3. To reach more Millennials…EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY.
Stop pretending like it’s 1985 and we don’t all have smartphones in our pockets.
Technology has dated many practices of the church.
Stop asking everyone to fill out a physical communication card with a dull pencil when you can just ask us to send you a text, email or fill out a quick form on your website.
Don’t ask us for our “home phone number.” Does anyone still have a landline? Just ask for a phone number and assume it’s a cell phone.
Also, just so you know, most millennials don’t carry cash anymore. Many of us can hardly remember the last time we saw a checkbook. We use debit cards (or even our phones) and pay bills online. So it’s awkward when you pass an offering plate and don’t give us an option to give online.
I could list a hundred more examples.
If nothing else, start here: Update your church website and make it the central hub for all church information, registration and giving.
4. To reach more Millennials…USE VISUALS.
Like it or not, we are a visual generation.
It’s harder than ever for a preacher to hold our attention. But we are drawn to pictures and video. Please use them.
If you are talking about a location in the Bible, show us a picture of the area.
If you are preaching about an abstract concept, find a concrete way to demonstrate it.
Take advantage of the excellent video illustrations at your disposal.
Even just painting word pictures and telling stories helps.
In every sermon, ask yourself, “How can I both show and tell?” (I have an entire chapter on this in my book Preach and Deliver).
Use visual elements and imagery to help us see what you say.
Not only will you hold our attention, but you will help us understand in the way that we have been conditioned by our culture to learn.
Preaching isn’t dead to millennials, but it needs to adapt to our culture.
5. To reach more Millennials…BE CLEAR.
We like things that are clear and simple.
This goes for everything: your preaching, your theology, your programming, your mission statement…even the church signs.
We don’t like 12-point sermons. Stick with one big point.
We don’t like signs we have to stop to read, just point us in the right direction.
And please, for the love, stop reading every church announcement from the stage. Highlight a thing or two that’s coming up and point us to where we can get more information.
Also, understand that simplicity does not mean stupidity. It takes more intelligence to make the complex simple.
Cut the clutter.
THE POINT
Don’t believe all the stereotypes you hear about millennials. We don’t have to be the generation that leaves the church.
But if you want to reach us, some things in your church will have to change.
These five things alone won’t do all the work for you. But if you want your church to reach millennials, this is a start to creating an environment that will help.
Otherwise, your church might keep fishing with the wrong bait.
This article about how to reach more Millennials originally appeared here.
