor of the website and a mastermind behind Engage.
The website is an online magazine containing articles about carefully chosen topics that range in content from relationships to entertainment to heroes of the faith.
“We attempt to address these issues simply through Scripture and foundational doctrine,” said Engage writer Jordan Chamblee. “Engage isn’t afraid to break out of the ‘church youth culture’ norms and confront serious issues that affect our generation.”
The site’s name and purpose are twofold: To engage with the gospel and to engage with the culture.
“We seek to answer how the gospel works inside and transforms the lives, thoughts, views, and actions of believers,” James said. “The result of engaging with the gospel causes and commands believers to engage culture, both American culture and global culture.”
“It is crucial for Millennials themselves to reach out and reconnect with the church, taking responsibility and growing in Christian maturity,” Chamblee said. “Engage acts as a voice from Millennials to Millennials, encouraging this reconnection.”
The team
The website’s initial content is produced by a collection of young adults from all walks of life who were brought together by faith in Jesus and employment at AFA. While the contributors are close in age, they are all at different stages of life. However, the desire is to incorporate AFA staff writers from both older and younger generations.
“We see throughout Scripture that each generation is called to learn from and serve the older generation while teaching and serving the generation coming up,” James said. “We take that seriously and desire to exemplify that in our ministry.”
James added that the Engage team writes from the perspective that all people need the gospel – both believers and nonbelievers – and the gospel needs to be wrestled with daily.
“We want to challenge readers’ worldview by asking them questions they have probably never thought about and providing them with answers from Scripture,” James said.
The website is intended to be a source of edification and encouragement to the believer, but it is also intended to be a form of outreach and evangelism for those who are searching. It is not preachy but practical and seeks to engage all with the good news in a relevant way.
The means
Smith explained how the millennial generation is immersed in technology, so it only makes sense to reach them through that medium, especially those who are unlikely to enter a church building.
“Engage provides an immediate digital avenue, through new media geared to their mindset, to Millennials around the world, and to those who live down the street from a local church,” Smith said.
Questions can be answered day or night when a searching soul accesses the website.
All content on the website is free, and the plan is to post two to three new articles per week.
“Most of our writing is done when we find some downtime or when we are at home,” James said. “That is how much we believe in this project … enough to make sacrifices.”
The plan
While the website is the first and only existent phase of the project at this time, plans for the overall ministry of Engage are big. The blueprint involves growing the website into a weekly radio show, then daily podcasts, weekly YouTube videos, and eventually multiple videos per week. The ultimate goal is to produce a hardcopy publication. Of course plans can change, so for now the focus is to reach young adults through the digital medium of a website.
“We ask for your prayers that through the online connection and by making use of the latest technology, we will be able to equip tomorrow’s leaders with a Christian worldview,” Smith said.
“The leaders of the future need to be sound-minded, not only to preserve the freedoms that we have established here in America but also to further fulfill the Great Commission and spread the gospel,” Burkhalter said.
James is quick to point out that reaching Millennials is no more important than reaching other generations. It is just that Millennials are gaining influence and traction in the culture, so AFA wants to do its best to come alongside the Christian community in equipping them.
“AFA has had the same message for the last 38 years, which is to tell everyone who would listen that the gospel is real, and Christians need to focus on the gospel daily and bring it into the world,” James said. “The message is the same; the delivery is different.”
“I hope other Millennials will see that Christians do have a responsibility to influence the government and culture with the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit,” Engage writer Wesley Wildmon added. “I want them to know that Engage is a place where God’s truth intersects with God’s grace in the simple and difficult parts of life.”
EngageMagazine.net launched August 14. 
EngageMagazine.net will provide Millennial content concerning:
Connections – How to manage changing relationships in light of the gospel.
Culture – How to be God’s instrument in the culture.
Heroes – True stories of faith.Entertainment – How the gospel informs entertainment choices.
Life – Practical advice and wisdom in a wide range of areas from job searching to finances.
Worldview – A systematic approach to worldview and theology.
The Engage team is brought together by faith in Christ and employment at AFA. Left to right: Wesley Wildmon, writer; Stacy Long, writer and editor; Kendra White, writer; Ashley Gillespie, writer and editor; Jordan Chamblee, writer and editor; Jeremy White, writer; Teddy James, writer and editor; Canada Burkhalter, writer and graphic designer.
