Generations, Millennial Generation, Inter-generational Unity
Note: This resource guide is part of the site archive, which was last updated in 2012.
- Introduction
- Multi-Generational / Intergenerational Ministry
– First Reads Intergenerational
– First Reads Multi-Generational
– Other Helpful Resources
– Related Resources - Ministry to Millenials (Twenty-somethings)
– Understanding Millennials (ages 16 to late-twenties)
– Understanding Emerging Adults (18-23)
– Reclaiming De-churched Millennials (suggested order)
– Reaching Un-churched Millennials
– Understanding Churched Millennials — Missional (suggested order)
– Understanding Churched Millennials — Resurgent Reformed (Gospel Coalition) - Other (Older) Resources on Generational Issues
– Generation Theory
– Boomers
– Busters/Generation X - Related Ministry Resources
Introduction
There are several ways to speak of generational issues in established churches. One is from a Christian education angle on the importance of generations coming together for learning and worship. For example, do children and adults always worship together, or are there occasional separate activities? Questions like this are important, and generally fit into the category of Intergenerational Ministry. A few resources from this category are included here, but only the most introductory, as this is a specialty within the field of religious education and faith formation.
This Ministry Resource Guide focuses on Multi-Generational Ministry targeted to younger and older adult generations, primarily the challenges congregations experience with the coexistence of five age groups, and the concerns over the waning interest of the younger generations. The five groups are:
- Seniors – The Greatest Generation, born 1900-1928
- Builders – The Silent Generation, born 1929-1945
- Boomers – The Me Generation, born 1946-1954
- Busters – Generation X, The Lost Generation, born 1965-1983
- Bridgers – Generations Y and iY, or Millennials, born 1984-2002
Most of the material on generations highlights conflict and misunderstanding. Intergenerational conflict is not new. Yet many churches today encounter challenges in the relationship between the older and younger. The current struggle is partially due to the confluence of three major trends: longer life spans, rapid change, and the transitional period of post-modernity. People live long enough for five generations to be present in congregations, and the pace of change during the last three generations’ “coming of age” has widened the generational gap. This is exacerbated in settings that feel the seismic shifts of the postmodern ethos (this is not universal). When these three trends converge, it often results in conflict over worship styles, sermon forms, Bible translations, views of the church building, the place of pastoral care, drama and video, spirituality, leadership styles, and the scope of mission (holistic vs. evangelistic), etc.
This guide provides help on two fronts. First is how to reach, keep, or reclaim the younger generations, since this is where we incur the greatest risk of loss. Yet incorporating the youngest generations usually brings about considerable change and conflict for established churches. Thus the second task of facilitating healthy multi-generational relationships in the process of change.
Each of the resources below is listed in alphabetical order unless indicated, and is hopefully described well enough for each reader to prioritize according to need. Click the links to find more complete descriptions of each book. Please remember to consult the list at bottom for related resource guides
Multi-Generational / Intergenerational Ministry
It is important to distinguish between multi-generational and intergenerational ministry. Multi-generational usually discusses how to create generation-specific experiences for all the age groups in a church. Intergenerational discusses how to intentionally bring the age-groups together for the purposes of interactive faith formation. I have a strong bias for intergenerational, but realize most churches lack the degree of intentionality to shift their church cultures in that direction. I have listed “First Reads” in both subject areas.
First Reads on Intergenerational (in suggested order):
- Holly Catterton Allen, and Christine Lawton Ross, Intergenerational Christian Formation: Bringing the Whole Church Together in Ministry, Community and Worship – Excellent theological, theoretical, and sociological foundations for intergenerational ministry. Part Four and the appendices are very practical on how to bring generations together for faith formation.
- Peter Menconi, The Intergenerational Church: Understanding Congregations from WWII to www.com – Provides an excellent matrix that compares five generations and “how” they each do different components of their faith walk. Packages current research into a congregationally sensitive format. Good for those who are committed to intergenerational ministry.
First Reads on Multi-Generational (in suggested order):
- Eddie Hammett and James Pierce, Reaching People Over 40 While Keeping People Over 60: Becoming a Church for All Generations — An excellent tool to equip established churches to increase generational understanding, coexistence, and missional effectiveness.
- Gilbert R. Rendle, The Multigenerational Congregation: Meeting the Leadership Challenge — A helpful guide to equip generations for intentional conversations with each other, and to help leaders facilitate respectful intergenerational relationships on a congregational scale.
