To date I have sat down with 11 young adults and asked them a series of questions about their experience with church, why they attend and why they do not attend. These young adults used to attend various churches in different denominations all ranging in size. Throughout the blog I will use young adults and millenial interchangeably. The age range of the people are 22-41.
Below is what I am finding.
1) Young Adults Are Looking For Authenticity:
My generation has been burned by people in leadership roles so we are naturally skeptical of anyone in any position of power. This is true for those who serve in the church. Without fail the number one thing I kept hearing from young adults was a desire for authenticity. What is the leader going through? Does he (or she) really practice what they preach? Does the leadership of the church really believe what is being said from the pulpit? Why does a preacher need to wear a suit? Does he really care about us? Is he just in it for the money? I fact checked my preacher on Google and some of the things he says are not true... do you think he knows he's lying?
Those are just a few of the questions I have heard over and over again. Millennials have been marketed to our entire lives. We are able to pick up on a sales tactic in an instant. We can detect if someone really believes or does not believe what is being taught.
It is hard to be vulnerable and open with others but if we want to reach this next generation putting on a good face and acting like we have it all together and know all of the answers will not cut it. We need to be men and women of integrity. Those of us in leadership need to work hard to be authentic.
2) Young Adults Are Looking For Community:
Point two goes right along with point number one. They desire authenticity and true authenticity leads to community. I heard questions like, "where can I be vulnerable and receive mentoring? When do your community groups meet? How do people share about their struggles? Where can I find help? I'm so lonely how do I connect with others?"
Look around everything that we have is designed to foster a "false" feeling of community. Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Blogging, Twitter all are designed to create community but there is never any face to face communication. There is no actual community on social media. I believe because of this millennials are crying out for a place to be themselves. They are looking for a place to belong. They are looking for a place where they can ask questions. They are looking for a place where they can be vulnerable and open. They are looking for a place where they can share their struggles and not have to worry about those struggles being gossiped or shared on social media.
As leaders it may be very hard for us to be truly authentic from the pulpit but imagine if we began to do life with those we were trying to reach. Imagine if we rubbed elbows on a daily basis with others and they saw us: warts and all. Maybe it's time we got out of the office and began doing life with our church members. Is the only time we see church members when they are in the hospital or on our shut-in list? Maybe we need to go and visit them in their place of employment, invite them over to our house for a meal. Live life together.
3) Young Adults Are Looking For Spirit-led, Spirit-filled Worship:
Most of the people I met with want a genuine experience and encounter with the living God. They want to lose themselves in worship every Sunday. They want to lift their hands and voices to the Heavens and sing praises to God.
Millennials can smell a gimick and they can smell a show from a mile away. They want authentic Spirit-led, Spirit-filled Worship. No one could define what that meant but they knew it when they experienced it and if the worship and preaching seemed forced or lacked passion they would not return. They do not like to sit still and let a band on the stage lead worship rather they would like to be involved in the process. They are not coming to church to watch a bunch of professional play on a stage no they are coming to church to worship God and that is what they want to do. I also found that they could care less about the style of music: they loved hymns (just as much if not more) and they loved contemporary. The issues which was most important was did the worship involve the Spirit and allow them to really worship.
We need to work hard to NOT let our worship and our preaching become dry, stale and lifeless. We need to have passion in our preaching and passion in our worship. We need to remember that we are beggars showing other beggars where to find food. We need to be pointing people to Jesus with passion and authenticity in everything that we do. We are not putting on a show but rather inviting our congregations to join us in worshiping our Lord and Savior.
4) Young Adults Want A Safe and Secure Nursery and Vibrant Children/Youth Program:
If we want to reach the next generation we are going to need to do a lot of updating. We need to be emphasizing our nursery and children's programs. Adults care about these programs. Invest time, money and effort to get all programs and departments which minister to babies and children up to date. At the very least do not let asbestos paint be peeling off the walls.
5) Young Adults Want To Learn The Bible:
The Millennials I interviewed all thought churches were pathetic and lame when they attempted to be cool by giving away a car or having door prizes or providing motivational, self-help talks.
All of them wanted to know what the Bible said. All of them from a wide range of denominations and ages, all wanted to know about the Bible. Let me repeat that so you don't miss that... ALL OF THEM WANTED TO LEARN ABOUT THE BIBLE.
If they took the time to come to church than they wanted to hear the Bible: not a self-help talk or a list of do's and don'ts but they wanted to hear the Bible in an applicable way.
They said things like, "I can have a cook out with my neighbors." "I can play games with my co-workers." "I can learn about finances from the YMCA." But when I come to church I want to learn the Bible.
We need to be doing a better job at teaching the Bible. The church is not a country club or another activity to add onto our schedule rather the church is how we grow in grace and mature as a follower of Jesus Christ. Millennials... this next generation...want the Bible.
They do not want to hear the Bible taught like a commentary rather they want the Bible to come alive and be filled with real world application. They are always asking, "What does this mean for me?" They want a faith that is real and active. They want a faith which challenges them to live on mission. They want a faith that is robust enough to handle this life. As leaders we need to be teaching the Bible and also challenging the next generation to live out the truths found in the Bible. We need to be providing opportunities to serve the poor, take care of widows, go on mission trips, free sex slaves, share the Gospel and be involved. They want to learn the Bible and they want the Bible to be taught in a relevant way which challenges them to live on mission. If Jesus changes everything than He changes everything.
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This list is nowhere near exhaustive and I could certainly go on and go deeper on each point but those are my top 5 I have discovered. If you would like more information I would love to talk with you further about this.
If you are a Millenial (18-30) who used to attend church but no longer attends or you are tired of church I would love to meet with you and discuss. Let's do lunch, my treat. If you live far away I'd love to Skype. I look forward to hearing from you.
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