Need younger members

All4Christ said:

My personal opinion is that this depends on what you mean by change.

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Got it in one, often as I've said already, being willing to welcome new people, other times it can mean music one doesn't know or a change in preaching style.

Tolworth John said:

That is wonderfull and I am genuienly pleased.

But read what I've said about churcjhes that will not contemplate change.
Often all that is needed is to be willing to accept it, a welcoming congragation welcomes new people, a settled and reluctant to change congragation doesn't. People won't stay where they aren't welcome.

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Thanks I love my parish and am very thankful for it. Ironically, it is very old yet still very relevant.

I agree that some change is good. It is important though to determine what is a core part of the faith that should not be changed, and what is acceptable to be changed based on our faith. Does that make sense?

Each church may have a different opinion of what those core elements are, which may or may not include style of music and worship. In the long run, changing the style of music is secondary to other areas of what many young people are seeking. Just my 2 cents

Being welcoming, embracing young people into the community, providing ministry opportunities to everyone including young people, etc are some good ways to change for all churches imho.

tampasteve said:

but we should acknowledge that it is human nature to relate to people similar to us.

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That may very well be true, but I don't see that as a primary focus when seeking a Pastor for the church. I would say that is very secondary, maybe even tertiary.

People want real community. Not a staged weekly event.

Denominations and churches are not attracting "young" Christians, because spicing up a Sunday morning service with edgy music and sexy sermon topics is obviously fake.

Andy1947 said:

My church is very small and we have lost our pastor. The average age is between 65 and 70. We need to bring young people into the church. I am building a website http://www.solidrock-baptist-church.com and hope to use it to bring younger people into the church. Any ideas on how to bring people into the church would be appreciated.

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The internet wasn't invented yet when Jesus said "Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" Matthew 5:16. Maybe you should consider some hands on and face to face interaction within your own neighborhood. Figure out what the larger surrounding community may need in terms of free service and see if there are people in your church who might be interested in supplying the work power.

Your webpage calendar suggests that you have available time to do some charity work as a Christian group. Your Brotherhood: Men's Breakfast and Ladies Luncheon might be a time to think about and discuss this.

Andy1947 said:

My church is very small and we have lost our pastor. The average age is between 65 and 70. We need to bring young people into the church. I am building a website http://www.solidrock-baptist-church.com and hope to use it to bring younger people into the church. Any ideas on how to bring people into the church would be appreciated.

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You might research YouTube videos of church services that are attended by people of all ages. If one were to visit enough churches, one might learn things that work. There is the Joel Osteen type preacher who is successful in being a cheerful motivator. There are also those who can preach from experience with plenty of Bible quotes like Charles Stanley. Some stayed home and watched church on TV or the Internet. I watched dozens of church videos and attended several live services the past 12 months. Having a church home may be a good thing. My mother's circle of pancake house lady friends met through their church affiliation. Some churches scheduled guest speakers, pancake breakfasts, Bible studies, youth fellowship groups, retreats and annual church picnics in public parks. I met a lady pastor online. She was scheduled to be part of the leadership of a group going on a tour of Israel.

Tolworth John said:

Who has said anything about forcing people out or forcing people to change?

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Tolworth John said:

...some elderly people would rather there was a peacfully orderly stillnes, than the hustle and busle of life.
Change the order of service, but we've always done it this way, it is sacred.

If change is not welcome, then the change that is a growing living vibrant church will not, even cannot happen.

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They MUST be willing to accept change.

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A church we went to a few years ago was mainly between 55+ to 80 year olds. After about a few months there we could see it was dying fast. There was no outreach to anyone period. There were maybe 8 people under 18 in the church. The church at that time had like 45+ people, at this time it has about 20.

Churches need to attract (and keep) young peoples attention or they won't come. Especially when there is nothing for them except for sunday sermon. Also doesn't help that the older members are so "old school" that they vote no to any changes.

There was once a young man who was unhappy with the hymns of his church. Christendom has been greatly blessed because his father chose to tell him to do something better if he thought he could. Instead of rebuking the annoying teen, his father encouraged him to try to express his faith in more meaningful ways. Perhaps his father saw the stirrings of anointing and genius; perhaps he was hoping he'd shut up. In any event, his son did something.

