“Restarting” a Church
This
article
at kfgo.com caught our attention:
A struggling Minnesota church is asking its older parishioners to go away in hopes of making it more attractive to young families.
Grove United Methodist Church in the St. Paul suburb of Cottage Grove is closing in June, with plans to relaunch in November.
The present members, most of them over 60 years old, will be invited to worship elsewhere. Church officials say the congregation needs a reset and the best way is to appeal to younger people.
The Methodists’ regional organization is paying $250,000 to restart the church.
In this podcast: Dave Adams, a Campus Pastor at Concordia and Worship Pastor at NDSU Lutheran Campus Ministry joins Amy Iler & Eric Johnson.
Adams says, “This sounds like the very definition of age discrimination… a healthy congregation needs voices of ALL ages… you need people who can share their faith experiences and how they have seen God at work in their lives, throughout their lives.”
(Dave Adams, photo courtesy of
Concordia College, Moorhead
)
Millennials & Church
The headlines over the last few years have been clear: millennials are not going to church.
But, it’s not so grim.
Adams says, “In general, people want to know their faith is active in the world, not just in a church building. Fewer people are attending worship, because they don’t see that as the only way to express their faith… they see their faith going out into the world.”
While a lot of people think millennials don’t have a strong faith, Adams says it’s the opposite.
“Their faith is so embodied in how they live… and that’s what they want to know a church cares about… how will the church help be a force for good.”
Church 2.0: The Question Everyone is Asking
With dynamics changing, does the church service, too? In 20 years, is there still church on Sunday morning?
Adams says this is the question everyone is asking, but no one can answer.
He notes that there is an interesting trend of younger people gravitating to more traditional services. “It is more reflective to them.” In a world where we are constantly connected to devices and entertainment, many younger people are finding a traditional service to be more reflective and spiritual.
Additional content:
Is Hanukkah the Jewish Christmas?
Sanity Before Vanity: Life with 7 Kids
(Amy Iler & JJ Gordon are talk-show hosts at 790 AM KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. “It Takes 2 with Amy & JJ” can be heard weekdays 11am-2pm. Check out the show page on
FACEBOOK.
Follow Amy on Twitter
@AmyKFGO
. Follow JJ on Twitter
@JJGodon701
.)