- Peter Menconi, The Intergenerational Church: Understanding Congregations from WWII to www.com – Provides an excellent matrix that compares five generations and “how” they each do different components of their faith walk. Packages the most current research into a congregationally sensitive format. Good for those who are committed to intergenerational ministry.
Other Helpful Resources:
- Gary L. McIntosh, One Church, Four Generations: Understanding and Reaching All Ages in Your Church — Good suggestions on the various models churches may adopt as they take generational issues seriously and to introduce change in multi-generational settings.
- Carol Howard Merritt, Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation — Describes six pathways for multi-generational churches to reach twenty-somethings: intergenerational relationships, economic understanding, unambiguous inclusion, affirming traditions, shared leadership and spiritual guidance.
- Carol Howard Merritt, Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation — The sequel to Tribal Church, describing seven characteristics of effective multi-generational churches.
Related Resources:
- Jackson W. Carroll and Wade Clark Roof, Bridging Divided Worlds: Generational Cultures in Congregations — A sensitive guide for churches to responsibly engage the generational divide either through generationally blended or generation-specific approaches.
- Keith Drury and David Drury, Ageless Faith: A Conversation Between Generations About Faith — A conversation between a boomer father and a generation X/Y son about church issues. Provides a good catalyst for intergenerational dialogue.
- Carl G. Eeman, Generations of Faith: A Congregation Atlas – A good summary and application of the extensive research by William Strauss and Neil Howe (who wrote the foreword) on generation theory, four generation cycles, and how generations experience birth, emergence, contribution, and graying.
- Gordon MacDonald, Who Stole My Church? What to Do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the 21st Century – Addresses the needs of older members of established churches who struggle as their church makes adjustments to reach younger populations.
Ministry to Millenials (Twenty-somethings):
Understanding Millennials (ages 16 to late-twenties):
- Kenda Creasy Dean, Almost Christian: What the Faith of our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church — Based on the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR), Dean builds on the research to ask, “How can the 21st-century church better prepare young people steeped in Moralistic Therapeutic Deism for the trust-walk of Christian faith?” (related to Soul-Searching below)
- Tim Elmore and Dan Cathy (foreword), Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future — A very interesting picture of the less than desirable futures millennials are likely to experience and what adults can do now to help forge brighter scenarios.
- Thom Rainer and Jess Rainer, The Millennials: Connecting to America’s Largest Generation — A broad, comprehensive demographic picture of the younger population as a whole from LifeWay Research.
- Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton, Soul-Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Teenagers – A massive, encyclopedic look into the faith of America’s teenagers, based on the The National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR), one of the most extensive studies ever conducted among this age group, involving data from over 3,000 teens. (Related to Almost Christian above)
- Robert Wuthnow, After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty-and-Thirty-Somethings Are Shaping the Future of American Religion — One of today’s most respected sociologists of religion focuses on the religious lives of Americans aged 21-45 (spanning two generations, busters and bridgers), looking at their views on worship, spirituality, politics, and theology.
Understanding Emerging Adults (18-23):
- Tim Clydesdale, First Year Out: Understanding American Teenagers After High School (Morality and Society – Acclaimed sociological research that followed high school seniors and college freshmen as they faced the first years of emerging adulthood.
- Richard Dunn and Jana Sundene, Shaping the Journey of Emerging Adults – Suggests a mentoring-based discipling approach for this age group.
- Christian Smith and Patricia Snell, Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults – Builds on over 200 in-depth interviews to describe the faith development during this critical life period. A good follow-up to the volume on teens, Soul-Searching.
- Christian Smith, Kari Christofferson, Hilary Davidson, and Patricial Snell Herzog, Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood – A sequel to Souls in Transition, offering a compassionate look at the dark side of emerging adulthood.
- Brian Simmons, Wandering in the Wilderness: Changes and Challenges to Emerging Adults Christian Faith – Aside from being a helpful guide for ministering to EAs, this is an excellent ministry-friendly summary of current research on this age group.
Reclaiming De-churched Millennials (suggested order):
- Kara Powell, Brad Griffin, and Cheryl Crawford, Sticky Faith, Youth Worker Edition – Presents the results of a six-year study of college students who were graduates of youth groups, and the factors that helped them keep their faith in the transition to young adulthood. Very insightful.
- Thom Rainer and Sam Rainer, Essential Church: Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts – The most extensive study of its kind on why seventy-percent of 18-22 year olds leave the church and what motivates those who return.
