Tag: Congregation

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3 Important Rules for Using Technology in Church

Young man uses tech

Looking for a quick fix that’ll bring more Millennials into your church? Technology might seem like the best answer. It seems like everyone, not just young adults, is glued to their smartphones nowadays.

Much technology

The problem is, technology in church can become a trap. If you google it, you’ll find blogs like this one, which lists a number of ways your congregation can become more tech-savvy.

This article lists many potentially good ideas for certain churches. But it suggests that these strategies can or should be applied indiscriminately. Most churches use technology like that, implementing the most popular technological trends as a way to conform to postmodern culture.

And when they do, that technology can become a liability, not a boon.

As a pastor, you’re working hard to meet the spiritual needs of the community you serve—to facilitate connection with God during worship, or to connect people to one another in fellowship, for example. 

Women in fellowship

Used properly, technology in church should be just one tool in your toolkit to achieve those ends. It’s certainly not a tool you should ignore. But ultimately, it’s a means, not an end. 

So here are three basic rules for seamlessly integrating technology into your worship service—while avoiding the pitfalls that can hinder connection with God and others.

Rule 1:  Let technology in church serve you, not the other way around.

Slide projector

Whatever technology you use, it needs to be concretely meeting the spiritual needs of you and your congregation. In worship, this will probably mean facilitating focus on the service. For instance, if people in your congregation are distracted by bulletins, you may want to use screens instead. 

Or perhaps, you may want to use technology in church to directly facilitate a connection with the Holy Spirit. Dimmed lights or electronic music are common examples.

Technology in church through music

But it’s important to think carefully before installing anything, because there’s a key difference between conforming to the culture and creatively responding to the culture’s spiritual needs. Obviously, we’re aiming for the latter. 

Conforming to tech culture means creating glitchy or distracting technological experiences for the sake of technology itself. Ultimately, this approach draws attention away from the sermon, Eucharist, or overall connection with the Holy Spirit.

To use technology in church to meet the spiritual needs of your community, you need to get a sense of your goals. Not just goals for worship in general but for your worship, specifically.

Empty church

What’s the reason you’re here every Sunday? Why do people come to your church instead of the one across town? A small, contemplative church will have very different answers to those questions than a megachurch, and for good reason.

Once you have your answers in mind, you can ask how technology will further that specific identity and your unique worship goals.

For instance, perhaps you are expanding pastoral care to the sick and homebound. Live-streaming your services could help you do that. Or, maybe you want people to be focusing on the altar rather than leafing through bulletins during Eucharist. Screens could help keep people’s attention at the front instead of down at the floor.

Sick woman

This article from Tithely and this article from Christianity Today lists a number of reasons why technology could be helpful for you. 

There’s an important caveat:  they assume that every church should be pursuing all of their technological ideas. As I said above, I don’t think that’s a thoughtful approach. But you can use the articles to get some ideas about what your specific goals are and then think about how technology can serve you.

Once you have thought through the purpose of technology in your church, you’re ready to think about the specific form it will take in the service.

Rule 2:  Simplify

Simplification is a key difference between technology in the secular world and technology in church. 

Technology in the secular world is created to make us more efficient. To help us do more things, faster. It usually ends up cluttering our brains and our calendars to the max. Which often draws us away from God.

Distracted people

As a result, we live in a society that is often distracted and distractable, two qualities which hinder a relationship with the Holy Spirit in our midst.

If you put up technology in church as a way of conforming to society, you might continuing that trend. You could put up screens with announcements that advertise church events before and after worship. Or maybe you could create images to go along with each part of your sermon so that no one gets bored.

Most of the time, these uses of technology in church will just continue damaging cultural trends.

Instead, make your technology simple. Minimize visual and audial busy-ness. 

Black white space

If you’re using slides during your sermon to emphasize a point, only use a few words or images at once. Make sure they don’t distract attention from your sermon, but rather draw attention back to your words. Create lots of white space on the slide. Rotate through slides very slowly.

If you’re projecting music, try not to cram a whole hymn onto the screen. Instead, you could consider putting up only the words to a familiar tune. Before and after the service, don’t put up announcements—instead, leave the screen blank or put up a calming image to help people settle in to worship.

And size is important too. Too big, and it will distract people from what you’re doing up front. Too small, and people will be squinting. Make it the Goldlilocks size for your sanctuary space.

