It’s an exciting time for churches looking to grow their networks. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in following Jesus among young people. Since 2019, the number of millennials who report attending church on a weekly basis has nearly doubled.
But that doesn’t mean your church can sit back and hope millennials and Gen Z will just show up—or suddenly start giving. Young people need to see that your church truly understands and values their perspective. Now is the time to reimagine how your ministry connects with this next generation of givers.
This guide explores actionable strategies your church can use to foster genuine relationships with young donors. From storytelling and tech-savvy tools to creative fundraisers, these ideas will help your church build lasting engagement and financial support:
1. Understand What Matters to Young Donors
Many young people are actively “church shopping”— looking for a new place of worship because they’re renewing their faith after taking a break from church, they’ve moved to a new place, or simply because they’re looking for the church that feels “right” to them. To make your church stand out, start by digging into what motivates Gen Z and Millennial donors.
Here are some tips to drive donations by showing young potential donors that your church is aligned with their values:
- Listen to their input. Distribute surveys to new members or during youth gatherings, initiate informal conversations after services, and monitor which posts get the most traction on your church’s social media. These tools can reveal the causes and language that matter most to the young people in your community, which you can then highlight in subsequent communications.
- Share specific impact metrics. Impact metrics give these new members a tangible reason to come back and make a donation next Sunday. Focus on outcomes and provide specificity. For example, rather than saying “Last year, we kept the food pantry stocked,” you might say “Last year, our food pantry provided over 1,500 local community members in need with nutritious groceries.”
You should also normalize transparent financial communications. Although it can feel uncomfortable to talk about money, open conversations about church finances can demonstrate accountability. At every level, you should communicate to young donors why they should trust your church with their donations.
2. Make Giving Easy and Tech-Forward
To many young donors, passing the collection plate around feels like an outdated ritual. Carrying around cash or a check is a hassle when most people use credit or debit cards for most purchases or even digital payment methods like Apple Pay or Google Pay.
If you want to encourage young donors to give, make the donation process as seamless as possible by experimenting with digital donation options like:
- QR codes: Try affixing a QR code to your collection plate so donors can make their donations conveniently online.
- Text-to-tithe: A text-to-give platform allows donors to make gifts in seconds by texting a keyword to a specific number linked to your church.
- An optimized donation page: Ensure that your website’s donation page is easy to navigate and mobile-friendly. Large, clickable buttons, suggested donation amounts, and minimal form fields can streamline the process and encourage donors to follow through with a donation.
Don’t forget to send sincere messages of thanks after each donation; gratitude begets generosity, and young donors love to see that their gifts make a difference.
3. Run Purpose-Driven Fundraisers That Inspire Participation
When you create campaigns that are fun, social, and adaptable to your congregants’ preferences and experience, you can inspire more gifts and a stronger community.
Here are some tips to create thoughtfully-designed events and campaigns:
- Organize mission-focused events that connect giving with action. Host service days, justice fairs, or environmental cleanups that allow young people to contribute their time and resources toward visible impact. These events should be easy to join, emphasize community collaboration, and reflect your church’s core values.
- Choose fundraisers that foster energy and participation. Product fundraisers, for example, encourage even your Generation Alpha members to get involved—along with their millennial parents. Kids love the challenge of making sales to their families, friends, and neighbors, and parents love to encourage their kids to take on more responsibility. Try hosting a popcorn fundraiser that’s simple, interactive, and easy to scale.
- Make results visible. Use live dashboards or visual displays to track giving and participation in real time during the event. ABC Fundraising’s guide to hosting a church fundraiser suggests using a fundraising thermometer to motivate donors to help you reach the next milestone.
Your fundraisers should be as joyful as your worship. Creating events and campaigns that young donors actually want to participate in encourages deeper engagement and more generous donations.
4. Empower Youth and Young Adults as Leaders
Leadership is one of the most overlooked avenues for donor engagement. When young people are invited to lead, they begin to invest in deeper ways.
Here are some ideas to inspire young people to take on a bigger role in your congregation:
- Ask youth to co-create your stewardship messages. Let them write scripts, film videos, or lead social campaigns about why generosity matters.
- Pair youth with mentors in active leadership. Co-leadership models allow intergenerational learning while building confidence and commitment.
- Welcome proposals that challenge old assumptions. Encourage young congregants to submit creative ideas for revamping your strategy. These might include new giving models like mutual aid networks, unconventional fundraising events that blend art and activism, or new ways to communicate generosity through short-form video content.
An invitation to lead builds long-term trust and a sense of shared ownership in your ministry’s future. As young donors see that their voices matter, their giving naturally follows.
5. Use Technology to Build Connection
For many young people, technology is second nature. Your church needs to meet your donors where they are. Using digital tools thoughtfully can foster deeper engagement and make giving more interactive.
Try these tactics to create a more engaging online presence:
- Offer consistent behind-the-scenes content. Try hosting Instagram “takeovers” where different staff members or volunteers share how your ministry operates and show how giving powers real work. For example, you might promote your discount card fundraiser by inviting one of your fundraisers to post about their experience going door-to-door in their neighborhood selling cards or to explain the cause behind your fundraiser.
- Livestream events and worship experiences. Virtual options allow your congregation members to engage no matter where they are, improving the convenience and accessibility of your services. Add integrated giving links to drive further donations.
Dedicating more time to social media, though, doesn’t mean that you should abandon your other channels. Kwala’s guide to donor communications reminds us: “[Social media platforms] have their uses for spreading your content but may not lead to donations as frequently as other channels.” Focus on these channels to drive engagement; then, supplement them with emails or texts inviting supporters to give.
To build a vibrant, multigenerational church, we must rethink how we invite younger members into our communities. By leading with values, embracing tech, and offering creative ways to give, churches can form stronger relationships with the next generation of givers. Young people want to be part of what you’re doing. Give them a reason to say yes.
Guest Post by Nexus