STL churches staying young through creative means
From ksdk.com,
"Next time you attend church, you might want to take a look around. You may see fewer young faces in the pews. A recent Pew research poll finds that in the last decade, 8% of Christians dropped out of their faith. Most of those that left, were young adults.
But, some St. Louis congregations are hoping they can stop those statistics in their tracks by using an unusual and creative approach.
Live bands are among the tools some of the churches use.
The Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis launched a program called "Theology on Tap."
Once a month, adults ages 21 to 35 gather at the Kirkwood Station Brewing Company to talk about faith and have some beers.
"Have a beer, listen to some talks, it's a good time," said 26-year-old nursing student, Andreanna Chrismer.
The archdiocese event has a raffle to win an iPad at this event.
"This is an age group the church is missing. The traditional wisdom has been that when young adults need the sacraments they'll come back to the church. I think as we look at statistics, that's not actually happening," said Brian Miller, Director of Young Adult Ministry.
But other churches are using other approaches to keep the millennials they have. Modern mega church, Faith Church, has three locations in Sunset Hills, Weldon Spring, and Earth City. Each facility is equipped with huge flat screen televisions, live bands, and full production teams. The services are not only at the church campuses but are also offered on t.v. and online. It's a big plus for the busy young adult.
Thirty-five-year-old attorney, Danielle Adler, says "I travel a fair amount for work. It's great to have the online option. Information is a click away so it's great that that's true for church too."
Other pastors are modernizing by getting rid of the traditional church altogether. Pastor Matt Bartig of the North Road Baptist Church in Moscow Mills bought a 125 acre field and an old car dealership in which to hold services.
"We really wanted to stay relevant… and the cool thing is it's got a ton of parking," said Bartig.
North Road Church can definitely use all the space. Of the 600 members, almost all of them are between the ages of 21 and 45 years old.
"You see a lot of churches trying to pour truth exactly like they did in 1950, we don't do anything else like we did in 1950," Bartig explained.
Bartig has started movie nights in the 125-acre field. Plus, poker nights, even flag football, paintball, and volleyball leagues. It's what Bartig calls the key to keeping the Baptist faith alive.
"We're as biblical or more biblical than we ever were, just biblical that meets the cultural relevancy of the people we encounter. Because if we don't meet the ones that are 20 or 30, the church will be dead in a few years," Bartig said."
The Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis launched a program called "Theology on Tap."
Once a month, adults ages 21 to 35 gather at the Kirkwood Station Brewing Company to talk about faith and have some beers.
"Have a beer, listen to some talks, it's a good time," said 26-year-old nursing student, Andreanna Chrismer.
The archdiocese event has a raffle to win an iPad at this event.
"This is an age group the church is missing. The traditional wisdom has been that when young adults need the sacraments they'll come back to the church. I think as we look at statistics, that's not actually happening," said Brian Miller, Director of Young Adult Ministry.
But other churches are using other approaches to keep the millennials they have. Modern mega church, Faith Church, has three locations in Sunset Hills, Weldon Spring, and Earth City. Each facility is equipped with huge flat screen televisions, live bands, and full production teams. The services are not only at the church campuses but are also offered on t.v. and online. It's a big plus for the busy young adult.
Thirty-five-year-old attorney, Danielle Adler, says "I travel a fair amount for work. It's great to have the online option. Information is a click away so it's great that that's true for church too."
Other pastors are modernizing by getting rid of the traditional church altogether. Pastor Matt Bartig of the North Road Baptist Church in Moscow Mills bought a 125 acre field and an old car dealership in which to hold services.
"We really wanted to stay relevant… and the cool thing is it's got a ton of parking," said Bartig.
North Road Church can definitely use all the space. Of the 600 members, almost all of them are between the ages of 21 and 45 years old.
"You see a lot of churches trying to pour truth exactly like they did in 1950, we don't do anything else like we did in 1950," Bartig explained.
Bartig has started movie nights in the 125-acre field. Plus, poker nights, even flag football, paintball, and volleyball leagues. It's what Bartig calls the key to keeping the Baptist faith alive.
"We're as biblical or more biblical than we ever were, just biblical that meets the cultural relevancy of the people we encounter. Because if we don't meet the ones that are 20 or 30, the church will be dead in a few years," Bartig said."
My comments:
The telling lines are "we really wanted to stay relevant" and "biblical that meets the cultural relevancy of the people we encounter." This two statements alone tell me a lot. If by staying relevant we are watering down the Gospel message so we don't offend anyone, then this is the wrong approach. Jesus never said "meet the culture of the people." He DID say go out and make disciples. Tell the truth. Preach the Gospel. Talk about how depraved and sinful we are, and how we are in desperate need of a savior. Also he is saying if we don't do this the church "will be dead in a couple of years." That's not really what I read in the Bible when Jesus talks about the gates of hell not prevailing. God is sovereign and His church will not die, even if we don't meet the people on their own terms. And why not preach the gospel like they did in 1950? We don't need to modernize God's message. Churches need to tell the truth about the Christian life, and get out of the way, and the Holy Spirit will do the work in man's heart.
- T. Meiers
The telling lines are "we really wanted to stay relevant" and "biblical that meets the cultural relevancy of the people we encounter." This two statements alone tell me a lot. If by staying relevant we are watering down the Gospel message so we don't offend anyone, then this is the wrong approach. Jesus never said "meet the culture of the people." He DID say go out and make disciples. Tell the truth. Preach the Gospel. Talk about how depraved and sinful we are, and how we are in desperate need of a savior. Also he is saying if we don't do this the church "will be dead in a couple of years." That's not really what I read in the Bible when Jesus talks about the gates of hell not prevailing. God is sovereign and His church will not die, even if we don't meet the people on their own terms. And why not preach the gospel like they did in 1950? We don't need to modernize God's message. Churches need to tell the truth about the Christian life, and get out of the way, and the Holy Spirit will do the work in man's heart.
- T. Meiers
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