TO ZOOM OR NOT TO ZOOM

In these waning pandemic days in America, many churches are keeping an online worship option going even as they reopen sanctuaries.  All good.

But Zoom worship is already drawing a median age similar to what we had in the building pre-Covid.  Most young adults are no more drawn to a Zoom church experience than they were to the services we had inside. In both cases, a particular paradigm of gathering easily gets conflated with what it means to be active in a church.

Asynchronous options (Youtube at any hour) are somewhat better, especially if they are under thirty minutes and produced with an online experience in mind.

But to really engage Gen Z, a lot more rethinking is necessary.  And honestly, unless Gen Z folks are invited/motivated to get in the kitchen to design with us, there’s not much chance of engaging their friends.  And a warning: the last young adult standing in an older congregation is often out of touch with what it will take to reach the other 99% of their peers.

Critical questions for ministry design:

1. What does discipleship look like for this generation? 

2. How do people find community?

3. How is (whatever we want to do) relevant to the life of a 28 year old?  

4. What are some major life questions or yearnings among the population we wish to reach?

5. How can we think multi-faceted gathering (that includes worship experiences) rather than simply creating a worship service?

6. What difference will anything we are doing or inviting people to do make in the world?

My latest book, Cultural Competency, will help your church’s ministry team go further in the adventure of generational renewal.

Happy Pentecost!