Church Health and Millennials

I continue to read articles like this one, listen to podcasts, read the research and participate in Webinars that address why Millennials are leaving the church.  I don’t doubt the wisdom, research or the observations of those who have studied this tragic trend, but some of the uniquenesses ascribed to the Millennial generation do cause me concern.  Though this generation is surely unique, I am not so sure as is ascribed.

As a Boomer, I had the same exact reaction as today’s Millennials when I attempted to get involved in a church as twenty-something.  People told me I was too young, too idealistic, and simply hadn’t lived long enough to know how churches really should operate. And besides, I needed to wear a suit and tie because I had to look my best for Jesus.

Well now, forty years later I am still convinced that churches need to be about building disciples who can change the world together through each believer uniquely playing their part. And Jesus really doesn’t care if I wear a tie; as I told that elder back then, “Jesus sees me in the shower naked, so He doesn’t care what I wear.”  The Builder generation talked of the Boomer generation leaving the church.  Now the Boomers talk of the Millennials leaving the church.  The reality is less people as a percentage of our population are engaged in a local church.  Fewer love Jesus and live for him by being a disciple and building disciples.  And the trend is not getting better, it is getting worse. The church that didn’t build disciples 40 years ago still isn’t building disciples.

Doors Opening: An Update from Tom Planck

Friends,

I woke up this morning grateful for the team of people who chose to support us as we transitioned to HGC full time staff late in 2016.  Your prayers and financial support were a huge part of making that transition possible.  HGC is experiencing tremendous growth and I wanted to take a moment to share some highlights from the beginning of the 2017 ministry year.

As the calendar changed from 2016 to 2017, my role with HGC shifted a bit.  Greg (HGC founder and lead catalyst) has been busy writing assessments for World Vision, Exponential  and Leadersource. These assessments will help thousands of churches and church leaders assess where they are as they work to determine their best path forward.  We also believe they will open significant doors for us to work with more and more churches in the days ahead.  With Greg’s attention being needed for the develop of these assessment instruments, he asked me to assume point leadership of the HGC team.  I was honored by the ask and gladly took point for the team.

In early January, I spent some time in Orlando with the entire HGC staff.  Since we work remotely from four different states, it is always good when we can all be in the same room together.  Our time was extremely productive as we dreamed and strategized for 2017 and beyond!  We set some high goals for this year, but we fully believe God will help us reach each one.

Toward the end of the month, I spent four days in Vancouver, Washington.  We have an office there as we seek to work our way into that region of the US.  Greg and I made some tremendous connections while we were there.  The most important was with the regional director for Stadia.  Stadia is a church planting network that has started hundreds of churches around the world. The regional director has a couple churches that he wants to introduce us to in on the west coast!  He firmly believes our consultation process and coaching can help.  He also plans to introduce us to the other four regional directors when we are at Exponential East in April!  This connection could prove very fruitful for HGC and the Kingdom.

In the past couple days, God has opened doors for us to potentially serve five churches that were not on radar a week ago—one in Hamilton (Ohio), two in Indianapolis, and two in the state of Washington!  We are so excited about the potential of these new opportunities!

I am also currently coaching two pastors—a church planter in Missouri and a church turn around pastor in Mississippi.  I love this part of my work as weekly I get to see leaders grow and churches increase their impact!

As you can see, it has been a very productive beginning to the 2017 ministry year. We are extremely grateful.

I am grateful for what God is doing through HGC.  I am also excited you are a part of what God is doing and that is why I wanted you to have a window to see what He’s up to.

Thank you again for being a part of making it possible.  It’s making a huge difference for pastors and churches.  We could not do what we do without you.

We love and appreciate each of you.

Tom Planck
Healthy Church Catalyst
Igniting Transformation

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