MCAC . 2015 Summer Camp English Workshop The Millennials ...
MCAC . 2015 Summer Camp English Workshop The Millennials Pastor John Mah
Connecting to a new generation: Who are they? How do we engage with them? Why are they leaving the church… and how can we rethink faith in the Chinese Church?
Presenter: Pastor John Mah
WHAT IS WRONG/RIGHT WITH THIS PICTURE?
WHO ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? • Generation Y
• Big Kid Generation
• Millennial Generation • Emerging Adulthood • Blank Generation
• Empty Generation
• Lazy Generation
• Boomerage Kids
• 20 somethings
• Failure to Launch Kids
• Extended Adolescents
THE CHURCH IS IN CRISIS
64% to 80%
“… WHO GREW UP IN CHURCH WILL LEAVE…” “… MOST CHURCHES DON’T HAVE A PLAN…”
YOUR CHINESE STORY
INTRODUCTION WORLDS APART
- PART 1 WHO ARE THEY?
MORE DETAIL: MILLENIALS IN THE WORK FORCE
MORE DETAIL: WHAT ELSE ARE THEY SAYING?
MORE DETAIL: CHRISTIANITY TODAY “…20 something Men acting badly” Today’s single young men hang out in a hormonal limbo between adolescence and adulthood
MORE DETAIL:
MORE DETAIL: WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE 20 SOMETHINGS?
Do not have these markers of maturity:
1. completing school 2. leaving home 3. becoming financially independent 4. marrying 5. having a child.
RESEARCH FROM SOCIOLOGY: NEW TERM = EXTENDED ADOLESCENTS
RESEARCH FROM MEDICAL DOCTORS
HISTORY: HOW & WHY DID THE MILLENIAL HAPPEN?
1800s
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
1929
- PART 2 THEIR STRANGE RELIGIOUS / SPIRITUAL WORLD
TOP 10 MOST IMPORTANT FOR MILLENIALS (FROM RAINER RESEARCH)
7. FINANCES (12%)
1. FAMILY (61%)
8. HAPPINESS (12)
2. FRIENDS (25%)
9. RAISING KIDS (11%)
3. EDUCATION (17%)
10. HEALTH (10%)
4. CAREER / JOB (16%) 5. SPOUSE / PARTNER (13%) 6. SPIRITUAL MATTERS (13%)
1. IN BETWEEN THEMSELVES
2. INBETWEEN THEIR CONVICTIONS • What do I believe about God and why? • Do I really believe it or just say I do because my parents do? • What do I believe about myself and why? • Do I even know who I am? • Who are we? What is our purpose? Why are we here? What does it all mean for me today?
3. INBETWEEN SPIRITUALITY: Their BIG 3: WHO AM I? (SELF) WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE GOD’S CHILD? (GOD)
HOW DO I FIT INTO THE WORLD AROUND ME? (OTHERS)
SO WHAT THEN DO THEY BELIEVE? 1. JESUS AS THE ONLY WAY OF SALVATION 31% 2. PERSON OF JESUS = ½ SAID HE COMMITTEED SINS. 3. HEAVEN = 45% BELIEVE NOT JUST A CONCEPT. 4. HELL AND SATAN = 60% LITERAL PLACE. 5. GOD = 72% BELIEVE GOD IS A REAL BEING, NOT A CONCEPT.
5 IDENTITY FORMATION
• The Substitute: becoming what others demand
CONT. • The Floater: waiting to see what happens • The Explorer: Trying on different hats
CONT.
• The Tentmaker: Finding a Place in Society • GOAL: The Theologian: Being Who I am Made to Be
QUESTIONS TO AID IN CHRIST IDENTITY FORMATION • Who do you think God has made you to be? 1 Peter 2:4-‐11, Ephesians 1:3-‐14. • What do you want to place your hope in? 1 Peter 1:13. • What commitments do you want to shape your life? • What do you feel like others want from you? • What do you feel like others want for you?
WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT THE CHURCH 1.
The Church is an organized religion
with a political agenda. 2.
The Church is judgmental and negative.
3.
The Church is dominated by males and oppresses females.
4.
The Church is homophobic.
5.
The Church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong.
6.
The Church is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally.
WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR IN A CHURCH • LIZLIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ
WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR IN A CHURCH • LIZLIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ
WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR IN A CHURCH • LIZLIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ
- PART 3 PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR ALL OF US
IDEAS FOR: THE NEXT GENERATION 1. DON’T OVER REACT 2. RE A REBEL – YOU ARE GOOD AT THAT [HIPSTER] – GET MARRIED – BE POSITIVELY ANTI-‐CULTURE TAKE EDUCATION SERIOUSLY
3. FIND CALLING IN THE MARKETPLACE
IDEA FOR: PARENTS • Be authentic • Communication • Be age specific • Vocation vs Career • They want you! • Keep it simple!
…CONT • Widen the Circle of Relationships • 3 Levers – YOUR TIME WITH THEM – RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS OUTSIDE YOUR HOME (USUALLY OLDER MENTORS)
IDEAS FOR: CHURCH LEADERS • BE INTENTIONALLY INTERGENERATIONAL • DISCIPLE LIKE JESUS • RELEASE YOUR SUCESSORS • MEET A CONTEXTUAL NEED IN THE COMMUNITY • SEEK DIVERSITY
IDEAS FOR: SUPPORTERS OF THE NEXT GENERATION
• BE LIKE JESUS • EMBRACE RADICAL GOSPEL • BE THE RIGHT KIND OF MENTOR
Cont…
• CATALYZE INNOVATION • LIFT UP THE GOD OF JUSTICE • DON’T FEAR DOUBT • SHARE POWER
IDEAS FOR: THE CHINESE CHURCH • DEFINE WHAT IS CULTURAL VS BIBLICAL • BE A MISSIONARY TO BOTH CULTURES • UNDERSTAND CULTURAL VALUE DIFFERENCES & CONFLICTS • EMPOWER THE GENERATION INTO LEADERSHIP • LET THEM FAIL, TEACH AND LEARN FROM THAT. • HAVE A SUCESSION PLAN • USE THEIR GIFTINGS OF THE MILLENAIL GENERATION IN THE CHURCH
IDEAS FOR: THE CHINESE CHURCH • DEFINE WHAT IS CULTURAL vs BIBLICAL • BE A MISSIONARY TO BOTH CULTURES (bridger) • UNDERSTAND CULTURAL VALUE DIFFERENCES & CONFLICTS • EMPOWER THE GENERATION
WHERE DO WE NEED TO GO FROM HERE? • CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION – ITS NEVER ENDING • GIVE THEM A VOICE – LISTEN TO THEM: – They are somebodys – the largest generation to exist in world history.
• MENTORING: PAUL & TIMOTHY • REVERSE MENTORING: 1 TIMOTHY 4:12 – What can you learn from them? What do they teach you about life?
• DISCIPLESHIP: – Great Comission & Spiritual Disciplines. Matthew 28
• LEADERSHIP
Biblical 1 Tim 4:12.
HERE COMES THE MILLENIALS, R U READY? QUESTION FOR YOU: 1. HOW WILL WE RECEIVE THEM? 2. HOW WILL WE CHANNEL THEIR AMBITIONS AND IMPATIENCE? 3. HOW WILL WE WORK WITH THEM IN GREATER SERVICE AND HEALTHY RECONCILIATION? 4. WHAT WILL WE DO WHEN THEY INSIST INSTITUTIONS CHANGE AND CHANGE IMMEDIATELY?
Connecting to a new generation: Who are they? How do we engage with them? Why are they leaving the church… and how can we rethink faith in the Chinese Church?
Presenter: Pastor John Mah
WHAT IS WRONG/RIGHT WITH THIS PICTURE?
