Gen Y Friendly Churches

PC World has a succinct little article about: 5 Ways to Make Your Company Gen Y-Friendly. Which of course makes me think about what are 5 ways we could make the church GEN Y Friendly. Here is PC World's advice for employers: 1. Offer attractive benefits. 2. Promote work/life balance. 3. Narrow the rungs of the corporate ladder. 4. Ensure managers are engaged and accessible. 5. Foster "face time". Here's some advice on making the church GEN Y friendly 1. Be Honest About Sin But Forgiving, Loving & Non-Judgmental Toward Sinners. Sure this is the generation that is more pluralistic in their beliefs, tolerant of alternative views and sometimes holds competing views simultaneously. But they absolutely respect people who are sincere, devout and honest about their beliefs, even strange or odd beliefs, as long as doing so doesn't make them self-righteous, smug, mean or uncaring. And most of all, church leaders need to be honest about their own sins, faults, shortcomings and mistakes. 2. Offer Eternal Salvation and Temporal Life Transformation. All churches must preach the truth that Jesus Christ died for the sins of all humanity and offers them the free gift of eternal life. But we must also preach about how Christians can carry the power of the Holy Spirit to transform the world we live in. Christianity is more than a ticket to heaven. God speaks through His Word about how His people can heal the evils of this world. 3. Have a Holistic Ministry Approach. How does our faith in Jesus Christ and the truths of His Word speak to our physical and mental health, our work and/or student life, our friendships, our marriage and family life, our sex life, our decision making, our use and accumulation of wealth, etc. Christianity is more than a theology to be believed but is a faith that drives us to live. 4. Offer Options. If you haven't already, end the mindset that says everyone works M-F, 8-5 in an office and is free evenings and weekends and that is when they will come to the church building to be ministered to. Experts I hear these days say an overwhelming segment of our workforce are self employed and are creating multple revenue streams to support them. Find creative ways to make church life available at alternative times, in various ways and have it brought to them. 5. Be Interactive. Have you done a Q&A lately in church or at church meetings? More than once when I was preaching, I used note cards in the bulletin to field questions that people had about God, the Bible, spirituality or the Christian life. I've used the sermon as a Q&A time, sometimes I preached and did Q&A following, and even did an entire sermon series based on questions received. Also, give the young, inexperienced, non-expert a voice in church life and leadership and make church leaders available for conversation and receptive to input. Younger generations do not believe they have to "pay their dues" before they are heard or received. 6. Be Real. Allow the opportunity for leaders and lay people to tell their story of how God and His church are a part of their life. Let people tell the story of how they came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Let people tell the story of how they have seen or experienced God and His people at work in their life. Do it in worship, in newsletters, on websites, etc.