Isaac Watts went on to write "Oh come all ye faithful", "When I survey the wondrous cross", "Come ye that love the Lord", and a host of other hymns. Many of which are still being sung centuries later. At one time, these were a new and possibly radical change from what was being sung.

I believe that in all generations God raises up those who will express their faith in a fresh and contemporary (to their generation) and powerful manner. Over time, the gems and jewels of each generation will remain to bless those who follow. Change for change's sake or as a complaint? Largely meaningless. Encouragement to express our faith "in our own words" and "with our own passions and gifts"? Priceless.

I believe that it is a wise church that makes place for these new creations and expressions of faith along side the old ones.

Andy,

You have received some well-intended, but unrealistic advice in this thread. I grew up in a traditional evangelical church and love traditional hymns accompanied by organ and piano. In most evangelical churches today, though, the organ is obsolete and is no longer appreciated by the under-50 crowd. Guitars and drums are essential for attracting a younger crowd. A casual atmosphere can also be very helpful. The pastor should ditch his suit and clerical robe in favor of attractive sports shirts. But even these changes are not enough. An active youth program is also essential, a program with entertaining activities that your few young people can use to invite their friends. Unfortunately, excellent preaching and good Sunday School teachers are not enough. Local youth will be attracted by the chance to have fun and make new young friends. Satisfy that need, and then and only then, will a healthy spiritual emphasis help keep them coming.

I am now a retired pastor. One of my first acts as a new pastor of my last church was to start an early contemporary service. It soon outgrew the established blended service. A younger worship leader is very important, too, if you hope to attract young couples. Members of my first service often said they would quit the church if the more traditional service was their only option! The established service needs to be blended, not merely traditional, because so many of our older members can no longer tolerate a steady diet of traditional hymns. But even our blended service is problematic for some. Someone has sarcastically defined blended worship as "something for everyone to be unhappy about!"

My remarks apply only to evangelical churches like yours. If you were a Catholic or Greek orthodox church and have lots of young couples from such high church backgrounds in your community, then a more traditional approach might work. I am sad to say that if your old-timers resist all this advice, your church will probably either have to fold or be on the verge of folding within one or to decades. How I wish the situation were different!

Andy1947 said:

My church is very small and we have lost our pastor. The average age is between 65 and 70. We need to bring young people into the church. I am building a website http://www.solidrock-baptist-church.com and hope to use it to bring younger people into the church. Any ideas on how to bring people into the church would be appreciated.

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I'm 49, so I'm not too young.

Andy1947 said:

My church is very small and we have lost our pastor. The average age is between 65 and 70. We need to bring young people into the church. I am building a website http://www.solidrock-baptist-church.com and hope to use it to bring younger people into the church. Any ideas on how to bring people into the church would be appreciated.

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I go to a church where there's more young adults than there are adults. This is what I notice having gone from a church that had no young adults to one where where there was an abundance:

1. The young adults are leaders. There are pastors who lead and teach young adults to be leaders of other young adults.
2. The young adults are encouraged to get involved and serve. They strategically place a 2:1 ratio of young adults per team. They usually like to make the young adults greeters to attract people bringing their families for the first time. Most young adults when thinking of coming to church the first time automatically think that church is for the elderly. It was also cool because young adults are curious and mixing the young with the old really does help for young adults to gain wisdom and for the older generation to learn how to connect better with the unsaved young adults in their lives.
3. The young adults are involved in school outreaches.
4. The pastor emphasizes that the young adult generation is the next generation and that they are important to the body of Christ.
5. They play modern Christian music. Young people can't relate to something that's not from their time. It doesn't all have to be modern, but some of it should be.
6. They use Instagram
7. They throw events for young adults
8. They let young adults lead in young adult fellowship. Let me tell you how awkward it was to go to a church where an old married couple were The young adult leaders. It was just too weird and not relatable.
9. They have a strict "no drama, no clique" culture. If anyone starts a rumor or spreads a private matter around, it is squashed before you ever knew it existed. I've actually never heard one rumor, ever.
10. They encourage young adults to encourage each other in the faith by starting groups (like men's, women's, and co-ed) that meet on weekdays and explore all kinds of topics from worship to to Bible study, to book clubs, to artistic fellowship. A favorite young adult group (small group) I used to go to was a board game group.
11. If we didn't recognize a new young adult, we were encouraged to introduce ourselves to them and figure out what they liked in order to match them with a small group/connect group.
12. There were weekday services dedicated to sermons for young adults (although everyone was welcome to come).
13. There was a high-five/secret handshake culture there, although I'm not sure who started that.

