What the Millennial Church Lacks- From a Millennial

Let me start off this blog post with a background on who I am.

First off, I am a millennial. I also am a pastor's kid who has been surrounded by the church her entire life. I have been to the small hometown church to the big, three-services-a-day church. I have been the PK running around, the staff member running behind the scenes, and the new comer in the corner awkwardly sipping the burnt coffee. 

When I was 18 years old, I moved from the Bible-belt of California (Bakersfield) to Los Angeles. I began attending a church plant, only two-years old at the time, in the heart of Hollywood. For six months I got to church just in time for service to start and I was always the first one to leave. Through a twist of events I ended up serving as a staff member at this church.

I love this church with my whole heart! This, being a new church in Hollywood, attracted almost 90% of millennials. After attending this church for two years, I moved up to Sacramento to a church that is almost eight years old with three Sunday services and everything between kid's ministry to deacons and elders.

What a shift.

As I have adjusted back to being in a multi-generational church I have come to realize just how much I was missing.

Being in ministry I am more aware to how many "millennial" churches pop up what seems like every week. It is as if the thing to do is take your young adults group from the church, find a building downtown, and have your church the way millennials want church. I get it. What was working to reach this age group fifteen years ago does not work today- and sometimes I don't think the church has realized that. But instead of progressing established churches, we run off and make our own "club".

Now before you get offended and say I am against church planting, hear me out! I love millennial churches and the desire put on this generations heart to grow the Kingdom of God. Especially if that means we are next to my favorite coffee shop. What I am trying to say is, maybe we need less millennial churches and more millennials pushing for growth in the church.

This isn't just for millennials to read, this is for all generations, because part of the reason millennials are running off and making church after church is because the generation older than them refuses to allow for there to be a shift where a shift needs to take place.

I am sorry, but we youngin's like to worship with the lights off. We like Elevation and electric guitars, and yes, we want to worship wearing jeans with holes in them. And please, for the love of everything, we as a generation want to talk about sex and relationships, political injustices, and the things of this real world and how it pertains to the Bible. We as millennials want to be taken seriously, we want our voices heard, because even the Bible tells us to speak up, despite our age. 1 Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."

Now, my fellow generation, just because the church has not "progressed" to our standards and liking does not mean we can run off and make the church just for us. We as a generation need to quit with the attitude of "we can do it better", because sometimes, we can't do it better. Being on staff at a "millennial" church I hit my lid in leadership a whole lot quicker because I could only carry my own growth so far. I had my pastor and my fellow staff members older than me- but there is nothing like being surrounded with a generation filled with years of real life wisdom. There is nothing like a generation who still strongly believes in the power of prayer coming up to you and saying "I have been praying for you," and guess what! They actually have been praying for you! The generation before us is filled with wisdom, authenticity, and a genuine love. 

I am not knocking any millennial church, but lets remember the church is a body made up of many different parts. 1 Corinthians 12:12 "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ." I write better with my right arm than my left, how will I then cut off my left arm for its lack of skill in writing when I need both arms to carry out day to day activities. Just because my left arm can't legibly write my name does not mean it is of any lesser value than my right arm. 

We as millennials NEED the generation before us. I have learned more life lessons at a multi-generational church in seven months than I did at a millennial church in two years. I have learned the power of prayer, I have learned business structures and skills, I have seen what true consistency looks like, and I can't even begin to tell you the stories of how when I seemed to be losing it all- it was the generation before me that came in with wisdom, open arms, and the self-lessness to make sure that I was taken care of.

So, as you sit in your grandma's church singing hymns and being oddly looked at for wearing Adidas to service, instead of plotting and planning which coffee shop to have your young adults tribe take over- why don't you walk over to an elder in the church and ask him to pray for you, ask the deacon or the board member how to be the Biblical example in your family, or you know what- because I believe in the power of all generations- go ask the third grader their view on God's love.

To the generation before us I ask that you hear us millennials out. We are creatives with ideas and passions and if you give us the tools and the room, we would love to change the world! We want to be heard by you, appreciated and respected. We want to be taken seriously and we have a hunger to learn-so long as we aren't shut down because we've got a couple piercings on our face and ink on our body.

To my millennials, let us throw away the attitude of we can do better. Let's strip our pride and allow ourselves to be taught by those before us. Let's give respect to the older generation and understand just as much as we want church to cater to us- they also have ways they would like church to cater to them. Sometimes our music is too loud and yes, there is more to church than the LED screens- at least the generation before us understands that it's more than aesthetics. 

To the church, from whatever generation you are in, let us be the united body that Christ has called us to be. Let's come together- as my dad would say- "one Spirit- uniting all generations". Let's remember that no matter what building you have, what era the worship music is from, whether your church has a social media or not- our mission is not to cater to the people sitting inside the four walls but to go out and share the gospel. May the church be less of "me" and more "Him". How do we as a united body come together and be witnesses to all corners of the world? 

It is not generation vs generation. Our motives to create a new church shouldn't be because someone didn't like my idea of graphics or because I didn't see enough people in Yeezy's. Our motives to plant a church, revive a church, or progress a church should solely be to expand the Kingdom of God.

So, as a millennial- if you forgot I was one- I conclude with this:

We as a church need all generations, all races, and all walks of life. We as a body need to value each other's purpose. And as a millennial- I am thankful for those who have gone before me and I am humbled to learn all I can from all ages.