Articles for tag: Millennial Generation

June 20, 2017

Called to Serve Millennials, but Can We Reach Them?

By Haydn Shaw Churches have three main options for reaching millennials (those born 1981″“2001). When I consult with churches, I usually recommend the first, and sometimes the second, but never the third because it”s the one that doesn”t work. Option 1: Change the church now This is the best option for most churches. It”s important to hear what people who never grew up in the church have to say, so research is invaluable (my Generational IQ book is one resource, but there are many other helpful generational resources). Since 30 percent of the unchurched used to go to church, don”t

February 18, 2016

Christian Standard

Doctrinal Issues & Debates Theology & Bible

My Theology and My Grandparenting

By Tom Ellsworth I broke a promise. I don”t take that lightly, but thankfully, it was a promise to me alone. Years ago I vowed that when I became a grandfather I would not get all “twitterpated” (defined as infatuated; giddy; in a state of anxious excitement“”as used in the Disney movie Bambi, which I”ve seen again and again as a casualty of being a grandparent). My silly promise melted two seconds after holding my granddaughter for the first time. With the birth of each subsequent grandchild, the memory of such an absurd vow fades farther into my subconscious. And

February 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Ethics & Moral Issues Sexuality

True Love and the Hookup Culture

By T.R. Robertson You”re drunk. You”re at a party, sitting on the couch. It”s three in the morning. You”re looking around. You don”t know where your roommates went. You”re tired. You don”t know how you”re getting home. You look next to you, at this person. They look at you. You say to yourself, “All right . . . “ You won”t find lines like that in your average romance novel. They”re a college student”s description of a typical college hookup situation, quoted at the 2014 Q Conference by sociology and religious studies scholar Donna Freitas. Freitas is the author of

March 7, 2010

Christian Standard

Ethics & Moral Issues Sexuality

Our Ministry to Gays and Lesbians

By James C. Donovan “I am so glad you are doing this Bible study. The churches who teach the Bible as God”s Word don”t want me there and the churches who welcome me don”t teach the Bible as God”s Word.” Those words will be a lasting memory from my effort in ministering to gays and lesbians. The man who uttered those words at a Bible study in a home was a delightful person who called himself a believer and openly admitted his homosexuality. He had only recently come out of the closet and was genuinely struggling with his lifestyle and

November 9, 2008

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Youth & Children's Ministry

Windows of Youth Ministry

By Curtis Booher and Phyllis Fox Â In the rapidly changing culture of adolescents, one thing has remained the same over the generations””the nature of teenagers. Students of the current millennial generation are struggling to find their identity, purpose, and direction in life, to be independent of their parents, and to find love. These same struggles have confronted students in every generation.Â The big questions remain the same: Who am I? Where am I going? Why am I here? But there are also many characteristics unique to students growing up in the new millennium. It is important to understand the

January 10, 2008

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Youth & Children's Ministry

The Lost Generation

By Chuck Booher Fifteen years ago I visited one of the largest churches in the country. I was in awe of its high school ministry: 2,000 high school students passionately worshiping Christ. However, when I recently visited this same church I was disheartened to discover its high school ministry had dropped to 500 students. The church has doubled in size, and yet its youth ministry is dwindling. The reason definitely isn”t a lack of students in the area. In fact, the city recently opened two new high schools, and its junior college is brimming with college students. Ironically, as I