You see, I’ve spent a lot of time the past few years looking for the answer to this question. The expectation in many churches is that a young pastor will bring in young people (or more specifically, young families). But it’s not that simple. Having a young pastor won’t just make young people magically appear. First, we have to answer that question, why aren’t they coming?
There is a long list reasons why people don’t want to go to church; everyone has their own reasons, and it would be impossible to write one post that analyzes each of those reasons in depth. But there is one reason I’ve encountered that I think churches need to be more aware of if they want to reach younger generations. When we were little, growing up in the mainline protestant church, we were taught the bible stories; when we were a little older, we went to youth group and ate pizza and had lock ins, and over and over we were told that we should go to church. But what our churches failed to explain sufficiently was, why? Why does it all matter? So, while older generations are asking, why don’t you want to go to church anymore, my generation is asking, why should we?
Looking at the last hundred years of church history, this problem is actually very understandable. When I talk to older members of the churches I’ve served, they all have fond memories of the 50s and 60s, or “the good old days”. In those days, everyone went to church. If you didn’t get there early, you might have a hard time finding a seat. But why was church so full back then? Because going to church was expected. Particularly in small towns like the places I have served, if you didn’t go to church on Sunday, people noticed, and they would be talking about it on Monday. In 1950, over 95% of the United States identified as Christian. Church was an essential part of the majority culture. It was an important part of people’s social lives. People went to church, not necessarily because there was no where else they would rather be, but because it was expected of them.
But then along came the 70s, 80s and 90s, and the culture began to shift in a more secular direction. Not going to church no longer made you a social outcast. More people began filling their spiritual needs elsewhere. The church could no longer rely on social pressures to keep their pews full. They needed to give people new reasons to come to church. But many mainline protestant churches failed to do this. In the churches I’ve worshipped and worked in throughout my life, most of them are still struggling to answer the question that millennials are asking: why should we come to church? These churches are largely made up of older members who either remember the good old days or were raised by people who did. They’re the ones who really did want to be there, who keep coming because it is the place they most want to be on Sunday morning.
The people who still come to church every Sunday know why they come to church, but they don’t have an answer for younger generations that is actually sufficient. It doesn’t help that often those most vocal about inviting others to church give reasons that are superficial.* “Because it’s what you’re supposed to do,” isn’t a complete answer. “Because good people go to church,” doesn’t hold up in today’s society. We know lots of good people who follow other religions or no religion at all. “Because you’ll go to heaven,” doesn’t work in a church that’s spent so much time emphasizing that salvation is through faith and grace, not good works. “To worship God,” doesn’t work in a world where people have learned to find connection to the divine outside the church (after all, didn’t they teach us that God is not confined by the church walls?). “To find fellowship/purpose/strength/encouragement,” can be good reasons, but it isn’t enough motivation for people who can and do find those things elsewhere. More conservative churches have largely relied on guilt and fear tactics (“if you don’t come to church and believe everything we say, you’ll burn in hell for all eternity”). Many mainline churches try to be an alternative to that type of theology, a place where people can hear a message of love and grace instead of shame and condemnation. But that’s not a reason to come to church either. Our churches are still slowly dying off because ultimately, we keep failing to answer that nagging question, “Why should I go to church?”
When it comes down to it though, I think it’s a problem of miscommunication. Churches aren’t able to answer the question, because they are trying to answer the wrong question. When someone asks that question, churches try to list of all the ways that coming to church will benefit the individual: you’ll develop your relationship with God, you’ll find fellowship, you’ll learn about the Bible, you’re personal life will improve. They’re answering the question, “What difference will it make in my life?”
But a lot of millennials aren’t particularly concerned with that question. You see, we’ve learned about the general history of Christianity, about “holy” wars, and witch burnings, and colonialism, and imperialism, and all of the other horrifying things people have done in the name of Christianity. We look around us today and see that the most outspoken Christians in our country are the ones spreading the most hate, the ones promoting discrimination and bigotry in the name of Jesus. And we’ve got mainline churches telling us, “Don’t worry, we’re not like those churches.” So, when millennials ask, “Why should I go to church?” they’re not asking, “what difference will it make in my life?” They’re often asking, “What difference will it make to the world?”
And that is what it all comes down to. We don’t want a church that says, “We’re not like those other churches,” but still just sits in their building talking feel good theology and “staying out of politics.” We want a church that is going out into the community and actually doing something about the problems caused by bad Christianity. Worship and study and fellowship are all important things in church and things that many people really do need, but the younger generations are looking for more than just that. We tend to be very concerned with issues of justice, and we want a church that really walks the walk. We want a church that provides sanctuary to immigrants when other churches are calling for their deportation. We want a church that shows up at abortion clinics to escort women when other churches show up to harass them. We want a church that shows up to march with Black Lives Matter and Pride parades when other churches show up to counter protest them. We want a church that fights for renewable energy and protecting the environment when other churches fight against it. We don’t want a church that just talks about justice and peace as some dream for the future; we want a church that goes out and makes it happen now.
And if the church can’t do those things, young people will find those things elsewhere. Because the younger generations really do care about making this world a better place. And when they open the Bible, they discover a God who taught standing with the oppressed and opposing injustice. But then they look at our churches and ask, why aren’t you doing these things?
So, if you’re still asking, “why don’t young people want to come to my church”, you may need to take a long hard look at your church. Does your church only serve its own members? Are you focused on making people feel good and not upsetting the status quo so members will keep giving you money? Is your mission giving money to other organizations or going on “mission trips” to build houses in poor countries? Do you prefer to support causes that provide Band-Aid solutions instead of real systemic change? If your church disappeared tomorrow would the rest of your community, particularly the most vulnerable members of your community, even notice you were gone? Because if your church isn’t getting out into the community to make real change in a world full of injustice, violence, and hatred, then you will never have a satisfactory answer to the question, “why should I go to church?”
*I’ve heard many other heartfelt reasons why people go to church, but they often come from people who are quieter about their faith and less likely to share or invite others to church.
Image Source: United Church of Christ