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    For a New Generation: A Practical Guide for Revitalizing Your Church
    For a New Generation: A Practical Guide for Revitalizing Your Church
    For a New Generation: A Practical Guide for Revitalizing Your Church
    Ebook169 pages17 hours

    For a New Generation: A Practical Guide for Revitalizing Your Church

    By Lee D. Kricher and Andy Stanley

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    About this ebook

    A New Generation Church is a church with attendees whose average age is at least as young as the average age of the community in which the church exists. Any church can become a New Generation Church that reaches and continues to reach the next generation.

    The Psalmist writes:

    We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. (Psalm 78:4 NLT)

    No Christian would purposely hide the timeless truths of Christianity from the next generation. But often we do, not because of the substance of our church, but because of the approach of our church.

    For A New Generation is not about changing your church’s statement of faith or core beliefs. It is about evaluating and changing, as needed, your church’s programs, ministries and practices in order to more effectively connect with and stay connected with the next generation.

    Written for both church leaders and members, For a New Generation presents 5 practical strategies that will lay a foundation for a church to thrive for generations to come. It is based on the assumption that accepting the status quo is the greatest threat to your church’s core mission and, perhaps, to the long-term survival of your church.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateAug 2, 2016
    ISBN9780310525233
    Author

    Lee D. Kricher

    After 13 years of working for two of the premier leadership development firms in the world, Lee Kricher returned to the role of senior pastor of Amplify Church, the church he founded with his wife, Linda. During the ten years that followed, the church not only experienced significant growth, but the average age of the members and attendees decreased from approximately 50 to 35 years old. Lee's four decades of leadership experience in both the church and corporate worlds give him a unique perspective on how to apply proven leadership principles in the church. He has a Master's degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. 

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      For a New Generation - Lee D. Kricher

      FOREWORD

      Lee Kricher sat in my office in the spring of 2003 and told me he was considering returning to the role of senior pastor of the struggling and aging church he had helped start. I was pretty straightforward about how daunting it would be to initiate and implement the kind of significant change required for genuine church transformation. But he took on the challenge, and somehow he and the people of Amplify Church pulled it off. Their journey is documented in For a New Generation.

      The focus of this book is on building a church that reaches—and will continue to reach—the next generation. While the specifics about what and how to change will vary from church to church, this book is a guide that contains universal principles of transformation. Any church leader or member, no matter the denomination, can benefit from reading it and working through the challenging questions posed in it.

      It may seem too hard or too risky to change your church’s ministry model to reach the next generation, especially if the people currently attending aren’t bothered by the way things are. But changing your church’s approach to ministry may not be the threat you think it is to your church’s mission and existence. It may be the very thing that saves it.

      Andy Stanley

      Senior Pastor, North Point Ministries

      INTRODUCTION

      I grew up attending a Lutheran church with my mother. My wife, Linda, attended a Methodist church with hers. Both of our fathers were members of Catholic parishes. During my college years, I attended a Presbyterian church. I have served for many years as the pastor of a nondenominational church.

      These churches have many things in common. They have remarkably similar statements of faith tied to the Apostles’ Creed. They each have played a meaningful role in my life or the lives of people I love. And each one is at risk of being one of the thousands of churches that are closing their doors because they have lost touch with the next generation.

      That statement may be painfully obvious if you belong to an aging church that is in decline. But even if you belong to a church with a healthy percentage of young adults and children, you cannot afford to underestimate the tendency of churches to get older over time and become less effective at connecting with the next generation.

      Is it possible to ensure that a church reaches young adults and their children and continues to do so in the future? Is it possible to ensure that a church never has to live with the fear that its most vital days are in the past? I believe it is. I believe it is possible in the northeast United States where I live and where many young people have stopped regularly attending church. I believe it is possible in Europe where many young people have never regularly attended church. I believe it is possible in your church.

      new generation church—a church with attendees whose average age is at least as young as the average age of the community in which the church exists

      My definition of a new generation church is a church with attendees whose average age is at least as young as the average age of the community in which the church exists.

      Any church can become a new generation church that reaches and continues to reach the next generation. I define the next generation simply as those who are younger than the average age of the community in which your church exists. This does not just include, of course, the children and grandchildren of your church members. It also includes the other children and young adults in your community, many of whom have no church background or experience. When we think of reaching the next generation and our children, we must include them.

      next generation—those who are younger than the average age of the community in which your church exists

      The formation of a new generation church starts with an honest self-assessment. The average age in the United States is approximately thirty-seven years old. If the most recent census indicates that the average age of the community in which your church is located is thirty-seven years old and the average age of those attending your church is higher, you do not attend a new generation church. This should spark urgency, if not fear, in your heart.

      The psalmist writes, We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders (Psalm 78:4 NLT).

      Of course, no Christian would purposely hide the timeless truths of Christianity from the next generation. But often we do, not because of the substance of our church—the timeless truths that we teach and believe—but because of our approach—the programs, ministries, and practices of our church. Our church’s approach can be so unappealing to young adults and children that the message we are sending them is, If you want to embrace the Christian faith, you will need to find another church. My church is designed primarily to be meaningful for me—not to reach you.

      If our children reject the core truths of Christianity, may God have mercy on them. But if our children reject the core truths of Christianity because we have expected and assumed that they would accept our preferred approach to church, may God have mercy on us.

      PERPETUAL CHURCH REVITALIZATION

      Despite the large number of churches in decline today, far more is written about church planting than church revitalization. Church planting is a key part of the church’s mission, and it is very close to God’s heart. But how much progress are we making if, for every new church that is planted, another church is closing its doors? Forward thinking denominations like the Assemblies of God are proponents of doing both: vigorously planting new churches and revitalizing existing churches.¹ Church planting is important but so is the revitalization of aging church congregations. Both are close to God’s

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