Millennials and the Future of the Church

Can Churches Survive Without Young People?

On the face of it, the answer to this question seems to be "no," according to the Leadership Network, a Christian nonprofit ministry headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which says engaging Millennials is the most important decision a church can make regarding its future, reports Fox News.

Millennials make up 20 percent of the entire U.S. population with 83 million people; by 2020 the generation will make up 30 percent of the population. This group is a progressive bunch who are the most racially diverse generation, with 60 percent anglo and 15 percent immigrants; the most educated, with more college degrees than any generation in history; and the most single.

Eric Swanson of the Leadership Network has made several discoveries about Millennials to help the church better understand this interesting age group.
 

  1. Only 4 percent of Millennials claim to be Christian, with 75 percent of that group becoming Christians prior to the age of 14.

  2. Millennials value partnerships. They don’t want to work for you, they want to work with you.

  3. Millennials often get a bad rap in the media for being self-centered and entitled, but there are multiple statistics that say otherwise: 63 percent donate to charity and 43 percent actively volunteer, Millennials comprise one-third of all entrepreneurs in the U.S., and 64 percent said they would rather make $40K a year at a job they love than $100K at a job they think is boring. 

 

 

Photo: State Farm and Harris Poll conducted a State of Neighbors survey via photopin (license)