Youthifying Your Congregation

Dear Pastors

Youthifying Your Congregation

It’s well known that the Church in NZ is ageing and it is ageing at a rapid rate. There are no figures available that I am aware of for the average age in a typical local church but my guess is that it is over 50 years old whereas according to the 2023 census, the average age of the general population in New Zealand is 38 years old.

There is much to be commended for the older people attending your church. With decades of lived experience, unwavering faith, and a deep well of wisdom, these folks are a testament to enduring devotion. However, as the years pass, many ageing churches find themselves facing a common challenge: how to maintain vitality, attract new members, and continue making a meaningful impact in an ever-changing world.

The truth is, the age of your members shouldn’t determine the vibrancy of your church. What matters most is your willingness to adapt, serve, and shine Christ’s light in fresh ways. Your congregation’s wealth of experience, strong faith foundation, and deep community roots are incredible assets that can fuel a new season of growth and impact.

And here are two other realities that you should keep in mind:-

• Most older people love seeing young families and teenagers filling the seats of your church and will gladly make some allowances for ‘their clothes, their music and their ways’. Remember most older people are grand parents who love their grandkids and have already ‘got a feel’ for modern day life for kids.
• Most young people appreciate the opportunity of ‘hanging out’ with older people especially the youngsters who haven’t come from stable backgrounds. Tip for older people. Just be yourself. You don’t need to try and be cool to connect with the kids and you certainly do not need to wear skinny jeans…..heaven forbid! That said I am not sure about that old jumper……..

So given this ‘context’ how might we youthify our church.

1. Ascertain what the average age is in your church. I recommend you chart this so that you can present your findings as a graph. A picture says a thousand words.
2. Organise some meaningful ‘forums’ with different age groups that give you high quality feedback.
3. Use this information to start a number of conversations around your church especially with your Elders (or equivalent).
4. The commitment and determination of the pastor of the church is absolutely crucial to bring the average age down. He/she needs to talk about it a lot. I believe this is fundamentally the pastors task not the youth leaders task.
5. Develop pathways for teenagers and young adults to engage in children’s ministry. I may be a bit old fashioned here but I still believe that there is no better way for a young person to learn to do ministry then get immersed in the Children’s programme. First as a support worker and then as a teacher.
6. Develop an individualised discipleship and mentoring programme for every teenager using older people in your congregation. Never under estimate the power of ‘significant others’ in the spiritual formation of your young people.
7. Create physical environments that kids just love to come to.

Finally for now. The hire of a full time talented Next Generation Pastor is miles out of reach for most churches these days. However, it is my view that this is still the ‘gold standard’. There is something incredibly contagious about a young man or women in their mid-20’s and 30’s who loves kids and will do what it takes to attract, win and develop the kids. The cost to hire such a person is somewhere in the region of $60 - $70K. It may well be one of the best if not THE best investments into the life of your local church you will ever make.

What do you think?

Blessings
Alan