I would say the most important thing that makes me want to stay with a church is knowing that I am able to serve and that the other young adults are friendly.

Ultimately, young adults want to feel like they belong and are a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be seen as mature and capable, not like they are being babysat.

Pray for God to send some maybe?

Andy1947 said:

My church is very small and we have lost our pastor. The average age is between 65 and 70. We need to bring young people into the church. I am building a website http://www.solidrock-baptist-church.com and hope to use it to bring younger people into the church. Any ideas on how to bring people into the church would be appreciated.

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Well, for starters here's some things you should now
1) Most of us are actually de-churched individuals. According to research by the Barna Instutite, 65% of us have actually made a commitment to Jesus Christ at some point, and among the 35% who have not, 45% have considered it before. The majority of people my age and younger who are not Christians are actually de-churched individuals.
2) Why we left and are leaving the church...

As a millennial, the reason people my age and younger are leaving the church has everything to do inauthenticity in the church. I know many millennials, including myself, who have become fed up with the church because of this. I'd be lying if I said I have not considered leaving the church, not losing my faith, but just not attending church anymore. My generation and those after me have an incredibly developed sense of when something is authentic versus a marketing tool with no backing, we have a very attuned, you know, meter. We cringe every time we see a ministry called "The Well", "Ignite", or (insert supposedly cool and relevant sounding name here), especially when it's obvious they're just doing it to sound "cool". In my experience and opinion, and every other millennial my age who's written on this reflects this idea: we don't want out of the church what the church thinks we want out of church. If I had to list the top three things my generation and younger wants out of church, it would be this: 1) Authenticity 2) Community 3) A God and Christianity that is not watered down to patriotic moralism and escapism (we want to hear about Jesus and how that matters to us and the world right here and now, not the moral decline of America and the world), not "more hip" and entertaining worship and a mini-coffeehouse (okay maybe this one, but it can't be for the sole purpose of attracting people). We don't want to go to church to be entertained, we want to go to church to meet God and each other. We aren't leaving the church because it's not "cool enough", or because we'd rather go out and sin, we're leaving the church because the church has failed and is continuing to fail to actually reach our generation.

We very much sympathize, and may in fact, agree about non-Christians perspectives of Christianity. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that many of our friends are actually de-church individuals. Actually, most people aren't turned off by Christianity, they're turned off by Christians, only 25% of outsiders listed that they're convinced Christianity would be too limiting of their lifestyle and options in life. However 85% said hypocritical (not necessarily just being hypocritical, but not really being honest and acknowledging it) , 70% said insincere (only concerned with converting people and not the people themselves), 91% said antihomosexual (against gay people themselves, regardless of what they do), 70% said sheltered (out of touch with reality, unintelligent, and old-fashioned), too political (Christians are more motivated by political agendas more than anything else), and 87% said judgmental (prideful and quick to find faults in others, something agreed upon by 53% of young Christians).

Now for the good news, if you want to know where to look at what to do, look at Anglicanism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy because those churches have what we want out of the church. Those churches are authentic, they have a strong sense of and a welcoming community, and preach a Christianity that matters to us and the world right here and now. They aren't doing anything special to entice us, they are just being themselves and that's what appealing.

Andy1947 said:

My church is very small and we have lost our pastor. The average age is between 65 and 70. We need to bring young people into the church. I am building a website http://www.solidrock-baptist-church.com and hope to use it to bring younger people into the church. Any ideas on how to bring people into the church would be appreciated.

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Preach the gospel. Make that your passion, and they will come.

Puppets, choirs, and buildings are the focus of your church. At least that's what your website reveals. Change that image to Christ and Him crucified, and save your church.

A suggestion regarding the website:

Using all uppercase typography for large portions of text makes it difficult to read. Use all uppercase for emphasis or titles, but use it sparingly.