- David Kinnaman, You Lost Me: Why Young People are Leaving Church…and Rethinking Faith – Insights from Barna Research on the path away from the church for youth ages 18-29. Discusses three types of disengagement, six areas where they feel disconnected, and helpful tips on reconnecting.
- Drew Dyck, Generation Ex-Christian — Helpfully identifies six different types of the younger generation who leave the church, and what may be done to reach them.
- Sarah Cunningham, Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation — A twenty-something “preacher’s kid” offers “a raw telling of how disillusionment has affected me and some in my generation,” allowing others to “hear things that people might be hesitant to say…in person.”
Reaching Un-churched Millennials:
- Ed Stetzer, Richie Stanley, and Jason Hayes, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches That Reach Them — Insight from LifeWay Research on the unchurched among those ages 18-29, and the characteristics of churches that are successful in reaching this age group.
- David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, UnChristian: What a New Generation Thinks About Christianity…And Why it Matters — Extensive research revealing the six most common points of skepticism and objections raised by those outside the church ages 16-29.
- Dan Kimball, They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations — Kimball shows from his exposure to the emerging generation how they have considerable disdain for the church alongside a deep loving for Jesus as they understand him.
- Jim Henderson, Todd Hunter, and Craig Spinks, The Outsider Interviews: A New Generation Speaks Out on Christianity – Captures the negative perceptions toward the church in candid TV-style panel interviews with 16 twenty-somethings (8 believers and 8 non) in several key cities across the U.S.
Understanding Churched Millennials — Missional (suggested order):
- Robert Webber, The Younger Evangelicals: Facing the Challenges of the New World — The most thorough description of the changing religious preferences of emerging and young adults as compared to the generations before them.
- Gabe Lyons, The Next Christians: The Good News About the End of Christian America — A refreshing and hopeful look at the future of the church as leaders emerge from a sector of the younger generation that expresses Christianity in a way that is aimed toward “restoring” the faith.
Churched Millennials — Resurgent Reformed (Gospel Coalition):
- Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We’re Not Emergent…From Two Guys Who Should Be, and Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institution and Organized Religion — A good representation of younger Evangelical-Reformed ministers who have deep appreciation for the conventional church. The first evaluates the emergent church and the second affirms the conventional-traditional church.
- Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism, and Don’t Call it a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day (Gospel Coalition Series) — The first unpacks the value of the Heidelberg Catechism, the second is a collection of articles by younger evangelical leaders that asserts the stability, relevance, and necessity of Christian orthodoxy today.
- Josh Harris, Stop Dating the Church! Fall in Love with the Family of God — Argues against the younger generation’s tendency to “shop” for a church and actually commit to a faith family.
Other (Older) Suggestions on Generational Issues
Books of this genre have a brief shelf-life. Those listed below are certainly older, but for those who have specific questions about previous generations (e.g. Busters, Boomers), the following volumes may help.
Generation Theory:
- William Strauss and Neil Howe, The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy. Broadway, 1997.
- ________. Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069. William Morrow and Company, 1992.
- ________. 13th Generation: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail? Vintage, 1993.
- ________. Millenials Rising: The Next Great Generation. Vintage Books, 2000.
Boomers:
- Craig Kennet Miller, Baby Boomer Spirituality: Ten Essential Values Of A Generation. Discipleship Resources, 1992.
- Wade Clark Roof, A Generation of Seekers: The Spiritual Journeys of the Baby Boom Generation. Harper San Francisco, 1993.
Busters / Generation X:
- George Barna, The Invisible Generation: Baby Busters. Barna Research Group, 1992.
- Tom Beaudoin, Virtual Faith: The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X. Jossey-Bass, 1998.
- Tim Celek and Dieter Zander, Inside the Soul of a New Generation: Insights and Strategies for Reaching Busters. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997.
- David K. Lewis, Carley H. Dodd and Darryl Tippens, The Gospel According to Generation X: The Culture of Adolescent Faith. ACU Press, 1995.
- Susan Littwin, The Postponed Generation: Why American Youth Are Growing Up Later. Quill William Morrow, 1996.
- Jimmy Long, Generating Hope: A Strategy for Reaching the Postmodern Generation. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1998.
- William Mahedy and Janet Bernardi, A Generation Alone: Xers Making A Place in the World. InterVarsity Press, 1994.
Related Ministry Resources
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- Church Conflict
- Church Conflict – Guides to Healthy Dialogue
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