Simple technology in church

And, most importantly, remember that technology in church is serving the purpose of worship, not the other way around.

Rule 3:  Be good at it. 

You know that sound of nails on a chalkboard? That’s how it feels to this Millennial, at least, when technology in church goes awry.

Millennial frustrated by technology

Recently, I sat through a service that involved a slideshow, with pictures accompanied by music. The idea of the slideshow was wonderful—it served the purposes of worship that day. And the effort was there, put in by the pastor and other dedicated lay volunteers. 

But ultimately, the technology was glitchy and the presenters didn’t know how to create a high-quality presentation. In the end, the execution undercut the wonderful idea and effort that had been put in.

The slideshow kept reverting to the home screen of the PC. People kept having to jump up and adjust the audio, which fluctuated between too loud and too quiet. The music did not taper off at the end of the slideshow, but cut off abruptly in the middle, ruining the atmosphere.

Broken computer

I had to deep-breathe my way through the service.

The advancements in technology mean that newcomers to your church will expect smooth, professional quality. When the equipment is glitchy and old or the presenter is technologically inexperienced, the intention backfires. 

Rather than focusing on worship, people are cringing

As you’re creating a tech presentation, use two basic rules of thumb, one for standard weekly performances and one for important services. 

Technology in church done well

For weekly services, as you prepare any kind of technological presentation, ask yourself:  if you were in an office and using this technology in an important presentation to your boss, would you be happy with the quality?

Before important services or if you’re rolling out a whole new kind of technology in your service, it’s time to kick it up a notch. Find someone in their twenties, preferably a professional, and have them sit through the presentation. If they’re cringing, it needs work.

Maybe you can’t afford technology that runs well. Or maybe you don’t have anyone in your church who can use it at a semi-professional (or at least Millennial) standard. That’s okay.

Technology in a presentation

If that’s the case, you’re better off not using technology at all. If it’s impossible to create a technological experience that passes the rules of thumb above, then the consequences outweigh the benefits. It’s better to have a technology-free, smooth worship service than one full of technological glitches.

Once you create a presentation that lives up to the standards above, it’s imperative that you practice multiple times. This is especially important if you’re unfamiliar with any aspect of the tech usage that day. This way, you can work out the glitches and decide if it lives up to your quality standards.

Candlelight service

In the end, technology in church can be like any other worship aide—it can help or hinder connection with God and the Body of Christ, depending on its design. Technology may have taken over everywhere else, but it shouldn’t get a free pass in your sanctuary. Rather, it needs to meet your needs, and those of the people you serve.

Have you recently used technology in your church? Comment below and tell me how it worked out—and if you’re doing anything differently next time!

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OK, Boomer: How to Fix the Generation War in Churches

This morning on my Twitter feed I saw an ad for a t-shirt. Huge letters spelled out, “OK, Boomer” in several banner headlines, collar to hem. If you’re not familiar with the term, congratulations for staying out of the worst of the Generation War.

To catch you up:  Boomers have often accused Millennials (and now GenZ) of being entitled, lazy, under-motivated, and over-offended. 

“OK, Boomer” is a sarcastic, dismissive phrase coined in response by young adults, who feel that Boomers are overly critical of Millennials struggling to handle societal problems. They retort that these problems were in fact handed down to them by—you guessed it—Boomers.

And so we get a plethora of memes about frappacino-addicted Millennials and articles on well-off Boomers ruining the economy. It’s been so intense that apparently, the Gen Xers are feeling ignored. (Trust me, I think you guys are okay sitting this one out.)

The thing is, long before generations were hurling insults at each other on social media, there was a raging Generation War in churches, especially mainline Protestant ones.

Ever since congregations started declining, religious Boomers have been blaming secular Millennials for killing their churches. In return, many Millennials have accused Boomers of being irrelevant, old-fashioned, and prejudiced.

Older man behind sunset

But how did we get so divided in the first place? What are the stereotypes we pin on others? How did those stereotypes mangle the multigenerational relationships that have existed in churches for millennia?

And, given the Generation War in churches, should we even try to have multigenerational churches? Or is it time to create separate religious spaces for the different generations?

There’s a lot of discussion on this site about how Gen X and Boomer pastors can reform their churches to meet the spiritual needs of Millennials and Gen Z. Much of that discussion involves some pretty fundamental shifts out of an old way of meeting spiritual needs.

