By Briana Bass, Christian Romance Author, Devotional Writer & Certified Professional Coach

Nearly every fandom is full of loyal fans who yearn to express their love for their favorite characters and franchises. Some fans create beautiful works of art, while some turn to storytelling. These stories are known as fanfiction.

Modern fanfiction began in the 1960s and as society has changed, fanfiction followed. The internet gave rise to websites dedicated to hosting fanfiction and smartphones made these websites more accessible to people all over the world. Today, most fanfiction readers and authors are millennials and Gen-Z. They created an active, thriving community focused on engagement and inclusion. In this community, everyone feels seen, everyone is heard, and no one is excluded.

What can the church learn from fanfiction? It can learn to identify the wants of young adults and meet them where they’re at. Fanfiction is more than storytelling – it’s a way for young people to explicitly state their frustrations and how they perceive the world. If the church wants to survive, diving into fanfiction to better understand young adults and the future they are creating is the first step.

The Church’s One True Pairing (OTP)

To start, the church needs to step outside of Christian cultural circles and step into secular culture. If we want to grow the church, then we need to leave the ninety-nine in search of the one. That lost sheep won’t be found in a Christian bookstore, or watching Christian movies, or listening to Christian music. But if we turn away from secular society, burying our heads in the sand of Christian popular culture, then we abandon that lost lamb. Jesus left the fold to seek the one who was lost. Will we do the same?

Fanfiction supports and celebrates all people. It allows freedom of expression, experimentation, and self-examination. Everyone is welcome at the table:

So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper (Luke 14:21-24 KJV).

Who is welcome at the church’s table? Do we invite those who are unseen, unheard, and excluded? Or do we turn away because they belong to the secular world, a world we ignore while we pride ourselves on staying within the confines of Christian culture? If we spend our lives pretending the world outside our church doors doesn’t exist, then we have failed the assignment. We must fling open the doors and invite all to come and sit at the table.

Real Person Fics (RPF) for Real People

Second, the church must meet the needs of the younger generations. A church that belittles mental health will not survive. A church that lacks engagement for young adults, youth, and children will collapse. A church that derides inclusion will decay.

Millennials and Gen-Z prioritize their mental health in ways previous generations didn’t and still don’t. They blend Christian counseling with secular counseling and science. They do not support the erroneous belief that mental health issues stem from unresolved sin. We can see how important mental health is to these generations simply by looking at the warnings included in fanfiction stories. Young people may not have created content warnings, but they demand them for the sake of themselves and others. They acknowledge that trigger warnings are important so that everyone feels safe.

Fanfiction is one of the most inclusive forms of literature. Disability representation? You’ve got it. LGBTQ+ representation? It’s ubiquitous in fanfiction. Racial minority or mixed-race heroes? Oh yeah, they’re here. Do you see these individuals at church on a Sunday morning? Are they preaching from the pulpit? Do they hold leadership positions in your congregation or denomination? Do they feel safe attending your church?

If you answered “no” to any of those questions, then it’s time to do some soul searching and maybe read some fanfiction. There is no reason for the church to be less inclusive than fanfiction. None.

The Work in Progress (WIP) Church

The church can learn so much from fanfiction. Young people are extremely transparent about what they believe and what’s important to them, and it’s explicitly stated via fanfiction and how fanfiction is approached through warnings and tags. This makes it easy for the church to identify what the upcoming generations prioritize and how they see the world.

From there, the church can apply what it’s learned to better reach not only young people, but marginalized communities as well. Fanfiction is their safe space. With a little homework, the church can become their safe space, too.