Many churches are concerned about “attracting Millennials.” After all, there are sobering statistics from respected researchers like Pew and Barna about the decline of church attendance in this demographic along with a majority who consider religion irrelevant. The possibility of missing a generation is a troubling concern for churches—which means it is also a big concern for church designers.
Conventional wisdom says that Millennials are tech-savvy so churches need a high level of technology to attract them. The problem is that the conversation is usually based on an erroneous premise: that the way to solve the problem is about upgrading the technology. (As if installing the same technology used in dance clubs will draw people out of them and into churches. It’s flawed logic.)
As a technology consultant, I’m drawn into this conversation often, and here’s the thing: We are having the wrong conversation.
Why the Millennials + technology framework is ineffective
The shift from “digital immigrants” to “digital natives” happened with the GenXers. Not only that, but the oldest Millennials are now over 40, and GenZ is hitting the workforce. To clarify, the largest percentage of our congregations were raised in the digital world.
For a decade, the “generational issue” has been a hot topic for researchers, conferences and webinars.
Why? Largely because of fear.
The technology shift that resulted in “digital immigrants” and “digital natives” fueled a different conversation than previous generations experienced. The shift in the way things were done touched every fabric of our experience from communication, to education, to shopping, to navigation, to transportation, and—as we all know—to worship.
The impact of the technology shift on culture happened long before LED screens and 8k resolution—which means that these technologies are not the answer to the problem. And framing the conversation as if technology were the solution misses the point. Why?
Well, since the majority of our church attendees are already digital natives, it’s a dated conversation. The target labeled “Millennials” is too small.
A more effective conversation
Most good church designers know how to look beyond a client’s request to get to what the church is really trying to solve.
Most good church designers know how to look beyond a client’s request to get to what the church is really trying to solve.
For example, a church that contacts a design firm to build a sports center for youth can have many reasons for doing so. Maybe they have a large demographic of high schoolers, or maybe they want to engage teens from the high school across the street, or maybe their neighborhood lacks a safe recreational facility for the young people who live there. But if the conversation starts with the type of sports facility the church wants to build, then we miss the most important part of the dialog. Starting with the size of the basketball court instead of the project’s mission can result in wasting money on a facility whose vision is never realized.
However, if the conversation starts with the mission, then the natural flow is to the activity it will take to meet the mission. If a church designer understands the mission and activity, then designing the tool to accomplish those goals becomes clear.
Going back to the youth sports facility example, would the strategy shift if the high school across the street was an arts magnet or STEM school? Would the project in an at-risk neighborhood be successful if there was a lack of security in the design? Would the facility remain empty if there were no programs to draw people inside? Would there be a more effective way to meet the mission rather than building a building at all?
Starting the conversation with the mission keeps us from simply mimicking what other churches have done. Because what works in one context may not be, and often is not, relevant in another.
Starting the conversation with the mission keeps us from simply mimicking what other churches have done.
Church designers have the opportunity to be responsive—simply drawing what is asked for—or we can be transformative in our consulting, shaping the conversation in terms of mission > activity > facility.
Churches that build to solve an attendance problem usually fail. But churches that start with a mission to reach people, then get to know those people to find out their real needs, often succeed. Because that mission drives what they do, and that in turn drives what they build.
Reject the myth and embrace the mission
Churches that want to connect with Millennials and GenZ aren’t going to get the job done by simply upgrading AVL technology. It will require a deep dive into what they value, and a willingness to look at some of the hard reasons we are missing them in both our mission and our activities.
Churches that want to connect with Millennials and GenZ aren’t going to get the job done by simply upgrading AVL technology.
It will require real conversation—going beyond the stereotypes and assumptions. (I’ve been in many meetings where someone starts talking about using technology to attract Millennials when there isn’t a single Millennial—or GenZ—in the room.)
As long as the conversation stays focused on “attracting Millennials with technology” we are burning time, missing opportunity, and ultimately allowing clients to invest money in strategies that will fail. Worse, if we as church designers abdicate our responsibility in leading the dialog, then we leave it to be shaped by marketing and sales reps, whose job is to convince clients that their products are the solution to their deepest fears.
It is much more effective to become leaders in helping churches talk about mission.
We have to be designing for much longer timelines than the short-term attraction of a group entering their forties. We have to meet the mission of real and deep connection.