At times, I’ve probably been guilty of some judgmental posting myself. I wish I wasn’t.

So I think it’s time to address the Generation War in churches and how everyone, including this Millennial, can be part of the solution.

OK, Boomer: Here’s what you need to know about Millennials

So your pews are emptying. Maybe you’ve been in this congregation your whole life. Perhaps you were married here. Or you’ve been steadfastly leading this church and others like it for decades.

Empty pews as a result of the generation war in churches

Now, it’s a shadow of its former glory. Sanctuaries that were built for 600 weekly congregants aren’t even full on Easter. You don’t have the money to make needed repairs. You’ve had to end important programs.

Do any of these sound familiar? If so, it’s probably due to a lack of young people in your church. Fewer and fewer young families and 20-somethings are attending and tithing. It might be pretty frustrating and sad.

Response 1: Millennials Suck

Responses from Boomers often take one of two forms. The first is a response most aptly titled, “Millennials Suck.” I’ve heard our generation decried as un-spiritual or even godless. We’ve been accused of hedonism, a lack of discipline, and disinterest in serving others.

Disinterested, unengaged Millennial

Studies actually show quite the opposite. Millennials are service-oriented, more so than recent past generations. We still believe in God and other higher powers. And we’re very spiritual.

We’re just not, on average, very religious.

Here’s why:  the Church isn’t doing a good job of meeting our spiritual needs. We’re trying to deal with modern technology, an impossible housing market, youth with skyrocketing rates of mental illness, an increasingly polarized country, and so much more. 

Capitol building

We need churches to help us navigate those issues as people of faith. We need you to show us where God is in those moments. But for the most part, churches aren’t equipping us to handle these challenges, practically or spiritually.

And, if we do show up, Boomers often take the opportunity to tell us what we’re doing wrong.

You want to know the fastest way to make a Millennial leave your church? Criticize them for having taken so long to show up or for not giving enough to the congregation. Or just criticize our generation more generally.

Works like a charm.

So we’re not coming. And instead, we’re getting our spiritual needs met elsewhere, in places that do help us navigate this new environment. We’re turning to secular clubs or parenting groups. Or sometimes we cobble together a number of traditions to create our own unique brand of spirituality.

Tea and candles

If you’re a Boomer, it’s easy to understand why you’re upset. The church that you love is emptying. And it’s because Millennials aren’t coming.

But this is key:  it’s not our responsibility to go to church simply for the sake of perpetuating the institution. No matter how much you love it. It’s the Church’s mission to meet the spiritual needs of the society around it. 

So if you want to do your part to end the Generation War in churches, drop the stereotypes and think about how you can better serve our unique spiritual needs.

Response 2: Millennials are Unicorns

Here’s the second response:  idolizing Millennials. Maybe you don’t hate us. You’re not frustrated.

You just want us in your pews.

This approach is definitely an improvement on the first strategy. But it still won’t work for you. Here’s why:  this approach tends to treat Millennials like unicorns:  very mysterious, hard-to-catch, and the ultimate prize.

A few semesters ago, I had to visit churches in the neighborhood for a college class. Some friends and I visited a few churches over the course of several Sundays.

Here’s how it went:  we walked in. And just like that, we were celebrities. 

Millennial on phone

Everyone wanted to know who we were and where we were from and, of course, how we heard about their congregation. Was it the band that is now playing once a month? Did their new advertising campaign finally work?

Most of all, they really wanted to know—were coming back next Sunday?

As well-intentioned as this response was, it scared everyone off returning a second time. It was super awkward to be in such a spotlight. It came across as really desperate. 

But most of all, the church still wasn’t focused on meeting our spiritual needs. The focus still remained on how we could be pulled in so that the church could survive. And that approach can still contribute to the Generation War in churches.

If you want to treat Millennials as valuable, that’s wonderful. But don’t put us on the spot or make us feel responsible for reviving your declining church. 

Person standing in a spotlight

Instead, do your homework. As elusive as we might seem, we’re not unicorns.

If you genuinely want to know how to meet our spiritual needs (and thus draw us in), you don’t need to grope around in the dark. There are real data points that can help you reform your church for this time and cultural moment. 

