Young Church Reaches a Young Audience In an Old Way

--by Susan Brill

“At Appleton Gospel, the lion's share of our growth has come from the least-likely age group to be in church,” wrote pastor David Parks in a newsletter. That group is 16- to 33-year-olds - dubbed Generation Y and Millennials by researchers.

But they are coming to Parks’ church and he’s not completely sure what's bringing them. He estimates that more than 40 percent of his church are in this group.

Young leadership probably helps.  Parks himself turned 30 this month. And he is ministering in his own Midwestern culture, in Appleton, WI, the town where he grew up--which is unusual among church planters.

Partly intrigue 

“I don’t think we’ve done anything in particular to try to draw in a younger crowd,” he said in an interview. Though he wonders if the appeal is partly intrigue: Why anyone would care enough about church to plant a new one. 

“Most people I talk to in Appleton aren’t vehemently opposed to Christianity, it’s just that they had some type of church experience...and it had no impact on their life,” Parks explains. “So, the idea of a new church starting has really had a lot of people asking the question--Why?  They are certainly open to the idea that there might be something more to it, but nobody’s ever given them a compelling reason to come to church.”

What works

He may not know exactly what is drawing a young generation into his church, but Parks knows what didn’t work. He says traditional advertising seemed to bring no response at all. They even advertised on Google and Facebook, which drove traffic to their website, but didn’t drive very many to the church. The approach that has been most effective in drawing people to the church is old school social networking--people inviting their friends, family, neighbors and co-workers, Parks says.

“Some people coming have been disconnected from the church for years and years,” he observes, “and they are coming to try church again and give it another shot.”

Reaching out 

Whatever way people are coming, after only six months, the church has grown to an attendance of 60 people each Sunday. Parks says he wants to make use of any tool available for reaching out. He keeps up on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but emphasizes that they are not a replacement for the local church or face to face relationships. They can enhance them though, and they can help spread the gospel too.

“They allow more people to hear the message of the gospel than even the people that are coming through the doors on a Sunday morning,” Parks says. “It’s a safe way to check out what Christianity is all about.”
 
David Parks and his wife Holly have three children. The church website is www.appletongospel.org, or @appletongospel on Twitter, and www.fb.com/appletongospel on Facebook.

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