"Millennials"

Millennials are hard wired to embrace change. Their world knows that change is a constant. The difference is that change hits them at warp speed. “The speed of information allows transformation to happen at an exponential rate.”

Who makes up this Millennial generation? One third of Americans are Millennials. They consist of people born between 1981 and 2000. These are without doubt our most technologically-literate Americans. They are often described as skeptical of all institutions, liberal, global in their worldview, and ethnically diverse.

These folks want to discover meaning in life. They want their lives to count. Renew, reshape and re-imagine slips into their vocabulary on a daily basis. No institution, including the Church, is immune from this revolutionary mindset. Teamwork fits their style. Affirmation, cooperation and encouragement energize them. They embrace change.

My friend, David Kinnaman, has written extensively on the dropout phenomenon of Millennials from the institutional church. He says 65% of Millennials rarely or never attend church.

Are they rejecting Jesus Christ? No, they have become disenchanted with the institution of the Church. They see the Church as insulated from the world and as a result, unable to impact the culture with the Gospel. They love authenticity. Many ache for a relationship with God. They know God wants a relationship with them and not a performance.

My job and yours is to challenge this generation to live out the Christian Faith in holiness and sold out to sharing the Good News. One Millennial wrote “God seems missing from my experience of church.”

The Church is not real estate. It is a living body, the body of Christ, devoid of barriers. It is not a corporation. As Christ said, it is a spiritual entity. Thankfully, God has not disenfranchised any of us from the body of Christ.

Blessings,