I'm currently twenty-five and have my fair share of tattoos. Safe to say sometimes I get glares from some when I step into a church, but I don't get discouraged anymore. I'm there for God, not for the people that do or do not like my tattoos. For the past three months I have been “Church hopping”. I have seen all different styles of service and preaching. I don't go to different churches because I haven't found one I'm comfortable at, I enjoy hearing the Bible taught in different ways. I love getting new perspective on Jesus. Most of all I go to church to learn.

• Have you ever visited a new church?
• What were some of the things you liked/disliked about it?

I see some churches still preaching the same sermons and doing the same things from week to week that were done when I was five. Some churches are failing to see they have been having the same service for twenty years and wonder why our generation is leaving. The biggest problem with our generation leaving church isn't that the the churches attendance is falling. Say fifty percent of our generation leaves church. Now fifty percent of our generation's children won't grow up in church. Take the other fifty percent that did grow up in church and when they get older fifty percent of them leave. Granted these are just made up numbers, but following this pattern that would be seventy-five percent of the next generation not in church. 

• Is your church gaining or losing attendance?
• How can you help get more people to come to your church?

CHANGE

Our generation grew up with the internet. If you had a question about something it was a click away. We're smart and we want to make a difference because of this. We want to be involved. I see some churches that do not give younger people any leadership roles because of our age or experience. Most all churches I've seen that are thriving today have multiple people in leadership roles. “That's just the way we have always done it” is not acceptable to us. We want better. I love to be engaged and seeing people engaged in church. Engagement is what it is all about, bringing people together to learn and follow God. There is no better way to get today's generation involved in church than to let them help in areas they are skilled in. That is where I have seen churches do better than others, if you won't let us help then we won't be around long, chances are there is a church right down the road that would welcome our skills with open arms.

Older generations seem to be scared about letting us involved because they are worried we will produce change. We are not trying to change the theology of the church, we are trying to change the way that theology is delivered. If suggestions are made to better the church, have a real conversation about it. Is it a good idea? Why or why not? Our generation gets a lot of grief about being selfish, that's not true. We speak up when we have ideas and would like to discuss them rather than just hearing “no, that won't work”. 

• Would you consider forward movement a good or a bad thing?
• Do you bring new ideas to your leaders? Why or why not?

AUTHENTIC

Projectors, big televisions, and a good looking Facebook pages are some things you see churches doing to try to entice younger people. Using technology to involve people is great and should be done, but if the church is not authentic those things don't matter. Our generation is turned off by being judged. No one is perfect and everyone has flaws. We need honesty and deep conversations about struggle and sin. Instead of telling us what we are doing wrong and living a life of sin, share some stories about your battle with temptation and what you went through to overcome it. 

When I go to church I'm looking to feel connected. I want to know what people went through that led them to church. Open up your struggles to others and they will feel more connected to you than ever before. They too have probably battled with something and would feel good to hear someone else's solution to a spiritual problem.

Luke 9:10 says “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.(NIV)”

Church is a place for the lost, yet some churches look down or don't reach out to the lost. When a church is solely focused on the congregation that has been regularly attending for twenty years and is blind to the people in the back that were scared to walk through the doors, why would their attendance grow? Be an authentic Christian and reach out to those in need.

• Have you ever had a battle with faith?
• How did you overcome it?

SUBSTANCE

Our generation wants substance, not fluff. We want to talk about real things. We want to feel the sermon not just hear it. We are in an age now where we have two extremes, the preacher who basically just reads the Bible and the preacher who focused more on his putting together a cool powerpoint than he did his actual sermon. One of my favorite preachers uses slideshows during his sermon, but he uses them to help me follow him or engage me in the story. Not just to be cool. The reason I enjoy hearing him preach so much is because he is real. He compares the Bible to current times. He gets people engaged by relating the Bible to things that could be happening to you or I right now.

Substance in his sermons are so powerful I walk out of that church every time with strong desire to become a better man. That is the way church is supposed to be. To make you want to be more Christ-like. 

• How does the Bible relate to me?
• How does Jesus relate to me?

COMMUNITY

Get involved in the community. Christians help other people other than their own. If we want to grow the church we must reach out. Our generation doesn't care if the church has a top of the line 4K tv or a sound system that could shake down the St. Louis Arch. We want to help others, we want a bond with our community, and most of all we want to tear down the stereotypes that we are hypocrites. Let us show people we care about them. TVs are cool but if the media budget was cut and outreach was extended think of the things we could do. Say you host a block party and anyone is invited to enjoy fellowship and free food. Someone may come because they have no other way to eat that day and end up being save on the following Sunday because someone shared their story with them over a cheeseburger. 

• What kind of event could your church host to help your community?
• What can you do to help get it off the ground?

Our generation is being misunderstood for only caring about technology and new fancy things in church. There are two extremes happening right now. The churches who are stuck in the past and will not move forward and the churches who spend every bit of their budget on trying to get younger people in. We want change, But the change we want is to be engaged and reach out to people in need. Help us achieve those wants and I guarantee your church will flourish. 

*All writing and photos are original and wrote/taken by myself.