How to Start a New Church in 2017
How do you start a new church in the Twenty-First Century? Well, if you follow the data, you don’t, because it’s a losing bet.
Participation in organized religion in the United States is on a rapid decline. A closer look at our changing culture and the largest generational group in existence right now, the Millennials, might explain a lot about that decline. Millennials have fundamentally reshaped the world around us, from how workplaces are designed and operate, to how social causes are organized and supported, to how we receive and consume creative content, and much, much, more.
Let’s take content, for example. Outlets, mediums, and media companies like Buzzfeed, TED, blogs, Netflix, HBO, and podcasts, are offering volumes of curated and compelling content unlike any time in history. Why go hear a mediocre sermon on Sunday morning when you can pull up a more interesting, compelling, and transformative TED Talk on your phone any time you want? What if instead of creating more sales funnels that end in a seat in a pew/chair on Sunday morning we were able to create and provide a conduit for content that was just as interesting and compelling as the best podcasts on iTunes and the best shows on Netflix?
We also know that Millennials are distrustful of institutions, don’t want to follow rules, and most certainly don’t want anyone to tell them what to do. I don’t think this is because Millennials are bad and lazy, but because as the curtain has been drawn back on institutions like government, religion, and corporations it’s easy to see why people don’t have blind trust in these entities anymore. In other words, if you want to connect with people in today’s world, transparency is key. No one will “take our word for it” anymore. We have to show the value we provide and show that the things we do are for the right reasons. Want a Millennial to do a good job? Let them see how their work provides value and how they’ll be rewarded on the merits of their work vs. the time they’ve put in to climb the next rung on the corporate ladder. Too often we’ve made religion about jumping through hoops and going through the motions. Those aren’t compelling reasons for people to stay or even show up in the first place. Also, Christianity’s competition isn’t other churches, it’s Starbucks (or your amazing local coffee shop). Can we create high value content and experiences that would shift people from a few coffee drinks a month to support something that would change their lives and the lives of others?
Millennial attitudes toward rules, whether we like them or not, have serious implications for religious institutions that are built on what are supposed to be the ultimate rules for life.
In today’s world people don’t need rules and structure because they have the tools to figure things out for themselves. YouTube, Yelp, Reddit, Uber, Google, Podcasts, and online courses all give us access to instant knowledge and communication from making a decision about where to eat to how to fix a leaky faucet. YouTube has virtually eliminated my need for a handyman and when I do need one I can open an app on my phone and select one I like based on reviews and instantly schedule one to come to my house on my timeline. If we can have this on demand functionality for rides, lodging, food delivery, and home repairs, why not have it for spirituality? What if we gave people the tools, resources, and infrastructure (both digital and crowdsourced) to navigate their own spiritual journeys?
This concept of “letting people figure it out on their own” may sound shocking, but it shouldn’t be foreign to us. Jesus, Martin Luther, and John Wesley all told us that we don’t need gate keepers between ourselves and God and that we don’t need bureaucracy when it gets in the way of a movement.
What about the gathered community of believers? What about worship and professional clergy? Isn’t church about getting together with a bunch of people every week? Sure, these things are extremely important and some would say the most important. However, we operate under the assumption that if the machine that currently pulls this gathering off each week doesn’t exist anymore then it won’t happen, leaving people without a conduit through which to connect with God and each other. Social media and digital connectedness, however, have enabled people to organize their own gatherings (protest is the new brunch) and they seem to be dong just fine. That doesn’t mean there aren’t organizers, experts, or content providers involved, but it does have implications for how infrastructure is designed and functions.
So how do you start a new church in 2017? I think that’s the wrong question to ask in our current context.
Instead, we should be asking “how do we provide the tools, resources, experiences, and content that help people be the people they want to be and create the world they want to see?”
My New Project
I’ve been thinking about different ways to connect people with the story of Jesus for years. I served as the United Methodist Campus minister at Arizona State University for five years, working with Millennials on one of the least religious campuses in the US. From there I co-founded a new church in Downtown Phoenix aimed at creating space for Millennials and “Spiritual but not Religious” folks to encounter and practice faith. My experiences led me to co-author The Sacred Secular which offers more detailed thoughts and observations related to what I’ve outlined above.
After taking some extended time off I’ve entered into a transitional period to become a United Methodist Deacon and follow God’s call to find ways in which to connect the church to the world and the world to the church.
It’s all led to is this:
A couple of months ago, along with my friend and colleague Rev. David Wasson, we launched the pre-stages of a brand new project that aims to truly do something that’s never been done before. Our goal is to completely revolutionize the way people interact with and practice faith. We’re setting out to build something that’s sustainable and replicable and fits with how the world operates today vs. how it operated sixty years ago. The people we think will find this meaningful aren’t folks who are happy with their current churches, but folks who are looking for meaning, growth, and connection and haven’t found it yet.
I’m acting as project manager and consultant while Dave is taking on the boots on the ground duties of gathering early adopters and testers. We have backing from the Desert Southwest Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church and a number of private supporters and advisors.
What’s it called, what does it look like, and how does it function? Other than some hunches and hypothesis, we only have some fuzzy ideas of those details, although some of them are beginning to become clearer.
We’ve created an early prototype that will give you some hints as to the shape we think it’s going to take, but it could all change tomorrow, next week, or six months from now. In fact, we’d be surprised if it didn’t. (Don’t read too much into the prototype name/messaging/branding/website. It’s all helping us test some early assumptions. None of it will be around in a few months)
To help us figure this all out we’ve enlisted the services of some pretty smart people. By June we’ll also enter into a formal partnership with a professional market research firm. We’re doing this so we don’t have to keep guessing about what may or may not work. We’re going to ask real people about their needs and wants and what they’re looking for to help them become better humans, parents, siblings, bosses, coworkers, and more.
From there we’ll work with some more professionals on refining our prototype and developing an organizational identity. After that we’ll move into a proof of concept phase. If we’re effective we’ll continue to scale and then expand our concept to additional areas.
Why This? Why Now?
In my lifetime we’re probably going to be able to take safe and affordable trips to space. We’re also probably going to live in an age where we all ride in self-driving cars and, 0ne day, even those will be replaced by another mode of transportation that we can’t currently imagine.
While the ways in which we shop, transport ourselves, communicate, gather, and create change are rapidly evolving, the ways we practice/experience faith, spirituality, and religion have barely changed at all. While they will continue to decline, there will still be brick and mortar churches with pastors who preach from pulpits every Sunday for decades to come. I’ll continue to support those churches and my colleagues by helping them as much as I can. I’ll continue sending them folks who are looking for that particular format and religious experience.
However, for now, I’m dedicating most of my time on figuring out what’s next for a generation that’s clearly told us they’re not interested in what we have to offer. This may indeed be an effort that falls flat on it’s face, but it’s an effort that we’re pretty excited about and we’re giving it everything we’ve got.
We’d Love Your Support
If you feel called to support us on this journey we hope you’ll pray for us. If you want regular updates you can subscribe to one or both of our newsletters below:
Rob’s Newsletter
Dave’s Newsletter
If you’re feeling extra supportive we’d be honored if you’d consider making a tax deductible donation to the project.
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Thank you for your support!
