My Generation

This past quarter I have been teaching an adult class on Sunday mornings about how churches can best minister to the Millennial generation (those born between 1980 and 2000). As a member of that generation myself, the subject is one that is very close to my heart as it concerns how my peers and I can effectively reach our friends with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We looked closely at research done by Thom and Jess Rainer in their book Millennials: Connecting to America’s Largest Generation, and by Dr. Kenda Dean who participated in the National Study of Youth and Religion and wrote the book Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church. Some of the research confirmed what I already knew and some of it surprised me. Obviously, Millennials are in most cases more technologically savvy than their parents or grandparents. They value relationships and use technology to improve them. They are service oriented, wanting to change the world and believing that they can. However, they are also not religious. This my come as a surprise to those of us living in Alabama, the buckle of the Bible belt, but most Millennials do not care one way or the other about religion. They are not hostile toward it, yet it does not play much of any role in their lives.

The Rainers estimate that 15% of the Millennial generation are practicing Christians. A much higher percentage calls themselves Christians, in many cases just because that’s what their parents were; however, only about 15% actually practice Christianity in a way that impacts their daily lives. Granted, this is a very subjective estimate, relying mostly upon the Rainer’s own definition of what constitutes a true Christian. Still, there is reason to believe their assessment may have some validity to it. As we look around our own schools, cities, and churches, we see many people who claim to follow Jesus but only do so on Sundays and Wednesdays. We see many people of all ages who profess to have a relationship with Jesus, but who do not let that relationship change their hearts or behaviors. Apparently, this is how most people want their lives to be. They just don’t see religion as important enough to have it transform their lives. They don’t believe that it is relevant.

As teenagers, I am sure that you have many friends who fall into this category. You know people who think that “a little Jesus” is good, but who refuse to “go overboard” with it all. Perhaps the good news is that virtually all Millennials see service as both relevant and essential. Yes, they want to make money. Yes, they want to have good jobs. Yes, they want to live comfortably. But they also want to help others have better lives as well. They want to make more money so that they can use some of it to contribute to what they see as worthy charities. They want flexibility with work hours so that they can spend some of that time volunteering. They want to make a significant, positive contribution to society, and also believe that they can and will. To me, it seems odd that a generation which values service to such a high degree would see churches as so irrelevant. After, all churches are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless.

As we seek ways to reach our friends and family members with the Gospel, perhaps this is the best news we could ask for. For us, bringing the other 85% of our generation into a saving relationship with Jesus may well depend upon inviting them to join us as we serve the world around us. In doing so, they will begin to see what churches do as important. Perhaps then they will be interested in hearing more about what motivates us to spend so much time, energy, and money rendering assistance to the less fortunate. In time, they will understand that true Christianity is not about sitting in large buildings where we are kept supremely comfortable, but rather is about getting our hands dirty by serving anyone and everyone. They are already doing that on their own. It seems like our job is to show them how to do that for Christ.