Discipling Those Who Will Shape the 21st CenturyBy Sharon Ellard
| This article is a sidebar to—"Trends in Children's Ministries" "A trend can serve to guide your children's ministry or it can drive it into the ground... What trends today are driving the church ahead in a positive way...?" Show me the main article... |
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Trait/Strategy | |
Baby Busters | |
Millennial Kids | |
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| Other names |
Generation X; Slackers |
Generation Y; Millennials |
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| Birth Years* |
1961-82 |
1982-2003 |
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| Age range in 1999 |
18 to 37 years old |
17 years old and younger |
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| Formative influences |
transition to two career-families; parents' divorce; day care; latchkey; technology boom; video games; AIDS; abortion; relativism; media |
devoted and protective parents; child advocacy trends; crime and violence in schools as well as in culture; drug abuse; AIDS; access to Internet |
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| Frequently described as... |
hopeless; resentful; unmotivated; slow to start careers; alienated |
hopeful; caring; idealistic; team players; family-centered; volunteers |
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| How they see themselves |
as pragmatic; wanting to solve immediate, practical problems; skilled in interpersonal negotiations; damaged by previous generations |
ready and able to help improve their world; team players; proactive; reasonable |
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| View of religion |
marginal impact on everyday life; 70 percent believe all truth is personal and relative |
90 percent believe in God; 75 percent believe in life after death; somewhat uncertain about absolute truth of Bible |
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| How they see the church |
lacking in warmth, acceptance, and grace; limited in thinking; conforming; cliquish; too political |
as a vehicle for making improvements in Jesus' name; as a guide to truth |
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| Motivated by... |
media messages; authenticity; hope for emotional healing |
cooperative efforts; financial security; technology; reasoned presentations |
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| Want for church |
emphasis on relationships rather than on programs or numbers; "surrogate parenting;" walking the talk |
honesty and integrity; compassion ministries; long-term relationships; peer prayer and ministry in small groups |
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| Attention-Getters |
media, especially videos that focus on a reason to listen to a sermon or lesson |
witnessing and discipling resources in print, on Internet, or on video |
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| Analysis of sermons |
Will be asking, "Am I interested in listening? How does this relate to life as I know it?" |
Will listen closely to reasoned sermons illustrated with narrative of God's work on real lives. |
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| Evangelistic windows/strategies |
the birth of a child; parenting seminars; recovery ministries; personal crises |
ministry trips; media presentations; website; help in responding to current events (e.g., school shootings) |
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| Evangelism strategies |
Contemporary Sermons—While suspicious of "professional" services and religious jargon, they will respond to biblical truth presented in unchurchy provocative sermons on current issues. Emphasize people more than programs—They respond better to friends who model authentic Christian living than to evangelism events. Children's ministries—Gen X parents want churches to disciple children. |
Reasoned Discipling—This generation needs biblical training that equips them to share absolutes with pluralistic peers. Equip for Ministry—They want to be trained for ministry that begins now. Involve in Ministry—They want to participate in ministry events that allow them to make a difference. Intergenerational Events—This generation enjoys interacting and working with adults. |
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| Websites** | "Effective Ministry To Baby Busters" "The ABCs of Ministry to Generations X, Y, & Z" |
"NML: Generation 2001 - A Survey..."*** |
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*Years may vary slightly from source to source concerning when each generation begins and end.
**Websites change frequently. Listing does not infer recommendation or affirmation of all content.
***More information on Millennial Kids can be found by searching for the word "Millenial" on the Internet. (Click here for an example, using the ProFusion search engine. We do not endorse any content you find via this search.)
—Compiled by Sharon Ellard,
early childhood consultant for the Assemblies of God
Sunday School Promotion and training Department,
Springfield, Missouri