“This generation just doesn't love God...they want nothing to do with the church.”
Do those words sound familiar to you? Many people argue that millennials are stepping away from the church in droves – and that this is because there is something wrong with them. Maybe they are sinful. Maybe they really do not love God. Maybe they really are not Christians. Maybe, maybe, maybe....
I would argue differently. I think that many millennials are actually very interested in the church. Many of them are passionate followers of Christ. And even if they do not consider themselves Christians, many might actually be interested in Christianity and the Church. But if this is the case, what is pushing so many millennials away from the Church?
Perhaps millennials are fed up with the Church as it is. Perhaps they are tired of shallowness and fake people. Perhaps they want depth. Perhaps they want more than what many churches today offer. Perhaps the problem is not always with the millennials. Perhaps the problem is often rooted in the churches themselves.
There are a plethora of ideas out there about why millennials are stepping away from the church, what the churches are doing wrong, and what churches should do to draw in more people. In the midst of all kinds of opinions, I have put together a list of things I believe many churches today are missing that millennials want. Now, remember, these are my opinions. I am not here to start a debate, but rather to offer an opinion on a hot topic from someone in the generation that is being discussed. You may agree with me, and you may not. That is perfectly alright.
Millennials want spiritual depth.
Many churches today severely lack depth in teaching, instead replacing that with dry boring lectures, or shallow sermons that leave us wondering how the sermon was even slightly Biblically grounded, or related to Christianity, God and our faith. Millennials want depth. We want to be fed spiritually. We want a deep and real understanding of God and faith. We want true worship.
Millennials want the church to be real.
We are tired of churches who do not embrace people with open arms. We are tired of churches filled with people who are snobby and not accepting of those who are different than them – churches filled with people who only care about themselves. We are tired of churches being judgmental. We are tired of churches where members only attend on Sundays and do not live out their faith the rest of the week. That is not the church. Instead, we want the church to be real. We want people to be open about who they truly are – scars and all. We want members who support each other and welcome each other with open arms – regardless of background, race, economic and political status. Christ welcomed everyone – little children, an adulteress, tax collectors – the most hated people in society. If the church is the representation of Christ on earth, then why are so few churches truly representing him?
Millennials do not need gimmicks, promotions, or performances to draw them in.
This waters down the solidity of the Gospel. It waters down the spiritual depth. It takes away from worship because gimmicks, promotional events, and performance-like situations within the church draw the focus away from God, and instead make it all about the people who are on the stage, playing the music, speaking, etc. I have seen more millennials who choose to step away from these types of events, than who actually appreciate them and feel like it represents true Christianity. Gimmicks do not work.
Millennials do not want to be spoken down to.
I mean, does anyone really like this? I have noticed that more and more churches, in an attempt to make the Gospel “more appealing” to this generation, “more palatable,” are using watered down translations of the Bible for their reading. These translations attempt to make the language more modern and trendy, but in reality, they often end up sounding silly and the message gets lost. Sermons skip over hard topics, and attempt using the language of pop culture in an endeavor to draw in the younger generations and make Christianity seem hip and appealing. As a millennial Christian, I do not think this works. It makes us feel like we are ignorant and incapable of understanding the depth of Christianity. Not to mention, it totally removes all spiritual depth from the picture.
Again, these are simply my opinions. I am by no means an expert on this subject, but I am simply a concerned millennial Christian who wants to make a difference. There should not be such a disconnect between millennials and the Church. Something needs to change there – it is not a hopeless situation.