If you want to show us how much you care about us, if you want to get us in your pews, don’t put us on a pedestal. Create a church that meets our spiritual needs.

OK, Millennial: Here’s what you need to know about Boomers

So we’ve addressed some of the most common Boomer responses to Millennials’ secularism. Now we need to take a look at the Millennial contribution. The Generation War in churches goes both ways.

It’s often disconcerting to walk into a church and be scolded or, conversely, treated as a rare celebrity. Both the “Millennials Suck” approach and the “Millennials are Unicorns” approach can understandably turn people off to church.

But here’s what Millennials (myself included) need to understand. When our grandparents grew up, churches provided the very foundation of society.

Ministers and the Bible were easy arbiters of truth. Social lives revolved around church events, not just on Sunday mornings, but throughout the week.

Elderly lady

And, perhaps most importantly, people in that era lived in a universally Christian culture.

People could assume everyone around them believed in similar things that they did. Everyone understood Christian lingo and celebrated Christian holidays. They knew that their kids and grandkids would share that religious and cultural identity.

Being Christian and being American were usually synonymous. And it had been like this for as long as anyone could remember.

Christianity certainly still dominates American culture. But it’s not quite the same anymore.

You can’t just assume that your kids and grandkids will believe the same things you do. Not everyone connects over Christian culture and society the same way they used to. Far fewer people are religiously literate.

Elderly man walks with granddaughter

Maybe you think that this cultural change is a good thing. For the most part, I agree with you. But over time, I’ve learned that it’s important to understand how painful this change is for Boomers (and older).

Even if Christian cultural privilege needs to be lost, it’s still disconcerting and painful for the people losing it.

So, if you want to do your part to end the Generation Wars in churches, try extending a little empathy. The next time an elder in your church comes up to you and lectures you about the secularism of your generation, take a deep breath.

Ask them about what they miss from the church of their youth. And then try gently disabusing them of the stereotypes they have about Millennials.

Should we fix the Generation War in churches?

Is it even worth it? The Generation War in churches is so entrenched. Boomers and Millennials have such different spiritual needs and so many negative stereotypes about each other. Shouldn’t we just create separate services and churches where they can worship?

Absolutely not.

Elderly man with grandson

It’s possible for us to all get our spiritual needs met at the same time. Regardless of when we were born, we’re all living in the same society right now. We’re in the same communities. We’re watching the same things happen in our politics, our culture, and our technology.

And that means that we all need help with a lot of the same questions and problems.

And, more importantly, multigenerational churches are invaluable. Young adults are facing mental health challenges and loneliness in record numbers. We need a community of elders that will love us unconditionally.

So too, elders can lose a sense of purpose and energy as they age. Having young people around to help them out and vision new paths forward, can counterbalance that need. Data shows that in multigenerational communities, everyone is healthier and happier when they’re together.

Baby's hand in elder's hand

We can gripe about other generations all we want, but the Body of Christ is not as rich when we are divided. The Generation War in churches is profoundly weakening to our unity in Christ.

Christian community is defined by our ability to empathize with each other, to step into each other’s shoes. To carry each other’s burdens.

And, most importantly, Christian community is about seeing Christ at work in each person. No matter how worthy we deem their generation.

So let’s drop the stereotypes, have conversations with each other, and sit down to envision the 21st-Century Church together. Who knows? Maybe, by ending the Generation War in churches, perhaps we can bridge the generation gap in society as a whole.

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Christian Social Justice: Life-Changing Medical Debt Relief

Debt will tear us apart graffiti

Welcome to the fourth and final installment of my Christian Social Justice series! In case you’ve missed it, we’ve been exploring how churches can reform their mission work to meet the spiritual needs Millennials bring to the table.

In the past two weeks, we’ve looked at relevant, personal, and tangible approaches to natural disaster ministry and immigration justice. Today, we’re tackling medical debt relief in churches.

Person drowning under water
Photo by Ian Espinosa on Unsplash

Medical debt relief is not your grandmother’s church mission work. Debt in general is not a new problem. But in the last few decades, and especially in the last few years, it has been cropping up in new and more pernicious ways.

More and more, the news carries stories of debt-ridden Americans crippled by financial strain. And no generation more so than Millennials. What happened? And how is debt relief–specifically, medical debt relief–a social justice problem that churches can remedy?

How Did We Get Here?

