This summer, both Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida are launching massive new “lands” based on the Star Wars franchise.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is the largest investment the Disney corporation has made in its North American parks in long time. Not only that, but it’s the largest land expansion to any theme park ever made.

The Star Wars development is massive in size (encompassing over 14 acres) and colossal in price (rumored to have cost Disney more than one billion per park). This expansion is breaking new boundaries in themed entertainment and will play a major role in the anticipated record attendance bump for both parks.

Have you ever considered that Disney targets the same people we do? Clearly our churches aren’t a business or an entertainment enterprise. However, I think we can examine the Star Wars project and discover a few principles that we can apply in our churches. After all, we’re telling the greatest story of all time, and our story, unlike the one about making the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs, has eternal consequences in people’s lives.

Here are a few lessons from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that we can apply to our churches:

Live Experiences Matter

It’s fascinating that in an increasingly digitalized world, Disney is making such a massive investment in real-life adventure. All of the coverage, in both professional and social media, seems to highlight the details of the live action adventure that Disney has developed for these new areas.

Disney is making a significant bet that the Star Wars parks will draw people not just for years but for decades to come. This should be a welcome cultural trend as we think about what we do at our churches. At the end of the day, churches offer live experiences that ask people to leave the virtual world of their phones and computers to interact with real people in real spaces.

As society becomes more obsessed with digitized activities, we have to continue to ask, “How do we draw people together in the real world?” The gathered body of Christ continues to be an important aspect of what it means to live and lead a church in our day.

As we look toward the future, one of our highest priorities should be creating opportunities that simply cannot be replicated through a web browser or a phone app.

Multi-Generational—For The Win!

A guiding principle of the Disney franchise is the idea that families can enjoy entertainment together. In fact, legend has it that Walt dreamt up Disneyland while sitting on a park bench with his own daughters, wishing for a place they could go to together and have fun as a family. The need for family togetherness appears to be even greater now than it was when Disneyland first opened in 1955.

Staying that course, the Star Wars attraction is also designed for multiple generations to enjoy. It’s not just for folks like me who loved the original Star Wars franchise in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, but also for Millennials who grew up watching the prequel trilogy of the late ‘90s and early 2000s and kids today whose first encounter with the Star Wars universe has only taken place within the last couple of years.