Almost every church I visit and talk with today is beginning to realize that if they're going to survive long into the future they have to become millenial oriented. Adjusting to a millenial viewpoint is not a simple matter of changing worship times, or seating, or adding a new song or two to the music repertoire. Millenials think about the world in fundamentally different ways. In this season of high school graduations here are some characteristics of this year's graduating class:

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• They have always lived in cyberspace; Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and such are not add-ons
• Their lives have been measured in the fundamental particles of life: bits, bytes, and bauds
• Bill Clinton is a senior statesman of whose presidency they have little knowledge
• Michael Jackson’s family, not the Kennedys, constitutes “American Royalty”
• The Biblical sources of terms such as “Forbidden Fruit,” “The writing on the wall,” “Good Samaritan,” and “The Promised Land” are unknown to most of them
• Selfies and internet posting is everyday
• Climate change is the condition of the world, not the change of seasons

Jeff Brimberry is a Kairos church planting apprentice with the Epic Church in Torrance, CA. Click on the picture below to go to this video of Jeff as he gives a perspective on faith for his generation.

Think about this! In 1998:

• Most Americans didn’t use the Internet
• The first consumer level smartphone (remember the Blackberry) had yet to hit the market, let alone the purses and pants pockets of the typical American
• You could still meet people at their airport gate; the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 were still three years away

Life has changed in the church world as well. If you feel like the life of the church is changing around you—you’re probably right! Here are six trends in the American church today:

1. Smaller—and larger—churches. The average church in America is shrinking, but the average churchgoer is attending a larger church. The average congregation has only 70 regular participants, but the average attendee worships in a congregation with about 400 regular participants. (The National Congregations Study)
2. Less denominational affiliation. More churches are claiming no denominational affiliation, a particularly common trend among megachurches. From 1998 to 2012, the percentage of congregations operating outside a denomination grew from 18 to 24 percent.

3.  Multisite churches are on the rise. Multisite means one church that has worship services at different sites or venues. Leadership Network reported that there were 200 multisite churches in 2002 while in 2014 that number exceeded 8,000!
4.  Even committed believers are attending services less frequently. People who used to attend 4 times a month may only attend 3 times a month. Members who used to come twice a month will only come once a month. That means your church attendance may be down 20% even though your membership has stayed the same!
5.  More new churches are opening than old churches are closing. Every year, approximately 4,000 churches are birthed in the U.S. (500 more than are closed).
6.  Starting new churches continues to be the most effective means to reach new people. Typically new churches are highly focused on connecting with not-yet-believers. Their leaders, members, and ministries are designed to allow new people easy connection to belief.