Millennial needing medical debt relief

A few things have taken place. First of all, student loan costs have ballooned. The price of college, adjusted for inflation, has grown 161% since 1987. Meanwhile, salaries have stagnated. As a result, there’s no longer such a thing as being able to fully work yourself through college.

Second, housing prices are on the rise. Especially for young people.

Take Marin County. When my parents married and bought their first house in the early 1990s, real estate was only slightly more expensive here than the national average. Now, over the last thirty years, their house has skyrocketed in value, far outpacing the rest of the country.

Housing debt crisis
Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash

For my friends and me, the story will be very different. We grew up here, formed communities and attachments here. Many of us can’t imagine raising our kids anywhere else.

But real estate here is now shockingly expensive. The salary needed to buy the median-priced home is over $230,000 a year. And let me tell you, none of us are making that much.

Which means, after grad school, we’ll be lucky if we can afford to rent a studio apartment in the town where we grew up. And if we do rent that apartment, and pay for the groceries and gas prices that come along with the area, we’ll have very little money left over for anything else.

That’s not unique to the San Francisco Bay Area–it’s happening all over. As a result, even middle-class Millennials aren’t even trying to invest in a house–it’s simply too expensive. So we tend to spend our money on other things. Things that don’t build equity. And thus we often accrue further debt.

The Worst Kind of Debt

Ambulance
Photo by Mark Boss on Unsplash

But there’s one more type of skyrocketing debt that hits the hardest—medical debt.

I have some personal experience with this. I was sick for about eighteen months in 2018 and 2019, at times needing constant care. I took two ambulance rides that weren’t really optional. Saw specialist after specialist. Wasn’t able to work. And on and on.

I was incredibly lucky. I had a family that could support me. I also had excellent insurance, which accepted my claims for everything. I didn’t have extended hospital stays, surgeries, or any of the most expensive kinds of medical needs. I got very, very lucky.

Medical debt relief in a hospital
Photo by Martha Dominguez de Gouveia on Unsplash

A few months later, the bills have started to come in. It’s been a tender time—I’m still recovering emotionally and physically. The stress of keeping on top of the bills and making endless calls to the health insurance company is exhausting.

And I’m lucky. We won’t go into debt.

I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like for a healthy person—much less a sick or recovering one—to go through this process with the added strain of debt. Especially if that person is elderly. Or doesn’t have a support system.

I know that if I was in debt on top of everything else, it would absolutely hinder my recovery.

I’m one of the privileged ones. John Oliver did a piece in 2015 about medical debt and the people it affects. At the beginning, he points out that people go into this kind of debt “through no fault of their own.” This isn’t reckless spending. It’s spending to live.

Medical Debt Relief

Okay, so medical debt is a huge problem. But how can you actually help? And, more to the point, what does this have to do with church mission work?

What if I told you that churches could make a substantial dent? If I told you that, even with a limited budget, you could cheaply relieve hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars medical debt for hundreds or thousands of people in your community?

(Bear with me for a couple paragraphs of the nitty-gritty.)

Turns out, most debt is for sale. If you owe BlueShield $4,000, they can sell that debt to someone else. Usually, BlueShield would sell it to a debt buyer for a tiny fraction, like $50. Then, that debt buyer can try to collect on the full $4,000.

Medical debt relief in cash
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

If the debt buyer is unsuccessful in their collection, they may sell to another buyer for an even smaller amount, like $5. That buyer can then call you up and try to collect on the full price. And on and on. And eventually, that $4,000 is on sale for pennies.

The thing is, if you buy up that debt, you’re not legally obligated to collect it. It’s all yours. If you choose, you can forgive it. Voilà. Medical debt relief made cheap.

That’s the premise behind RIP Medical Debt, an organization founded by former collectors to promote medical debt relief. Through their organization, you can cheaply buy people’s medical debt and forgive it. (If you want to know more, you can click here to find out the details of how their charity operates).

And that’s what some churches are now deciding to do. In Chicago, a church worked with RIP to buy $5 million in medical debt relief for nearly 6,000 families in Chicago’s South Side. 

The cost to the church? $38,000. Some of which they raised and some of which they donated themselves.

This is a spectacular opportunity for churches, especially ones with low operating budgets. It can be frustrating to see wealthy churches rolling out large-scale mission programs that reach tons of people when you can’t afford to make that same kind of community impact.

