By DONALD E. ROSS

Do you remember the Oldsmobile advertisement a few years ago that said, "This is not your father's Oldsmobile." This company realized that their car had become something that appealed to only one generation, and they were trying to change their audience.

Many churches today are trying to do the same thing. At North Seattle Christian Fellowship, which is where I pastor, we have asked ourselves a number of questions regarding today's youth and spiritual development, including:

Why have huge numbers of young people chosen to ignore church?

Why do they not see spiritual values in the same way as their parents?

A recent survey listed four reasons why "busters" (age 18-30) are not interested in church. The reasons listed in this survey provided some of the help we needed to formulate a new way of "doing" church. Maybe the results will interest you as well.

Here is what we learned busters think about church, most of the time:

1. "Church is Boring." Sitting in a pew for an hour or more requires a service that will hold their interest by moving along at a good pace and by involving them somehow. Reach today's youth means keeping the service moving.

2. "Church is Irrelevant." Churches today must address the things that worry young adults. They are concerned about their future and the ability to have genuine and meaningful relationships. Most of their parents have been divorced at least once. They tend to be spiritual, but not in the traditional sense and have different views on work, morals, family and life expectations than their Baby Boomer parents.

3. "I'd Rather Do Something Else." This phrase exhibits one of the most treasured possessions of today's young people - time. Recreation and socializing receive top priority in their thinking. In order for churches to measure up, they must feel being at church will help them somehow.

4. "There's No One at Church Like Me." Young people are looking for others like them. When they go to a church that has a group their age, they think, "There's something worth going for here."

Churches that are successful at reaching today's youth are willing to change. They must believe that today's generation really does want to know about God, just in a little different way. They must choose to get rid of some of the "religious" trappings of church and focus in on how people can have a living relationship with God.

At the beginning of the services of many growing churches, for example, they may answer questions from last week's talk, or take a coffee break after the worship time. They also work hard to make sure worship is relevant and understandable. The worship is usually louder, because this generation really likes to "feel" the music. They may dress very casually, feature drama and video clips during the service and try to focus on life principles that promote true spiritual growth.

These services are shorter in length than church services several decades ago, and the subject matter is designed to answer practical questions for life. During the week, many churches will also meet in homes to pray together, give mutual spiritual support and further discuss Bible application to the lives of the people.

These kinds of churches are not interested in changing genuine spiritual principles. They believe God establishes these principles and they are eternal. These churches are willing, though, to be as innovative and creative as needed to help this generation find a meaningful and living relationship with a God who deeply loves them.

Dr. Donald E. Ross is the senior pastor of North Seattle Christian Fellowship in East Haller Lake.