However, many churches I've been in struggle with integrating different generations. The teens hang out with the teens, the older folks only spend time with each other, the college students only do events with...other college students.
When cliques in the church revolve around age groups, you lose so much. You lose rich opportunities for mentorship and support. Sure, we can talk about healthy marriages from a book-learning perspective with our young married couples, but isn't it more gratifying to have older couples who are willing to invite a young struggling couple over to dinner and support and love on them?
A few months ago, I was picked as a judge for a blog competition, and the entries were amazing. I'll share several over the next few weeks, but one that stood out - as I was reflecting on millennials in the church - was this article from The Light Breaks Through titled:
(scroll down below the picture to see the article on his page!)
The Barna group did a large research study about millennials and religion and discovered some super interesting statistics. Keith Haney identified five tips based on that research to help keep the millennials engaged in church. We have so incredible, creative, inspiring young minds in our churches that will impact generations if we nurture and support them, and I think he has some great suggestions.
Check it out and let me know what you think. Are the millennials in your church engaged? Do you agree with this? Are we on the right path as a church?
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