TX_Matt said:

Well, for starters here's some things you should now
1) Most of us are actually de-churched individuals. According to research by the Barna Instutite, 65% of us have actually made a commitment to Jesus Christ at some point, and among the 35% who have not, 45% have considered it before. The majority of people my age and younger who are not Christians are actually de-churched individuals.
2) Why we left and are leaving the church...

As a millennial, the reason people my age and younger are leaving the church has everything to do inauthenticity in the church. I know many millennials, including myself, who have become fed up with the church because of this. I'd be lying if I said I have not considered leaving the church, not losing my faith, but just not attending church anymore. My generation and those after me have an incredibly developed sense of when something is authentic versus a marketing tool with no backing, we have a very attuned, you know, meter. We cringe every time we see a ministry called "The Well", "Ignite", or (insert supposedly cool and relevant sounding name here), especially when it's obvious they're just doing it to sound "cool". In my experience and opinion, and every other millennial my age who's written on this reflects this idea: we don't want out of the church what the church thinks we want out of church. If I had to list the top three things my generation and younger wants out of church, it would be this: 1) Authenticity 2) Community 3) A God and Christianity that is not watered down to patriotic moralism and escapism (we want to hear about Jesus and how that matters to us and the world right here and now, not the moral decline of America and the world), not "more hip" and entertaining worship and a mini-coffeehouse (okay maybe this one, but it can't be for the sole purpose of attracting people). We don't want to go to church to be entertained, we want to go to church to meet God and each other. We aren't leaving the church because it's not "cool enough", or because we'd rather go out and sin, we're leaving the church because the church has failed and is continuing to fail to actually reach our generation.

We very much sympathize, and may in fact, agree about non-Christians perspectives of Christianity. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that many of our friends are actually de-church individuals. Actually, most people aren't turned off by Christianity, they're turned off by Christians, only 25% of outsiders listed that they're convinced Christianity would be too limiting of their lifestyle and options in life. However 85% said hypocritical (not necessarily just being hypocritical, but not being , 70% said insincere (only concerned with converting people and not the people themselves), 91% said antihomosexual (against gay people themselves, regardless of what they do), 70% said sheltered (out of touch with reality, unintelligent, and old-fashioned), too political (Christians are more motivated by political agendas more than anything else), and 87% said judgmental (prideful and quick to find faults in others, something agreed upon by 53% of young Christians).

Now for the good news, if you want to know where to look at what to do, look at Anglicanism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy because those churches have what we want out of the church. Those churches are authentic, they have a strong sense of and a welcoming community, and preach a Christianity that matters to us and the world right here and now. They aren't doing anything special to entice us, they are just being themselves and that's what appealing.

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I was with you up until the very last paragraph. I do not believe Anglicanism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy are what most millennials are looking for. I feel that those institutions laid the foundations for some pretty horrible theology. Just look at their twisted sexual ethics. Good post still.

Apex said:

I was with you up until the very last paragraph. I do not believe Anglicanism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy are what most millennials are looking for. I feel that those institutions laid the foundations for some pretty horrible theology. Just look at their twisted sexual ethics. Good post still.

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I'd appreciate skipping the twisted sexual ethics comment. As a young person who became Orthodox from an evangelical church, I do not see the ethical problems you are referencing - or the theological problems for that matter.

That said, I'll stop there as it is off topic to the thread.

All4Christ said:

Thanks I love my parish and am very thankful for it. Ironically, it is very old yet still very relevant.

I agree that some change is good. It is important though to determine what is a core part of the faith that should not be changed, and what is acceptable to be changed based on our faith. Does that make sense?

Each church may have a different opinion of what those core elements are, which may or may not include style of music and worship. In the long run, changing the style of music is secondary to other areas of what many young people are seeking. Just my 2 cents

Being welcoming, embracing young people into the community, providing ministry opportunities to everyone including young people, etc are some good ways to change for all churches imho.

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I totaly agree.
The gospel is the gospel and is not to be played with.
not everyone likes a literical service and there has to be a sensitive approach in explaining what is new and strangeto some.
As you say space for providing oppertunities for service has to be found and in a church with elderly members asking someone to step down or take a smaller role can ruffle feathers.

It also has to be faced that churches do not always last for ever. sometimes they come to the end of there life.