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Knowing that the college and young-adult years are a time of searching and questioning their own faith — and, for some, a time when they abandon the faith they grew up on — he and others envisioned a place "to grow, to hang out and connect with friends, and to hear stories of people who are going through the same things as you."
The 26-year-old Hann, of Lives Changed By Christ Church (LCBC), has been one of the leaders of the church's "Saturate" community since it began three years ago.
Geared toward young adults age 18 to 29, it draws as many as 300 young people a week.
Hann and others tell the young adults to bring their toughest questions, their doubts and fears and struggles in their faith to class, "and we'll all look at them and answer them together."
That way, Hann said with a smile, "It's not just their parents' faith any more ... it's what (the young people) believe and know is true."
The "Saturate" outreach is just one of the many efforts that churches, synagogues and other houses of worship here use to reach the sometimes-hard-to-get college-age and young-adult population.
National statistics indicate that faith is not as large a part of young people's lives as more "mature" adults.
"Saturate" meets Tuesday nights, usually at LCBC. Earlier this week, the group gathered at a Lancaster Barnstormers' game at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
The charge for Hann and other "Saturate" leaders is to "try and help (young people) move forward in their (faith) journey, and in their own life," the Elizabethtown resident said.
"A lot of our series are designed around, 'What's the young adult thinking about right now?'" Hann said during Tuesday's game.
One whole series was titled "Doubt," said Hann, who hopes to show the community "is the best place for you to be and to bring your questions."
Clinton Witmer, 22, of Elizabethtown, said the outreach has "really helped me to relate to other young adults my age."
"And it's a good place to go to ask questions and get answers, and know what we believe," he said. "It's a very important age group to reach out to."
Holly Long, 24, of Ephrata, said it has given her "a perspective on things" since she started coming less than a year ago.
"That's when I learn best, when I learn from other people, see what they believe and what I believe," she said.
LCBC executive director of ministries John Zeswitz said "Saturate" is "about creating an environment that minimizes ... cultural hurdles we sometimes put in front of young adults when it comes to church."
"Saturate" began as a Bible study in the home of former LCBC young adults pastor Mark Ashley, who recently left the church staff to take a lead administrative post in Hempfield School District's health/physical education department.
Now Hann, whose title is "experience architect," and others like "college connection coordinator" Jeff Fields carry on the effort.
For a Lancaster-area Jewish religious leader, the question of how to keep young people walking in the faith is really two questions: "How do we keep kids connected to the congregation ... (and) how do we keep kids committed to Jewish life?"
For the first, Rabbi Jack Paskoff of Lancaster's Congregation Shaarai Shomayim offers a one-week local day camp, while the Judaic Reform movement, regionally and nationally, operates several sleep-away camps.
They "are centered on Jewish education and building a sense of Jewish identity, rather than on spiritual renewal," Paskoff said, adding that college students work at these camps as counselors.
As for keeping young people in touch with Jewish life and heritage, that "is actually much easier, and I largely consider it the more important of the two," he said.
A national program for young people, called Birthright Israel, provides free trips to Israel for young people who have never been to the Jewish homeland before.
It "reaches Jewish kids from all the movements and unaffiliated kids as well" Paskoff said, and they must be between ages 18 and 26.
As with all major faiths, Paskoff said attendance at services at synagogues "is not at all what we would want it to be among our college students, but many are utilizing these other mechanisms for staying connected to their Jewish heritage."
E-mail: doconnor@lnpnews.com
