5 Ways To Reach The Millennial Generation In Your Church

Reaching The Millennial Generation In Your Church

Every generation in every culture has some unifying factor that makes them unique. This is true for the millennial generation in your church.

This is something that resonates across the entire generation that they might not consciously recognize but they respond to all the same. For the boomer generation, it was music. For millennials, it is something else.

With today’s millennial generation I believe that factor is interaction. Our teaching methods have adopted interactivity as part of the program. Our social media websites promote interactivity. They grew up interacting with technology with video games, cell phones, and searching for information interactively with search engines like Google.

The most common complaint I hear from those in the millennial generation is that they do not want to go to church to sit and watch an event culminating with some guy telling them what to do. What they are not saying because their culture is unaware of the factor influencing this feeling is that they feel the church is lacking interaction.

So I want to give you five biblical ways you can make your church more interactive and thus communicate the gospel to the millennial generation in your church in a way that resonates with them.

Make Eating Together Part Of Your Sunday Service Schedule

ACTS 2:42 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION (NLT)

THE BELIEVERS FORM A COMMUNITY
42 ALL THE BELIEVERS DEVOTED THEMSELVES TO THE APOSTLES’ TEACHING, AND TO FELLOWSHIP, AND TO SHARING IN MEALS (INCLUDING THE LORD’S SUPPER), AND TO PRAYER.

Instead of just offering coffee and donuts as people walk into your church, schedule a time before or after for people to gather in your fellowship hall or another room to sit down and have coffee, tea, donuts, pastries, oatmeal, fruit, etc. together while they share what has been happening in their lives with one another.

Can you think of a better way for people to make meaningful relationships with one another or to make new friends?

Have A Question And Answer Session After The Morning Message.

Yes, I know that we have been taught that the message should lead to an altar call or ministry time. I have no problem with that, but God is bigger than your hook to reel them in. Notice this scripture.

ACTS 2:37 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION (NLT)

³⁷ PETER’S WORDS PIERCED THEIR HEARTS, AND THEY SAID TO HIM AND TO THE OTHER APOSTLES, “BROTHERS, WHAT SHOULD WE DO?”

When you permit for people to ask questions, you allow God to work in a higher capacity. They find out what they need to do, or change, or how to respond. They get to interact immediately with the message. Give it a try. You will find that more people respond to your ministry time when they learn how to respond in the first place.

Have People Pray For One Another

Instead of having the “professionals” do all the praying, allow the congregation to pray for one another. Have people raise their hands if they need prayer for something. Ask the rest to go and pray for them. It is amazing what you will see happen when you give people permission to do what they are called to do in the first place.

JAMES 5:16 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION (NLT)

CONFESS YOUR SINS TO EACH OTHER AND PRAY FOR EACH OTHER SO THAT YOU MAY BE HEALED. THE EARNEST PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS PERSON HAS GREAT POWER AND PRODUCES WONDERFUL RESULTS.

Maybe sing a couple of songs, pause to have people pray for one another, then sing some more. Wherever you schedule it, permit people to interact with one another with prayer.

Have People Share What God Is Doing In Their Lives

It is essential to teach people how to live the Christian life. Part of that teaching is by modeling and practice. What better place to show people how to share their faith than with one another.

Give place for people to share what God is doing in their life. Let them share their testimony. Not just their salvation experience although that is great as well, let them share how He is working in the ordinary everyday things that most of us go through. They will learn how to do it with one another, and it will spread to doing it with those that are not part of God’s family yet.

REVELATION 12:11 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION (NLT)

11 AND THEY HAVE DEFEATED HIM BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB
AND BY THEIR TESTIMONY.
AND THEY DID NOT LOVE THEIR LIVES SO MUCH
THAT THEY WERE AFRAID TO DIE.

Make Time For People To Use Their Spiritual Gifts

There is something to be said for letting people know when they can do something. Most people do not want to interrupt. Telling them when to give the gift that God has given them is a good idea.

The scripture teaches that we are to come prepared to give a gift.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:26 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION (NLT)

A CALL TO ORDERLY WORSHIP
26 WELL, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, LET’S SUMMARIZE. WHEN YOU MEET TOGETHER, ONE WILL SING, ANOTHER WILL TEACH, ANOTHER WILL TELL SOME SPECIAL REVELATION GOD HAS GIVEN, ONE WILL SPEAK IN TONGUES, AND ANOTHER WILL INTERPRET WHAT IS SAID. BUT EVERYTHING THAT IS DONE MUST STRENGTHEN ALL OF YOU.

I do not believe that this is a list of what gifts people should bring. I think it is a principle that we all should have something to offer. So make room for people to submit their gifts. When people come to interact, the Holy Spirit is given free reign to move in the lives of everyone, both the receiver and the giver.

Let’s make church less about the program, the professionals, the event, and more about the interaction shall we?

I believe that if you do so, you will reach the millennial generation in your church.

Blessings!

Pastor Duke