How Churches Can Bridge Generational and Stylistic Divides

Encourage a Willingness to Try

I think a lot of churches operate without awareness of the divides within themselves over worship. Maybe they’re aware that the traditional crowd only goes to the early service and the contemporary crowd only goes to the later service, but they’ve just accepted this as something that can’t and something that won’t change.

I don’t think the first step is to combine services and force everyone, all at once, to suddenly acclimate to worship they’re not comfortable with. But I do think awareness and openness are the first step. Be willing to ask people to try out the other service now and then. Encourage them not to become too firmly lodged in their lane, going to the same service and singing a certain type of music.

Try to encourage your people to try something else. Try to have all-church services whenever you can. It really just comes down to not accepting that this is the way it always has to be. Instead, encourage your people to really open themselves up to trying other worship services, whether that’s going to a different service at your church or just trying to listen to different music in your own time, trying not to become totally curved in on what they’re interested in.

Ryanne J. Molinari is the author of Spirit-Filled Singing: Bearing Fruit as We Worship Together.

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