Think – Sing – Pray 10,000 Reasons

Why 20-Somethings are leaving church and how to re-engage this generation.

THE MILLENNIAL EXODUS

‘The loss of the national treasure of an entire generation of Haiti’s best and brightest is a loss that cannot be measured or replaced.’

DISCUSS:

Are you aware of this missing generation ?

What will that mean to the church if changes don’t occur?

“HEMORRHAGING FAITH” –2011 James Penner et al.

• “(This) sobering new research on Canadian “raised Christian” 18 to 34 year-olds. For every five Catholic and Mainline Protestant kids who attended church at least weekly in the 1980s and ’90s only one still attends at least weekly now as an adult; for those raised in Evangelical traditions it is one in two. And that’s not all. Most who have quit attending altogether also have dropped their Christian affiliation.”

Session Outline:

• 1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD

•2) REASONS FOR THEIR EXODUS FROM CHURCH

•3) MILLENNIAL RE:ENGAGEMENT

1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD• a. Who are Millennials and what are they like?

•

• Stats Canada: -“...In general, a generation is a group of individuals who are about the same age and have experienced, most often as children or young adults, specific historical events, such as an economic crisis, an economic boom, a war, or significant political changes. These events may influence their views of the world.”

Compare Generations – Pew Research

1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD

• BORN between 1980 -2004:

• Largest Generation in Hx

• Ethnically Diverse

• Digital natives

• Most Educated

1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD• Continued..

• Cause oriented

• Optimistic

• Need Mentoring

• ‘Spiritual but not religious’

1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD• TOP PRIORITIES for Millennials (2010) Pew Research

• To be a good parent - 52%

• Have a successful marriage – 30%

• Helping others in need – 27%

• Buying a home – 20%

Big Bang Theory

1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD

•b. Millennial Pressures on faith

• Worldview challenges: from Rabbit-ears to cable TV.

‘It’s Complicated!’

• “it’s hard to know how to live with the onslaught of information, worldviews and options they are faced with every day. One of the specific criticisms young adults frequently make about Christianity is that it does not offer deep, thoughtful or challenging answers to life in a complex culture.” - (David Kinnaman)

1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD

•b. Millennial Pressures on faith

•Post-modernism & truth

•Lost Confidence in Authority

•Runaway Consumerism

•Deconstructed Family

•Compressed Time & Demands

•Secularizing Culture

1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD• c. The Millennial Exodus:

• 60% of ‘Churched Millennials’ are now De-churched.

• “you had a better chance of survival on the Titanic than a child’s faith has in our churches”

CANADIAN MILLENIALS

Who are the Millennials?

2) REASONS FOR THE EXODUS FROM CHURCH

Discussion:

What reasons would you suggest for the departure?

‘Its complicated…”

2) REASONS FOR THE EXODUS FROM CHURCHa. Sociological Factors

“Study after study indicates that parents are the most significant spiritual influence in their spiritual lives….changes in parents marital status or their rate of attendance would influence the spiritual lives of their children.”

- Hem. Faith Study.

2) REASONS FOR THE EXODUS FROM CHURCHb. Ecclesiological factors: Church problems

• Mission involves ‘engaging the ever-changing culturewith the never-changing Gospel.’ – John Stott

Culture

Gospel

i. Church’s failure to navigate changing-culture

Culture

Gospel

ii. Church’s failure to communicate the never-changing Gospel adequately:

• Kenda Creasy Dean “Almost Christian”, we pass on an ‘almost-Christian mutant’ faithto their kids.

• Sociologist Christian Smith - “moralistic, therapeutic, deism”

• “Our serious questions, if they were answered at all, were often answered with simple platitudes and insufficient clichés… We weren’t taught the Bible.” - Millennial Blogger – Ben

ii. Church’s failure to communicate the never-changing Gospel adequately:

“We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor, there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there!”

3) MILLENNIAL RE: ENGAGMENT

What can be done?

“…Here’s the thing, having been advertised to our whole lives, we Millennials have highly sensitive BS meters and we’re not easily impressed with consumerism or performances…” - Rachel Evans, CNN 2013

Pursue 3 Values:

• Authenticity

• Expectancy

• Holistic Church

3) MILLENNIAL RE: ENGAGMENT

a. Authentic Culture in Church

• Exploring calling together

• Resourcing rather than recruiting:

• Dealing with Disappointments:

3) MILLENNIAL RE: ENGAGMENTb. Expectancy in Worship

3) MILLENNIAL RE: ENGAGMENTc. HOLISTIC MODEL OF CHURCH

•Holistic Christians know that Church is far more than a weekend service…

•C.H.U.R.C.H. =• Christ

• Honoring

• Unified and

• Redemptive

• Community of

• Hope

WHOLE BIBLE – Spiritual Formation

• “Spiritual formation is the grace-directed process into Christlikeness, that involves the renewing of the mind, heart and habits, through God’s word and God’s presence, which is the expected norm of historic Christianity.” – Dallas Willard

“offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—…be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Romans 12

WHOLE CHURCH: AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY

• “…They refuse to be worship-only attendees, they desire to be in more relational settings..” Rahner

• “…just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” - JESUS

WHOLE WORLD – Missional Servants

• Millennials are intensely community focused, they are more likely to be in a church where the leadership and congregation care about and are involved in the community they serve. –Thom Rahner

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

- Jesus

WHOLE GOSPEL: X-Centered Lives

• “Millennials need guidance on engaging culture meaningfully, and from a distinctly Christian perspective. This idea of finding a way to bring their faith in Jesus to the problems they encounter in the world seems to be one of the most powerful motivations of today’s practicing Christian Millennials.” (BARNA)

Mentoring – 90% of de-churched had none…

Vulnerability about marriage, money, sex, work

Haiti - “Building Back Better”• Leslie Voltaire

and a number of Architects dreamed of rebuilding Haiti – it would involve creating “Magnets of attraction” that would draw people from the camps and ghettos to places of health, work and community.

CONCLUSION:

•Discussion Groups

•Youth Workers

•Parents

•Ministry Leaders

POWERPOINTS - Contact

www.danrutherford.ca

dan.rutherford@gmail.com