Exponential 2016: Millennials In the Small Church

Ministering to Millennials by Leveraging the Relational Power of Small Churches

Taught by Karl Vaters & Gary Garcia of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, Fountain Valley, CA

 


Premise: Millennials aren’t really a group, like Baby Boomers were, or like we wish they were

Which means: Millennials won’t build the kinds of churches their parent and grandparents built

  • Builders and Boomers took relationships for granted and needed to build structures. Millennials take the structures for granted and need to build relationships.

Result: We have to minister with them as individuals not to them as a demographic group


 

http://newsmallchurch.com/the-grasshopper-myth/buy-the-book/Some principles behind working with millennials in a small church:

 

Don’t fight your small size, use it

 

It’s more about relationships than demographics

 

Know their names, not just their needs (The G.I.F.T. plan)

 

One size never did fit all

 

The “take a number” era of customer service is over

 

Go analog and digital

 

Go deeper, not just bigger

 

Connect them intergenerationally

 

Worship, work and play with them

 

Be genuine, not cool

 

Be real, not just relevant

 

Allow for hard questions

 

Listen before you talk

 

Challenges for the current and future church

  • The way people give is changing
  • The way people commit is changing
  • The way people attend is changing
  • The way people trust is changing
  • Brand loyalty is dead

 


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Karl Vaters • CornerstoneFV.com 

NewSmallChurch.com • ChristianityToday.com/Karl-Vaters

Facebook.com/NewSmallChurch • @KarlVaters

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