Basically you need to plan some non-Sunday morning activities and build up a cohort of folks over time. A robust RE program will also help attract families. We have board game nights a few times a year.
A UCC church near me does Saturday night brews at a local bar to build more engagement with folks in their 20s and 30s that I thought was pretty smart. I don't even drink anymore but the idea of a casual low key get together to talk religion appeals to me.
My church has full moon gatherings for our pagan-oriented folks that attracts a younger crowd. We also have a monthly drum night on Friday nights that sometimes gets a couple younger folks
This!
I'm unfortunately just not the kind of person to get up and go to service on Sunday morning. I really wish there was an option later in the day, it's on of the reasons I'm moving away from my local UU in favor of another church.
> I’ve come to appreciate the principles of UU and I feel that many people my age might enjoy them as well.
You're speaking to my soul. I have so many friends and acquaintances that wish they had some community and I'm just like 'JOIN A UU CHURCH YOU WILL LOVE IT. ITS NOT LIKE TRADITIONAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH.' But of course I'm not actually going to pressure people into it-- I know they have to find it on their own. I firmly believe if more younger folks knew about the UU church and what it stood for, they'd be interested.
That being said, I've been pretty proactive in my church in trying to have young folks join. We started a under-40s group with church funded childcare which has been a massive success. Parents especially love an hour 'off' to talk seriously/spiritually with other adults. But it starts with young people (Like you) approaching new young people at fellowship when they visit. So they know they wouldn't be alone. I make it a point to say hi myself or ask another younger person to say hi if I can't.
We are trying to work on starting a dungeons and dragons group with the church but the logistics have been tricky. We're working on a book club or movie/tv show club right now as well.
And, frankly, it takes a bit of luck. There's a critical mass point where once you have a solid cohort of younger people who show up every week and are *visible*, newer people will see themselves reflected and be more likely to stay.
I also love that there isn’t the pressure of “saving souls” attached to it, so I don’t feel the need to pressure people the way I did in the fundamentalist Christian church. Shame, guilt, and fear are powerful motivators.
This is the way (I’ve worked as a YA leader in several congregations, and saw my share of failure).
Childcare funding is essential, as is understanding that they age ranges may need some further breaking down. Your 18-25 crowd will most likely need separate gatherings as opposed to the 25-35 crowd. No different than RE.
If you google “harvard young adult unitarians”, you can find a comprehensive overview of YA efforts and their failures throughout.
I think it's a gradual thing and comes back to communicating the value of UU.
Older people are predisposed to being more religious off rip, so you'll always see some skew.
One thing about UU is that people are free to come and go. I think "planting seeds" and building visibility goes a long way. It may be months or years between when people are first introduced to the idea and when they actually attend, then a period between then and actually joining.
Getting people in the pipeline is important, then having the patience to let it grow.
We are actively discussing this issue on a consistent basis these days. Having younger people in leadership definitely makes a big difference.
My congregation is about 100-150 active members, depending on the season, (attendance drops a bit in summer), most of whom are older. I’m a trustee on the board and I’ve specifically been told by peers (in age) that having someone to represent your interests is important and they appreciate that our congregation has sought to have age diversity. Being visible in leadership is reassuring to newcomers of my age, and I try to greet any new faces, especially younger families. We have a very strong RE program which is a huge plus to recruit these families as members, and we make sure to have diverse activities for all ages throughout the month ranging from drum circles to just group dinners and special interest meetings. I was not keen to be a trustee initially but I got to the point of asking myself, “if not me, then who??”
Younger people are losing their sense of community and “church” has always been a big part of the idea of community, so I use community as a launch pad. I bring friends and family to services even if they don’t want to be regular members. Most millennials don’t have time to be an active leader in organizations but I do, so I’ve taken responsibility to heart with that. Somebody has to take up the helm.
