Baby Boomers

Millennials

Stop saying Millennials are lazy

“Millennials? They live at home with their parents!”

“When I was their age, I had a job, spouse, and a car!”

“Young people today… these Millennials are just lazy.”

Those are comments I have heard in coffee shops, restaurants, and surprisingly in churches. Many of the people making such comments are Baby Boomers, who are known for experiencing historical gains in post-war job growth and increased standard of living. Frankly, it is disturbing for me as a young adult to hear such comments. As a younger Generation Xer or older Millennial pastor (depending on how you measure the generations) it is extremely vexing to hear negative comments about young people.

Church Leadership, Millennials

#1 reason why churches have lost millennials

After recently writing about misconceptions of millennials, I stumbled on study that discovered the strongest contributing factor of the millennial’s departure from churches. The study revealed something so basic it amazing that more research is not being done.

There are groups like Barna and church trackers like Ed Stetzer who have listed several major reasons why millennials and young people are leaving churches. According to the research about 60% of young people stop going to church altogether. These studies quoted take a pretty dynamic approach looking at many factors. However, the answer to the millennial exodus is simpler and more troubling.

The Christian Century cited a report by the Association of Religion Data Archives that went under the radar. I was shocked when I read it. The study found that 1% of youth ages “15 to 17 raised by parents who attached little importance to religion were highly religious in their mid to late twenties.” Here is what else they found about millennials and young people:

Generation Y

What You Don’t Know About Generation Y

The Baby Boomer generation is often thought as the generation that worked hard, help get us where we are, and was the backbone of the 20th century. Now that Baby Boomers are retiring, many have asked the question, “Who will take their place?” Generation X? No.

Generation Y (the Millennials).

Within 5-10 years, Generation Y will be the largest generation of our time — some think it is already. Estimates vary, but somewhere between 60 to 78 million fall into Generation Y. The typical Generation Y’er is internet savvy, technology driven, socially linked, and was born somewhere between 1977-1995. Generation X is only third of the size of Generation Y.

Why should you care? This is why:

Stop saying Millennials are lazy

#1 reason why churches have lost millennials

What You Don’t Know About Generation Y

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