Congregations are often broken-hearted when young adults leave church or don’t show up at all. “Churches in some ways feel rejected by Millennials,” said Laura Stephens-Reed, an Alabama-based clergy and congregational coach. But they shouldn’t feel alone, she said.
Millennial’s message to churches: please stop trying to attract Millennials
Churches should just be themselves, and live into their gifts in their settings. And don’t worry if the generation born roughly between 1980 and 2000 is going to show up (because they probably won’t).
Do-it-your-self faith on the rise thanks to the web, study finds
It seems religion in America just can’t catch a break. Religious affiliation and participation continue to dive, driven in part by young generations uninterested in belonging to anything, least of all churches. And now newly published research suggests that the Internet — which faith communities had hoped would bridge the gap with Millennials and the “nones” — may have a hand in keeping those and other demographics away.
Uh-oh, American church: Here comes Gen Z
Congregational and worship consultants are practically guaranteed job security in the coming decades thanks to the coming of Generation Z, aka Gen Z. Experts anticipate that churches which have long used coaches, books and seminars just to tread water with Millennials will be even more challenged by that up-and-coming group whose older members are just reaching college age.
Secular Americans not alone in doubting Christmas story
Many Church of Christ members have historically drawn a sharp distinction between Christmas and the birth of Christ, usually dismissing the former as a commercial, even pagan, observance. Nowhere in the New Testament, preachers and Sunday school teachers have counseled,…
Churches urged to drop Millennials in favor of newly identified ‘generation’
Churches, businesses and media outlets fixated on Millennials may want to widen their focus on a newly identified group: Perennials. The term was coined last year by a California blogger Gina Pell, who was tired of being stereotyped by her…
Think Millennials are self-focused? Think again.
I don’t know about you, but I view the daily headlines with a sort of fascinated dread. I can’t bear to watch and I can’t turn away. Every day, there’s more bad news for public education, undocumented immigrants and the…
More projects, less meetings, a better draw for churches
Closing churches and the rise of the religiously unaffiliated seems like pretty strong evidence that Christianity is going through some pretty dark times. But Kennon Callahan doesn’t buy into that conclusion. “This is a new time,” said Callahan, author of…
Focus must be on behavior, not age, in shaping relevant ministry
For years now, Christian communities have been intensely focused on serving Baby Boomers, Millennials and other groups demarcated by age. But that focus alone is no longer going to cut it for churches genuinely interested in being relevant to the…