Here’s your chance. Reach out to RIP Medical Debt and ask them to work with you. In addition to allocating some of your own funds, you can raise some money. Knock on some doors and become known as the congregation raising money for medical debt relief that will reach some of the poorest families in your town.

A dollar bill describes medical debt relief
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

In addition to being a wonderful opportunity to affect change, it’s a great way to redefine yourself as relevant in the community. Millennials care about debt, and with rising student loans, GenZ likely will, too. It’s an issue that hugely affects their lives, and it’s something we don’t want to affect others’. It’s timely and hugely tangible in terms of impact.

And, perhaps most importantly, it shows that you can accurately understand and address the needs of our time and culture.

I hope you enjoyed my Christian social justice series. Leave a comment below and tell me what you think—and how your own congregation is pioneering justice for the 21st century.

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Christian Social Justice: 5 Essential Steps to Church Immigration Work

Welcome back to Week 3 of the Christian Social Justice series! In case you missed it, we’ve been talking about how churches can create social justice programs that connect with Millennials–and create the biggest possible impact at the same time.

Last week, I went over how churches can respond to the increasing speight of natural disasters across the country. This week, with the DACA Supreme Court case in the news, I’m taking the opportunity to discuss church immigration work.

Border for immigrant at Tijuana
Image by Luis Ramírez from Pixabay 

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you’ve been inundated with headlines about waves of Latin American immigrants and the U.S.’s various policies toward them. And that’s probably been stirring up a lot of feelings, wherever you are on the political spectrum.

If you hold any kind of leadership role in your church, you might be trying to figure out an appropriate way to respond on a congregational level. Easier said than done. It’s hard to take a crisis out of the headlines and create an effective and compassionate response in your congregation. 

Lots of pastors respond with activism, online and in the streets. On Twitter, I’ve seen posts from lots of white pastors reminding us of the Gospel verse, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” On my Facebook feed, I’ve seen pictures of clergy marching alongside DACA recipients outside the Supreme Court.

Church immigration work at a protest

None of this is bad, in and of itself.

But the fact remains that most mainline Protestant churches are painfully white, even in border states and cities with huge immigrant populations of color. Why? Because we often confuse activism–online and in the streets–for genuine welcome. 

I want to be clear: Twitter rants and marches have their place. Activism and protest are necessary parts of social justice. But righteous anger is not the same thing as actually welcoming the marginalized.

Mother and daughter

We’ve got a long way to go before we can claim that we are fully following Jesus’ call to include and connect with the foreigners in our land.

Why did Jesus ask us to look out for immigrants in the first place?

Perhaps it’s the sheer number of needs their vulnerability brings. Immigrants, especially poorer ones, need physical safety, nourishment, and shelter.

But they also, like the rest of us, long for community and connection, which is often in short supply after leaving home under duress. And those needs may be magnified by the traumatic experiences that sometimes take place on their journeys.

There are so many angles to caring for the stranger. So many opportunities to enact welcome.

So, in light of the depth and breadth of needs among our siblings, here are five steps to creating an effective, conscientious model for your church immigration work.

(If you don’t live in an area with many immigrants, you can expand this guide to connect with any underserved group in your community.)

1. Determine what group of immigrants needs to be welcomed.

There is no unified “immigrant community” in the United States. So what do the immigrant populations in your community look like?

Globe of the world

Are they predominantly from one region, country, culture, or ethnicity? Are they mostly documented or undocumented? What languages do they speak? Is it mostly single men or families with children? 

There may be more than one population you’d like to serve. For instance, if you live in Southern California, there may be busloads of Central American immigrants passing through. At the same time, you may also live in a community of Mexican day laborers who have been settled for years.

Each community will bring a specific set of needs.

2.  Ask immigrants in your congregation to participate in church immigration work.

Church immigration work with teenagers
Photo by tribesh kayastha on Unsplash

If you already have immigrants in your congregation, make sure to ask them for their thoughts and ideas. 

They may already be painfully conscious of being some of the only people from their ethnic or cultural group in the congregation. So make sure to be discreet about asking. Don’t assume or pressure them into giving you advice. Definitely, don’t put them on the spot.

But offer the opportunity to be involved in immigration ministry both inside and outside the church walls. They may also be able to connect you to community leaders, who already have their finger on the pulse of the needs of the population you’re serving.