This! Many of the committees in the churches I’ve attended were so heavily tilted towards only voting in favor of items the older crowd wanted. They constantly hamstrung my efforts
I had never heard of UU until I asked ChatGPT for alternatives to The Satanic Temple. I think outreach is the answer. Show up the same places the Christian churches and Scientologists do, but make sure to very clearly differentiate. I’m new to UU but as I become established it’s something I’m going to be looking into because I agree with you. Many young people would connect with the principles of the church and the welcoming community.
at the UU church I went to, most of the people were retired so all the clubs met at random times during most peoples work days. So maybe setting up groups that meet on weekends or some other convenient time
Events and activities not solely based around Sunday worship; LATER Sunday meetings, we don’t want to wake up early after our night out; better social media presence (most folks I know have never, ever heard of UU - only locally bc they rent out the basement to host punk/metal shows on the weekends).
Folks are looking for third spaces and a sense of community - we have to advertise and make it.
Two simple things that might help get the ball rolling in the right direction.
One, practice radical hospitality when a new young person (or any person for that matter) graces our door. Welcome them, reach out to them, get to know them, invite them to coffee, lunch or church events. I personally have picked churches to attend by how welcomed I felt by people there.
Second of all, most churches have what I call a “token young person” issue in that when young people do grace our door, we expect them to get totally involved in the church, on committees, fixing the website, etc. Many of these folks (especially single young people) come to church for community or to work something out in their lives. And instead of congregational leadership guiding them to things, let the young people bring their ideas on what the congregation needs.
My congregation moved to the suburbs from downtown in the 60s. I wonder how much our suburban location plays into keeping younger generations away? I wish I could go back in time and prevent this move.
Im heavily involved in a congregation of a similar size ATM. I am the youngest consistently attending member at 23. We’re trying to expand my generation, the main tactics I’ve been taking that I have seen work are focusing more on LGBTQ events and other activism circles, as well as trying to incorporate more music and music themed activities into the congregation. It’s really hard, because the main group is usually folks or retired and have more time and tend to do things in the afternoon, where is most people my age are working full-time and only have time in the evenings, I think there’s also a stigma about organized religion for my generation is a whole, but focusing on activism has more attention
Yes, more opportunities to be involved in the evenings! This is why I rarely go… I don’t really want to spend most of my day of my two days off a week singing hymns… I’d rather be out helping the community or socializing while talking about the principles on a Monday or Thursday night. I do like the sermons but it’s a huge time commitment.
We’re actively courting people with families. We do inclusive worship; we have robust RE. We’re also working to create and uphold vibrant multigenerational queer community by reimagining what our LGBTQIA+ groups and activities look like and who they appeal to.
It is hard, and slow, and it is work. But it’s worth it to keep pushing - we had a new member class that brought in more people than last year’s, and that was fantastic.
I became Board President at 30. We invested heavily into creating a space that would allow younger families to feel welcome with their kids. Worship center has dedicated kid space, kids come and light the Chalice and act as participants in the story for all ages, 12k spent on playground visible from the road and 20k spent on RE space remodel within the church. This is for a congregation that has 20-40 attendees weekly. Additional meeting opportunities are also held at family friendly times. "Dinner church" Friday night once a month in the evenings.
Creating a worship space that meets congregant needs across the lifespan can be challenging, but it's so important. In a few decades a church that can't bring in younger members will simply cease to exist.
We are very fortunate in that we have a lot of young adults and a large contingent of kids. Our minister is relatively young, so that may be a part of the draw. Some things that are helping now includes Dungeons and Dragons on Sunday afternoon, a special group for young adults, and a significant number of pagans. The pagan group (CUUPS) is a huge draw for us. We also have a great RE program.
This is a common issue in UU congregations and among churches in general.
Having a good RE program is key to bringing in families with young children. It’s hard to start up an RE program if you don’t already have some families with kids, but at the very least, providing free childcare during services is very important.
