After reading Andres Tapia's "Reaching the First Post-Christian Generation [Sept. 12], I was left with a sense of great hope and expectation. This was one of the most relevant and practical articles that I have read in CT in a long while. As one saved through the ministry of Billy Graham and raised on the campus evangelism of IV and CCC, I appreciate the insight and advice of the young Xer-ministers intertwined in your article. For too long, we as the evangelical church have spent too much energy on style over substance and too much time concentrating on our message rather than on relationships. As a 45-year-old pastor, I look forward to the positive changes that this "X-generation" will bring to my own life and ministry as well as to the church of Jesus Christ.

- Pastor Dale R. Yancy

Hope Chapel Foursquare Church

Merrimack, N.H.

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I was excited when I saw the cover on your September 12 issue. After reading the volumes of analysis of my generation poured out by the "mainstream" media, I was ready for one with some hope.

Unfortunately, while Andres Tapia's article did an excellent job of highlighting a new and desperate mission field, it left me wondering where I and my friends fit in. Please know that not all Xers (a term I hate only slightly less than busters) are disillusioned, disenfranchised, and depressed. There are those of us out there who actually are hopeful about the world, who like life in today's high-tech, knowledge-heavy society, and who don't worship grunge rock groups. The reason we are so hopeful is that we have been called by a living Christ and a sovereign God to work to bring the kingdom to come. And we are not alone in this effort, thanks to a Holy Comforter.

Furthermore, in spite of the ...