Does the church need to “be cool” to attract young people? Is that the answer to the decline in attendance for the twenty somethings? The Wall Street Journal, of all places, has an interesting take on this question.
Grace Christian Fellowship is a young church. In your opinion, what attracts the the twenty somethings? Even more importantly, what should attract the youth?
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I don't believe the statistics. Youth may stray, but many of them are going to find the truths that they believed in their youth are quite true when God sovereignly shows them where the “truth” of the world leads them.I think much of the reason that kids leave is because of the candy coating that they get in Sunday school and youth groups. When they hit the real world, the sweetness doesn't cut it anymore. The world is a brutal place no matter how much syrup you put on it. The reason Mark Driscoll is successful at attracting young adults is not because he is “cool” but because he is brutally unapologetic. He doesn't candy coat anything. Moreover, if you are living in a candy coated self image, he will shatter it for you.They young generation has been fed sweet their entire lives — They crave salty.Trying to “reach” by some human endeavor and clever cool sales pitch is just a different flavor of candy coating. They aren't going to buy it.
I was really impressed by the Wall Street journal article. Not what I expected. As a twenty something myself, I can say that what has attracted me was a humble reliance on the Holy Spirit by leadership, strong commitment to truth (esp. the Gospel), and the hospitality of the members.