Let me begin this article by saying I am a preacher's daughter who has grown up in the church. However, I am also a millennial who has some knowledge and personal experience in saying what attracts people in my generation to church, and what turns us away from it.

Not feeling welcome.

Yes, most churches I have been to have been very welcoming. But there are plenty of other spiritual events and some churches where I have been shushed for "being too loud" or given a look like they assume I will be disruptive and disrespectful. Yes, I show up to church wearing jeans and flip flops. No, I'm not going to start wearing dresses and skirts just because someone looked at me funny. It also doesn't mean that I don't take my faith seriously. Contrary to that belief, my faith is the most important thing to me. And I choose to believe that Jesus would be wearing the same thing if He were walking the earth in 2016.

Music.

It's true, the millenial generation has a different sense of music. Full disclosure: hymns don't do it for me. Don't get me wrong, some hymns are absolutely beautiful. But for me, worship does not equal hymnals. So, people in my generation are often encouraged to attend the "contemporary worship" service - which is great! - but contemporary worship is not hymns sung to a guitar instead of a piano (I have been to those churches before...).

Authenticity.

I read a few articles about this particular topic as I prepared to write it and found many folks say they cannot stay in a church that does not feel authentic. Do the people in the church practice what they preach? Are they spreading the love found in The Gospel with a hurting world? If you can walk the walk as much as you can talk the talk, people in my generation may be more apt to stick around.

Room for discussion.

I think something many people in this generation are looking for is a place to ask the hard questions and have a real dialogue about it. There is an increase in the acceptance of homosexuality by people of Christian faith - let's talk about it. Many people have been hurt by others in the name of "Christianity". That is not okay. I have found many of my friends and I feel the same about the benefits of having open discussions on controversial topics. In fact, a few years ago I helped lead a college-aged Sunday School class during the summer where we read When Christians Get It Wrong, which sparked some of the best conversations with my Christian friends. So providing spaces for us to openly talk about these things is important in the church.

Not all millennials are anti-faith - in fact there are still many of us who love Christ and long for a place where we can be fed spiritually. If you are a millennial and looking for a church, maybe these are the things to look for. If you are from another generation wondering where the millennials are, maybe these are the things to consider enhancing to keep us around.