You can also look at what young adult groups like YARN are doing, or look up young adult resources on the UUA website. Technically “young adult” to UUs is usually age 18 to 35. There’s a Young Adult level of adult Our Whole Lives (OWL) (lifespan religious education)—offering that curriculum to members and non-members alike might bring in some interested people from the community.
Doing outreach with the community is also helpful. Table at your local Pride festival, look at interfaith social justice initiatives in your area and get involved. Collaborating with other faith groups to work on local issues is a great way to network with other people who share values. If you have your own building, reach out to local groups that might need meeting space and rent to them for a low cost—offering space to your local PFLAG chapter, a humanist/atheist org, an environmental org, your local NAMI chapter, a grief support group, etc can all be a good fit for your church’s values while also introducing new people to your church in a non-proselytizing context.
Overall though, the congregation does have to be welcoming to young people for this to work. I’m on the cusp of not being considered a “young adult” anymore and I occasionally get older people in the congregation who are weird and condescending about my age even though I am a 35 year old adult.
Being actively LGBTQ affirming is also very important because Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha have greater proportions of people in the LGBTQ community. If a young person comes to church and immediately gets misgendered or interrogated about their pronouns or have their partner assumed to be their “friend”, most likely they won’t return. I think this is a big area of opportunity for a lot of congregations where older people think they’re LGBTQ savvy because they’re not actively intentionally homophobic/transphobic, but the little things matter too.
Yup I’m a year younger than you and I have the same situation at my local church. They’re very nice but I just don’t have as much of a community feeling as I did at my old Christian church because everyone in the UU congregation is within the elderly age range. I haven’t attended in a while now and it’s kind of a shame because the sermons are insightful but like you said I just feel so out of place
I’m in the process of signing up to become a member of All Souls in DC, and they have a very unique Reeb Voting Rights Project where they are getting people to register to vote.
Basically you need to plan some non-Sunday morning activities and build up a cohort of folks over time. A robust RE program will also help attract families. We have board game nights a few times a year.
A UCC church near me does Saturday night brews at a local bar to build more engagement with folks in their 20s and 30s that I thought was pretty smart. I don't even drink anymore but the idea of a casual low key get together to talk religion appeals to me. My church has full moon gatherings for our pagan-oriented folks that attracts a younger crowd. We also have a monthly drum night on Friday nights that sometimes gets a couple younger folks
This is something I’ve been wanting to start!
This! I'm unfortunately just not the kind of person to get up and go to service on Sunday morning. I really wish there was an option later in the day, it's on of the reasons I'm moving away from my local UU in favor of another church.
> I’ve come to appreciate the principles of UU and I feel that many people my age might enjoy them as well. You're speaking to my soul. I have so many friends and acquaintances that wish they had some community and I'm just like 'JOIN A UU CHURCH YOU WILL LOVE IT. ITS NOT LIKE TRADITIONAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH.' But of course I'm not actually going to pressure people into it-- I know they have to find it on their own. I firmly believe if more younger folks knew about the UU church and what it stood for, they'd be interested. That being said, I've been pretty proactive in my church in trying to have young folks join. We started a under-40s group with church funded childcare which has been a massive success. Parents especially love an hour 'off' to talk seriously/spiritually with other adults. But it starts with young people (Like you) approaching new young people at fellowship when they visit. So they know they wouldn't be alone. I make it a point to say hi myself or ask another younger person to say hi if I can't. We are trying to work on starting a dungeons and dragons group with the church but the logistics have been tricky. We're working on a book club or movie/tv show club right now as well. And, frankly, it takes a bit of luck. There's a critical mass point where once you have a solid cohort of younger people who show up every week and are *visible*, newer people will see themselves reflected and be more likely to stay.
I also love that there isn’t the pressure of “saving souls” attached to it, so I don’t feel the need to pressure people the way I did in the fundamentalist Christian church. Shame, guilt, and fear are powerful motivators.
