Does Your Church Speak Millennial?

What age groups make up the congregation at your place of worship? Do you have mostly seniors, or do you have a large percentage of young people? Even if millennials make up a smaller portion of your church body, it is still important to make them feel included. Otherwise, as your congregation ages, they may not stick around.

Are you speaking a language that millennials can understand? Are you giving them the tools they need for stewardship, like a mobile giving app? Find out how your church can better connect with the younger generation in your body of believers.

Millennials and Mobile

One major way that millennials differ from the older generations in your church is the way they interact with technology. They have grown up with access to devices that their elders never had. Mobile phones are so common with young people that they rely on this technology for just about everything. It’s how they communicate with their loved ones. It’s how they keep up on current events. It’s how they shop and how they deposit money into their bank accounts. According to Salesforce and CMO Council:

82% of millennials believe banks should offer mobile banking for depositing checks

87% of millennials keep their smartphone nearby at all times

78% of millennials spend more than 2 hours every day on their mobile device

How can your place of worship use mobile technology to relate to your millennial members?

Make Use of Social Media

Millennials, for the most part, use social media every day to connect with their family and friends. They also commonly use it to interact with businesses, whether they are looking for sales or trying to make contact about a tech support issue. Think about your church’s online presence. In moments of boredom when they are checking social media on their phones, are your young members able to connect with your church?

Throughout the week, many of your members have no interaction with your place of worship. If they do not attend special events or Bible studies, they likely only stop by on Sunday morning. Social media gives you a direct line of communication with your younger members. The more you interact with your millennials online, the more connected they will feel to your church.

Try a Mobile Giving App

The young people in your church view stewardship a bit differently than your older generations. They want to participate in giving, but old fashioned methods do not match up with the way they interact with the world. Millennials rarely use cash or checks, because they are able to use a debit card to pay just about everywhere. They are also very likely to use mobile devices for making payments or depositing money in the bank. With their phones, they can even transfer funds to their friends if needed. Why, then, should they be forced to carry cash just to make an offering?

By adding a mobile giving app to your church’s giving options, you can cater to the needs of these younger members. They will no longer feel alienated from the giving process, because they will be able to give in a way that suits their needs. With just a few easy taps on their smartphone, they can participate in offering time during service. They can even give when they are away from church, whether due to illness or travel.

Once they see how easy and convenient it is to use a mobile giving app, your older members may even find that they prefer using this modern technology, too.