“Millennials are mission-driven,” writes Peter Diamondis. “You need to think ten-times bigger and catalyze innovation in your organization by finding a massively transformative purpose (MTP) that your team can rally around. Think about Elon Musk’s MTP: to go to Mars and make humanity an interplanetary species. Or Google’s: to organize the world’s information. Millennials will flock to you if you have a compelling MTP and if your organization isn’t afraid to take moon shots.”

Millennials want to leave this world a better place. The kingdom of God “on earth as it is in heaven” is about making all things new, restoring the glory of all creation. Churches need to find ways to express their mission so that millennials know they are part of God’s audacious dream that is being made real in their very midst. Focus on the “why” of the mission, the great story of redemption that is told from cover-to-cover in the Scriptures, and capture the imaginations of those who are looking for a cause bigger than self.

Once millennials understand your church’s mission it is time to engage and equip them to be partners on the journey. Diamondis continues, “Millennials love a good challenge…Give them the authority and autonomy to challenge you. Let them prove why their particular solution is better than yours. They are also more creative and entrepreneurial than past generations, so you might be, in the very least, surprised by the results you get.”

Inviting and including millennials as partners on an incredible mission, millennials are no longer just a number in a pew, but someone who can shape the mission and contribute to it.   

1. Examine your church’s mission statement. Does it speak to the audacious challenge and mission Jesus gave his followers? Does it communicate passion and hope as well as dependency on God?

2. What is your “why?” Imagine having a conversation with a first-time visitor. What would you say is the “why” behind what you do? How often do you communicate this “why?”

3. Take a “moon shot.” God is still inviting us to walk on the water and have faith that God will lead us safely to the journey’s destination. The chances of failure are high, but evaluating from a success-fail mentality isn’t the point. Being part of God’s kingdom means learning to see all of life from a different perspective, and the “moon shot” offers us that learning opportunity.