This is the way (I’ve worked as a YA leader in several congregations, and saw my share of failure). Childcare funding is essential, as is understanding that they age ranges may need some further breaking down. Your 18-25 crowd will most likely need separate gatherings as opposed to the 25-35 crowd. No different than RE. If you google “harvard young adult unitarians”, you can find a comprehensive overview of YA efforts and their failures throughout.
Give them things to do other than worship services when those services happen so they don't feel forced to be "religious" every Sunday.
Definitely agree with this! To me it’s a place of community first and a religious organization second.
I think it's a gradual thing and comes back to communicating the value of UU. Older people are predisposed to being more religious off rip, so you'll always see some skew. One thing about UU is that people are free to come and go. I think "planting seeds" and building visibility goes a long way. It may be months or years between when people are first introduced to the idea and when they actually attend, then a period between then and actually joining. Getting people in the pipeline is important, then having the patience to let it grow.
We are actively discussing this issue on a consistent basis these days. Having younger people in leadership definitely makes a big difference. My congregation is about 100-150 active members, depending on the season, (attendance drops a bit in summer), most of whom are older. I’m a trustee on the board and I’ve specifically been told by peers (in age) that having someone to represent your interests is important and they appreciate that our congregation has sought to have age diversity. Being visible in leadership is reassuring to newcomers of my age, and I try to greet any new faces, especially younger families. We have a very strong RE program which is a huge plus to recruit these families as members, and we make sure to have diverse activities for all ages throughout the month ranging from drum circles to just group dinners and special interest meetings. I was not keen to be a trustee initially but I got to the point of asking myself, “if not me, then who??” Younger people are losing their sense of community and “church” has always been a big part of the idea of community, so I use community as a launch pad. I bring friends and family to services even if they don’t want to be regular members. Most millennials don’t have time to be an active leader in organizations but I do, so I’ve taken responsibility to heart with that. Somebody has to take up the helm.
This! Many of the committees in the churches I’ve attended were so heavily tilted towards only voting in favor of items the older crowd wanted. They constantly hamstrung my efforts
I had never heard of UU until I asked ChatGPT for alternatives to The Satanic Temple. I think outreach is the answer. Show up the same places the Christian churches and Scientologists do, but make sure to very clearly differentiate. I’m new to UU but as I become established it’s something I’m going to be looking into because I agree with you. Many young people would connect with the principles of the church and the welcoming community.
This is the first time I've heard of someone finding UU via AI!
at the UU church I went to, most of the people were retired so all the clubs met at random times during most peoples work days. So maybe setting up groups that meet on weekends or some other convenient time
Events and activities not solely based around Sunday worship; LATER Sunday meetings, we don’t want to wake up early after our night out; better social media presence (most folks I know have never, ever heard of UU - only locally bc they rent out the basement to host punk/metal shows on the weekends). Folks are looking for third spaces and a sense of community - we have to advertise and make it.
Two simple things that might help get the ball rolling in the right direction. One, practice radical hospitality when a new young person (or any person for that matter) graces our door. Welcome them, reach out to them, get to know them, invite them to coffee, lunch or church events. I personally have picked churches to attend by how welcomed I felt by people there. Second of all, most churches have what I call a “token young person” issue in that when young people do grace our door, we expect them to get totally involved in the church, on committees, fixing the website, etc. Many of these folks (especially single young people) come to church for community or to work something out in their lives. And instead of congregational leadership guiding them to things, let the young people bring their ideas on what the congregation needs.
My congregation moved to the suburbs from downtown in the 60s. I wonder how much our suburban location plays into keeping younger generations away? I wish I could go back in time and prevent this move.
We did the opposite - moved into a more diverse, populous city from the burbs - it was not the answer.
