For Christian Millennials, leaders must reject status quo, inward focus and superficiality.
“Millennials want to dive in deep,” Jess Rainer said. “They realize that life is brief. They want to get to work.”

America’s Millennial generation, born between 1980 and 2000, possess world-changing potential, youth leaders were told during a national conference in Nashville, Tenn.

“This generation is making a huge impact,” said Jess Rainer, one of the conference’s featured speakers.

“They are sending shockwaves throughout global society,” said Rainer, administration and outreach pastor of Grace Church in Hendersonville, Tenn.

Rainer, coauthor of “The Millennials: Connecting to America’s Largest Generation” with Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, joined his father in unpacking data and insights from their research during LifeWay’s National Youth Worker’s Conference, which included 34 breakout sessions with experts in student ministry.

Despite being more than 78 million strong, only 15 percent of Millennials profess to be Christian, a trend the Rainers hope to see reversed through educating leaders on how to reach the emerging generation.

The older half of the generation is exiting college and are “redefining adulthood,” determined to make a statement, Jess Rainer said. The youngest Millennials are 10-year-old future leaders, and this is where youth workers fit in by grappling with the realities of this generation.

Jess Rainer explained five defining characteristics of Millennials gathered from interviews with 1,200 Millennials and published in their book.

First, Millennials are both a hopeful and self-burdened generation. An overwhelming 96 percent of respondents believe they will do something great in their lifetime.

“You are in a great place at a great time,” Thom Rainer told the youth leaders at the Sept. 12-14 sessions, “because even though a low percent of this generation is Christian they are a generation that is ready to make a difference.”

Growing up as a Millennial, Jess Rainer said he heard that he could do anything he wanted to do, that success was achievable and he was responsible for making the world a better place.

Second, Millennials are technologically and social media savvy. Of the 1,200 Millennials surveyed, 70 percent said their cell phones are a vital part of their lives.

“Technology is huge for this generation,” Jess Rainer said, noting that more than half of Millennials are active users of Facebook. “Social media is an intricate part of their lives.”

Third, Millennials value learning through formal and informal education.

“The Millennials are the most educated generation in American history,” Jess Rainer said. Beyond formal degrees, Millennials value informal education through mentorships.

“We as Millennials want someone to invest in our lives,” Jess Rainer said. “We want people to come along side us and mentor us. This is where youth workers come in.”

Fourth, Millennials are disconnected spiritually.

The Boomer generation, the group born between 1946-64, began to move toward antagonism toward Christianity, Thom Rainer explained. “We were the generation that doubted institutions like church and government,” he said. “We began to have a negative attitude toward Christianity. At least when you’re antagonistic you are engaged.

“This generation, as a whole, is so disconnected that their attitude is not antagonism; it’s apathy,” Thom Rainer said. “Therefore, you cannot expect them to show up in church because they are supposed to.”

This is a generation that needs to hear that faith makes a difference, he added.

“This is a generation that is not going to be satisfied with ‘churchianity’ as usual,” Thom Rainer said. “They’re not going through the motions, like what much of my generation has done in the name of Christian faith.”

Showing Millennials the relevance of faith is key to reaching them, Thom Rainer said. “That means that faith has to make a difference in their community and to the nations,” he said.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The source for this document was originally published on Baptist Press—however, the link (URL) to the original article is unavailable and has been removed.]