Move now for the next generation

By Wes Hughes

Church Planting Strategist, NWBC

I just facilitated a gathering of 40 young leaders where I was the old man in the conference room at 42. I was surrounded by 20-somethings who minister on college and university campuses across the Northwest. They were full of youth, passion, energy, enthusiasm and the Spirit of God to influence their world.

But their world is glaringly absent from most our churches and from our influence. That reality affirms a LifeWay Christian Resources study showing 72 percent of Millennials, the generation between 18 and 30 years old, are not attending our worship services, not praying, not reading scripture.

There are those who disagree with Lifeway's research. Beliefnet.com found nearly half the teens it polled felt they were more religious than their parents' generation. Beliefnet argues young people are seeking truth online and not just in the traditional way of "going to church" and listening to a pastor speak from a pulpit.

Maybe it’s semantics.

Looking to the future is the challenge. Many religious organizations are realizing that to shepherd the Millennial flock, they must meet them where they live — online. Facebook, Twitter, podcast, and video-cast might become a church’s best “friend.”

Here is the challenge? If they do connect with the church online, what will they find if they come to the physical door of your church building? I may be getting older, but I know this. If we plan for who we already have, we will never reach those who may come.

One church began planning for the future by rethinking its worship gathering. In the effort to plan for those who were not there, the Millenial generation, they lost 200 members in the transition. But because the church was focused on those who may come, they grew by 700 20-somethings.

Here is a simple test for you and your church. If you are over 40 and you really like what is happening in your worship gathering, you probably won’t reach the next generation. That may be okay, but I would love to talk with you about planting a church to reach the next generation.

It’s time for our region to consider how we are going to influence the 60 million members of the Millennial Generation — my kids, your kids and our grand-kids. By the way, in the Portland metro area, the number of well-educated young people grew by 50 percent, roughly five times faster than the nation as a whole over the past several years.

This "old man" would really like to see a future for his three Millennials in the church. And, I’d like to be considered an "elder statesman" when we gather for our convention’s annual meeting, instead of being "the young guy" at 42.