The old rules don’t apply.
That’s step one in understanding how to keep or attract young people in churches today, according to the Rev. Carol Howard Merritt, who is leading a workshop on the topic this weekend at Rivermont Presbyterian Church.
“If our churches are going to grow, especially with younger generations,” she said, “we have to look beyond looking at our sons and daughters who grew up in the church. We have to look at adoption.”
By that, Merritt, a pastor of Western Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., means congregations must seek young people who have never grown up in church, grown up in different denominations or grown up in different faith styles.
“We need to be welcoming to anyone who’s thinking and wondering what spirituality is all about,” she said.