I’m NOT Your Demographic
I got into an interesting conversation with a friend of mine recently about demographics and specifically how it relates to the local church. Last night, I read an older, yet interesting article on churchmarketingsucks about communicating to/with the next generation. Here’s a snapshot of the next generation:
How they live has everything to do with how they work. They time shift. Favorite shows happen online on-demand. News is 24/7. There’s not much use for e-mail. Instead, they’re YouTubing, Stumbling, Digging, Twittering, blogging, updating. They’re Loopted and LinkedIn. Caffeine drives the day and night. In this world, wristwatches and alarm clocks are as necessary as rabbit ears. They grew up IMing, and the cell phone rules. Area-code identity is mobile but long lasting–a virtual network.
It’s the shortcut generation. That toolbar up top is for old-timers; these guys learned to Cmd-Option-Shift-A in middle school because it was cool, not necessary. Desktops are institutional holdovers. Everyone has a set of on-the-go tools: camera, laptop, videocam, hard drive, cool bag to tote it all. They’re experts early on, manhandling Final Cut or Flash with intuitive authority. They’re Idea 2.0, the mashup generation and one with confluence, that place beyond convergence where the old sloughs off and the new quickly gets morphed into the cultural DNA.
The post goes on to talk about DNA. Specifically the DNA that holds the church together. I understand that the DNA that holds the Church together is Jesus. We can not and should not change/alter the DNA which is Jesus Christ. We have to hold tight to the truths and doctrines that are presented in the Word of God, but I think we need to pay attention to those coming behind us in the next generation.
Some may look at me and think that I represent the snapshot laid out above, but the harsh reality is I am far from this. I enjoy all types of church worship styles. I enjoy Sunday School, but see how small groups that are meeting in homes work also. I love topical preaching style, but also really enjoy listening and learning under expository preaching verse by verse through a book of the Bible…even if it takes 3 months. I love listening to a 200 voice church choir with orchestra, but I also enjoy the one man worship leader giving it his all, singing his heart out praising God…he’d be doing it if there was no one else joining him… he’d do it if he wasn’t paid. I love children’s church, but also want my child to experience “big church” every once in a while. I see the huge benefits of being a “Simple Church” but also remember that the church I grew up at and became a christian at was in NO WAY “simple.” I believe that church can exist Online because where two or more are gathered, Christ is there, but also believe that there is a real need for local brick and mortar churches and that the best days of the local church are ahead of her. I love driving past small country churches with traditional steeples, but pray all the time for those church plants that meet in bars, schools, hotels, stadiums…
It all comes down to this: I’m NOT your demographic. I’m already enlisted in the Army of God. What are we doing to reach those that aren’t like me or you?
Oh, so you're in THAT demographic then
Great post. We have to remember that people are all different and what some need is different to what others need. Some need simple church, some need 'big' church.
Others , of course, hide out in a type of church that they don't need, where they are not challenged, but that doesn't make that type of church 'wrong'!
Ouch Peter. Now I have to think about your last sentence.
Great post. I'm preaching on this topic on Dec. 27. I might steal some of that article!
A good book on this subject is "Why We Love the Church" by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck.
Go for it.
I've had several of the same conversations recently. Very interesting topic when it comes to purpose of churches, and what drives the look/feel of a church.