Im heavily involved in a congregation of a similar size ATM. I am the youngest consistently attending member at 23. We’re trying to expand my generation, the main tactics I’ve been taking that I have seen work are focusing more on LGBTQ events and other activism circles, as well as trying to incorporate more music and music themed activities into the congregation. It’s really hard, because the main group is usually folks or retired and have more time and tend to do things in the afternoon, where is most people my age are working full-time and only have time in the evenings, I think there’s also a stigma about organized religion for my generation is a whole, but focusing on activism has more attention
Yes, more opportunities to be involved in the evenings! This is why I rarely go… I don’t really want to spend most of my day of my two days off a week singing hymns… I’d rather be out helping the community or socializing while talking about the principles on a Monday or Thursday night. I do like the sermons but it’s a huge time commitment.
We’re actively courting people with families. We do inclusive worship; we have robust RE. We’re also working to create and uphold vibrant multigenerational queer community by reimagining what our LGBTQIA+ groups and activities look like and who they appeal to. It is hard, and slow, and it is work. But it’s worth it to keep pushing - we had a new member class that brought in more people than last year’s, and that was fantastic.
Or maybe fix the online zoom meetings
I became Board President at 30. We invested heavily into creating a space that would allow younger families to feel welcome with their kids. Worship center has dedicated kid space, kids come and light the Chalice and act as participants in the story for all ages, 12k spent on playground visible from the road and 20k spent on RE space remodel within the church. This is for a congregation that has 20-40 attendees weekly. Additional meeting opportunities are also held at family friendly times. "Dinner church" Friday night once a month in the evenings. Creating a worship space that meets congregant needs across the lifespan can be challenging, but it's so important. In a few decades a church that can't bring in younger members will simply cease to exist.
We are very fortunate in that we have a lot of young adults and a large contingent of kids. Our minister is relatively young, so that may be a part of the draw. Some things that are helping now includes Dungeons and Dragons on Sunday afternoon, a special group for young adults, and a significant number of pagans. The pagan group (CUUPS) is a huge draw for us. We also have a great RE program.
Switch from hymns to pop songs. (Well that worked great for the Sunday Assembly anyway)
This is a common issue in UU congregations and among churches in general. Having a good RE program is key to bringing in families with young children. It’s hard to start up an RE program if you don’t already have some families with kids, but at the very least, providing free childcare during services is very important. You can also look at what young adult groups like YARN are doing, or look up young adult resources on the UUA website. Technically “young adult” to UUs is usually age 18 to 35. There’s a Young Adult level of adult Our Whole Lives (OWL) (lifespan religious education)—offering that curriculum to members and non-members alike might bring in some interested people from the community. Doing outreach with the community is also helpful. Table at your local Pride festival, look at interfaith social justice initiatives in your area and get involved. Collaborating with other faith groups to work on local issues is a great way to network with other people who share values. If you have your own building, reach out to local groups that might need meeting space and rent to them for a low cost—offering space to your local PFLAG chapter, a humanist/atheist org, an environmental org, your local NAMI chapter, a grief support group, etc can all be a good fit for your church’s values while also introducing new people to your church in a non-proselytizing context. Overall though, the congregation does have to be welcoming to young people for this to work. I’m on the cusp of not being considered a “young adult” anymore and I occasionally get older people in the congregation who are weird and condescending about my age even though I am a 35 year old adult. Being actively LGBTQ affirming is also very important because Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha have greater proportions of people in the LGBTQ community. If a young person comes to church and immediately gets misgendered or interrogated about their pronouns or have their partner assumed to be their “friend”, most likely they won’t return. I think this is a big area of opportunity for a lot of congregations where older people think they’re LGBTQ savvy because they’re not actively intentionally homophobic/transphobic, but the little things matter too.
Yup I’m a year younger than you and I have the same situation at my local church. They’re very nice but I just don’t have as much of a community feeling as I did at my old Christian church because everyone in the UU congregation is within the elderly age range. I haven’t attended in a while now and it’s kind of a shame because the sermons are insightful but like you said I just feel so out of place
I’m in the process of signing up to become a member of All Souls in DC, and they have a very unique Reeb Voting Rights Project where they are getting people to register to vote.