3. Ask community leaders how you can be of service to them.

Swearing-in ceremony

The biggest potential pitfall of church immigration work is the white savior complex. The white savior complex is when white communities view themselves as heroes helping “less fortunate” people of color.

The best way to avoid the white savior complex is by coming alongside existing leaders in the immigrant community, rather than creating and leading new projects.

Find immigrant communities’ churches and talk to their pastors. Go to the offices of immigration lawyers in the area. Check in with the leaders of charities. Go to community meetings and call representatives.

Ask each of them: what does this community need? What role can we play in helping you meet their needs?

4.  Think about ALL kinds of needs—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

Church immigration work with elders
Photo by Ban Yido on Unsplash

Most churches begin (and sometimes end) church immigration work by addressing physical needs, like food, jobs, and housing.

But only offering physical help without forming an emotional and spiritual connection puts up a barrier between helpers and recipients. (Not to mention, it implies that immigrants need physical help but aren’t worthy of real relationship. See white savior complex above.) 

So, in addition to physical needs, think about how to create a welcoming environment that goes beyond physical support.

Maybe the church can connect immigrants with a therapist who can see them for a subsidized rate. Perhaps you can pair up English and Spanish speakers for two-way language lessons.

Church immigration work in Bible study

Maybe your church can host a potluck. Or pair up Spanish and English-speaking families for a dinner once a month. Encourage parents with children to share babysitting duties or swap playdates.

If you’re feeling really bold, think about ways that the church service could shift.

How could your liturgy better accommodate a multi-racial, multi-cultural congregation? Could you invite someone to do the sermon in Spanish once a month, with translation on a screen? Or learn to say the Eucharistic Liturgy in another language?

What about staffing Sunday Schools and youth groups with bilingual volunteers?

5. Ask the community how you can be of service to them.

Church immigration work holding hands

After you’ve talked to community leaders, it’s time to reach out to the community itself. Find some volunteers who are fluent in the language of the immigrant group and set up shop at community events. 

Hopefully, you’ve already created a bond with community leaders. See if they’ll invite you to set up a booth at community meetings, church fellowship halls, or local food banks. 

Make it clear that this is about including and welcoming them—not about trying to boost your attendance numbers or intrude in their space. Remember that you are their guests in their community, not swooping in to save the day.

Statue of liberty

In the end, if you hold any kind of leadership role in your church, you know it’s hard to address justice issues in a timely manner. Truly living out Jesus’ commandment is difficult. It’s a lot harder than Facebook activism or “helping” a community without creating real relationships. 

But the work is worthwhile. Millennials and minorities are calling churches to pioneer effective, personal church immigration work. This is one way you can make a sizeable, relevant, and personal impact in your community. It’s the kind of social justice many Millennials are craving.

Come back next week for my final installment in the Christian Social Justice series on debt relief.

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Christian Social Justice for a New Generation

A few months ago, when immigration was particularly prevalent in the news, I went out to dinner with some friends. Everything was going great–until the topic of immigration came up. With a forkful of spaghetti halfway to my mouth, I suddenly realized my friend staring at me. Actually, glaring.

”I have a bone to pick with the Christians,” he said. “Why aren’t churches saying anything about immigration? Why aren’t they doing anything?”

Christian social justice at a rally

As the Designated Christian at the table, I was floored. I’d spent most of the day on Twitter and Facebook, looking for a Christian social justice perspective on current events. My feed had been nothing but livid Christians, hurling Bible verses and theological insults from opposite sides of the issue. My ears were practically ringing with Christian Twitter’s upheaval. 

Yet my friend (like most other people in the Bay Area) hadn’t seen any of that in his social media feeds. And, as he looked around at the undocumented community around us, he couldn’t see Christians making an impact there, either. As a result, he thought me and my religion clueless, unfeeling, lazy, and/or cowardly. Christian social justice, to him, was an oxymoron.

Obviously, I disagree with his assessment. The churches and pastors I know in California are incredibly passionate about justice work, especially on issues of immigration. I can name countless examples of Christians sharing their beliefs on Facebook or churches sponsoring fundraising drives for important organizations. 

Christian social justice at a march

The problem is, we’re not creating justice in a way Millennials can see, understand, or connect with. Especially the secular ones.

