Source: 3 Reasons Contemporary Worship IS Declining, and 5 Things We Can Do to Help the Church Move On
Its interesting how the above 50 crowd still thinks “contemporary” worship is where it at to attract “young people.” Mainline congregations are aging and yet in their tradition, they have one of the things that Millennials are looking for – participatory worship grounded in the older tradition of the Church. They aren’t interested in a band show, they can go to other places to hear better bands and they want deeper relational content and context then a performance hall with a stage and light show.
The puzzlement of why contemporary worship isn’t drawing young people is that the question is now being asked by Baby Boomers who invented contemporary worship when they were young. Now they are the retiring generation and the “young” generation is fascinated by Mad Men, ancient worship, and Civil War era beards. Their music and their lifestyle is not compatible or interested in 1990s praise and worship or a prosperity Gospel. They are looking for authenticity, relationships, a connection to a meaningful past, and a Gospel to get through the difficulties of debt, strained relationships, and serve a fractured world. Good article.