How Baby Boomers can reach Millennials with the Gospel

by Barbara Latta

The generation of Millennials and Gen Xers spans the period between the early 1980’s and

Millennials live on social media.

ending in the early 2000’s. Most Baby Boomers are afraid of them because older people don't know how to relate to the younger way of thinking so reaching Millennials with the gospel remains a challenge.

Millennials and Gen Xers grew up in a technological age while those in my generation groan every time a new gadget comes out that has to be learned. We do what we can get by, but Millennials and Gen Xers fight to be the first in line when a new advancement is released on the market.This group lives on social media. Their life would disappear without electronic connections. 

Vulnerability to the influences of worldly culture challenges young people.

Millennials don’t have one church but drift around to many searching to have their needs met. Morals and attitudes are formed by how one feels. There is no absolute right or wrong but whatever is right for you.

This is the generation of entitlements. The culture thinks society owes them something. They are owed a free education. Why should student loans have to be paid back? Why shouldn’t I get a high paying job right out of college? Why should I have a job where I actually have to work? Starting at the bottom of the career ladder is not an option.

The majority of this group of young people have grown up in blended families or with single parents. A secure family is an anomaly. 

Earlier generations are more patriotic than Millennials and Gen Xers. The country they have grown up in has drifted into division. Taking a stand for history's foundations  is a foreign object to most.

Millennials are usually sensitive to social ills though they don’t always know what to do about their concern. Some form groups for action but don’t know what they are standing for.

They are health conscious and are riding bikes, kayaking, working out at gyms, eating granola bars and drinking protein shakes. It might not be a bad idea to ask for advice when planning that next diet.

So how do these diverse sections of the population get together? Reaching this group for Christ will involve changing mind-sets about the millennials culture. 

• Rather than having a division between Millennials and Baby Boomers, the older generation can stop fearing the involvement with technology. Befriending a younger person by asking for assistance with gadgets could bring down a wall.

• Filling the void an insecure family relationship left behind could have the potential to build confidence in young people's ability to acquire parenting skills.

• Role models of why we fought past wars and the cost involved can show them the value of our country's foundations and why they have the freedom they enjoy. 

• Offering opportunities for community service and mission-oriented projects gives them a reason to become involved with a result-oriented goal in mind rather than an empty protest against a meaningless complaint.

• Love them. It is not up to us to judge the desires and habits of others. We are all the same human beings born with the same sin nature with the same need for a Savior. As we put aside our differences and pray for each other, these barriers can come down. To reach the goal of showing those from another generation that Jesus loves

  

  Millennials and Baby Boomers can come together.

  them and died for them requires us to become all things to all people (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).

(These traits are not indicative of every person in these ages groups, but merely a reflection of the attitudes of the generation's culture.)

If you are a Millennial or Gen Xer, I would love to hear your thoughts on how you would like the older generations to relate to you. If you are a baby boomer, feel free to share your ideas about reaching the younger set.

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