And that’s our problem.

Christian Social Justice Online

Facebook activism is a relatively recent trend. You know what I’m talking about. Maybe you post an article about the latest injustice with a witty caption. Or perhaps your differently-minded friend shared an article on their feed, and you take to the comments for a rebuttal.

Usually, it happens on Facebook, but it can take place on other social media platforms as well. All you need is a comments section, really. This type of activism isn’t part of a church’s organized ministry. Instead, it’s often undertaken by the pastor or congregants as a personal crusade. 

The problem is, it simply isn’t very efficient. 

Twitter feed

That’s for two reasons. First, Facebook and Twitter use algorithms to ensure that we see the content we want to see. If I’m liberal and Christian, I’m going to see your Facebook post on what Jesus would think about climate change. If I’m conservative and/or secular, I won’t. 

Which means Facebook activists are preaching to the choir. They aren’t reaching the secular people in their communities. And that’s why my friend at dinner had no idea about the Christian firestorm that had been all over my feeds.

But even if you do reach someone who disagrees with you, Facebook activism relies on changing minds one at a time. And, usually, those minds don’t want to be changed. 

That’s why most people in my generation don’t do much Facebook activism; in fact, many of us aren’t really on Facebook altogether. We know that diving into the comments section will probably just result in a virtual war no one will win.

But isn’t social media a huge part of Millennial activism? Yes, it is! Think Black Lives Matter and #MeToo. We just do it differently.

Christian social justice on Twitter

For us, it needs to come with tangible, sizable results, like laws being changed or a company reversing a policy. That’s why we like hashtags. They collect groups of people together to generate huge momentum. 

Later on in this series on Christian social justice, we’ll explore ways that social media can aid effective activism. You’ll learn how to add your church’s work to sweeping movements, so that you can help effect large-scale changes. For now, just pause the next time you think about investing your energy into one-on-one social media debates.

Donating time, not money

For much of the late twentieth century, with the dawn of credit cards and the Internet, donations were all the rage. People loved to give money to a cause—it was just such an easy way to affect change.

In response, churches implemented a donation-heavy approach to Christian social justice. Congregants were often asked to donate to specific projects, programs, or charities. Much of that money was passed on to other charitable organizations in the community or denomination.

The problem is, that’s not how Millennials like to change the world. For one thing, we don’t have very much money to give away. For another, we simply like to be more hands-on. 

Christian social justice at a meeting

Social justice for many Millennials is a lifestyle, having to do with the brands we purchase, the food we eat, and the way we spend our spare time. And just like we want tangible results from our social media activism, we want to see the changes we’re creating in our communities, too.

That’s why we like to get personally and often extensively involved with projects that have an obvious impact on our communities. And we like to attack it on multiple fronts, not just through occasional volunteering.

But why should we change?

Okay, so Millennials can’t connect with Christian social justice as it’s practiced right now. Why should you care? Your church has probably been working on crucial projects for many years, perhaps with much success. Is there really a need to change things up?

Yes, there is.

First of all, this is a crucial area to tackle if you want to see young people in your pews. My data shows Millennials searching for churches where they can practice their passion for social justice. For people like my friend at dinner, it is the litmus test for whether or not a church is worth existing. And evidence shows that GenZ is growing up with the same kinds of values.

So, Millennials need to know what you’re doing. They need to connect with it. And they need to feel compelled to join in.

Christian social justice between generations

But also, just maybe, a new generation could bring surprising insights. Many problems, like poverty, are timeless. But our postmodern era brings new justice issues, too–climate change, for instance. Millennials spent their 20s learning these issues and constructing frameworks for pushing the needle. Maybe it’s worth giving them a shot.

So what do we do next?

First of all, Christian social justice programs need to become central to your church. Not just something mentioned in the announcements or before the offering. Not buried in the bulletin. And definitely not just for a core group of your most committed members. Justice, in whatever area(s) you choose to focus on, needs to become a key part of your congregation’s identity.

With that in mind, this series will focus on practical ideas for giving Christian social justice programs a makeover. We’ll explore ways to make tangible, sizable differences in your community. We’ll discuss how to bring Millennials on board. And we’ll think about how these new ideas can link to your congregation’s past experience. Stay tuned for next week’s installment:  how to help your community when disaster strikes.