WHO ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? • Generation Y
• Big Kid Generation
• Millennial Generation • Emerging Adulthood • Blank Generation
• Empty Generation
• Lazy Generation
• Boomerage Kids
• 20 somethings
• Failure to Launch Kids
• Extended Adolescents
THE CHURCH IS IN CRISIS
64% to 80%
“… WHO GREW UP IN CHURCH WILL LEAVE…” “… MOST CHURCHES DON’T HAVE A PLAN…”
YOUR CHINESE STORY
INTRODUCTION WORLDS APART
- PART 1 WHO ARE THEY?
MORE DETAIL: MILLENIALS IN THE WORK FORCE
MORE DETAIL: WHAT ELSE ARE THEY SAYING?
MORE DETAIL: CHRISTIANITY TODAY “…20 something Men acting badly” Today’s single young men hang out in a hormonal limbo between adolescence and adulthood
MORE DETAIL:
MORE DETAIL: WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE 20 SOMETHINGS?
Do not have these markers of maturity:
1. completing school 2. leaving home 3. becoming financially independent 4. marrying 5. having a child.
RESEARCH FROM SOCIOLOGY: NEW TERM = EXTENDED ADOLESCENTS
RESEARCH FROM MEDICAL DOCTORS
HISTORY: HOW & WHY DID THE MILLENIAL HAPPEN?
1800s
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
1929
- PART 2 THEIR STRANGE RELIGIOUS / SPIRITUAL WORLD
TOP 10 MOST IMPORTANT FOR MILLENIALS (FROM RAINER RESEARCH)
7. FINANCES (12%)
1. FAMILY (61%)
8. HAPPINESS (12)
2. FRIENDS (25%)
9. RAISING KIDS (11%)
3. EDUCATION (17%)
10. HEALTH (10%)
4. CAREER / JOB (16%) 5. SPOUSE / PARTNER (13%) 6. SPIRITUAL MATTERS (13%)
1. IN BETWEEN THEMSELVES
2. INBETWEEN THEIR CONVICTIONS • What do I believe about God and why? • Do I really believe it or just say I do because my parents do? • What do I believe about myself and why? • Do I even know who I am? • Who are we? What is our purpose? Why are we here? What does it all mean for me today?
3. INBETWEEN SPIRITUALITY: Their BIG 3: WHO AM I? (SELF) WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE GOD’S CHILD? (GOD)
HOW DO I FIT INTO THE WORLD AROUND ME? (OTHERS)
SO WHAT THEN DO THEY BELIEVE? 1. JESUS AS THE ONLY WAY OF SALVATION 31% 2. PERSON OF JESUS = ½ SAID HE COMMITTEED SINS. 3. HEAVEN = 45% BELIEVE NOT JUST A CONCEPT. 4. HELL AND SATAN = 60% LITERAL PLACE. 5. GOD = 72% BELIEVE GOD IS A REAL BEING, NOT A CONCEPT.
5 IDENTITY FORMATION
• The Substitute: becoming what others demand
CONT. • The Floater: waiting to see what happens • The Explorer: Trying on different hats
CONT.
• The Tentmaker: Finding a Place in Society • GOAL: The Theologian: Being Who I am Made to Be
QUESTIONS TO AID IN CHRIST IDENTITY FORMATION • Who do you think God has made you to be? 1 Peter 2:4-‐11, Ephesians 1:3-‐14. • What do you want to place your hope in? 1 Peter 1:13. • What commitments do you want to shape your life? • What do you feel like others want from you? • What do you feel like others want for you?
WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT THE CHURCH 1.
The Church is an organized religion
with a political agenda. 2.
The Church is judgmental and negative.
3.
The Church is dominated by males and oppresses females.
4.
The Church is homophobic.
5.
The Church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong.
6.
The Church is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally.
WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR IN A CHURCH • LIZLIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ
WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR IN A CHURCH • LIZLIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ
WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR IN A CHURCH • LIZLIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ • LIZ
- PART 3 PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR ALL OF US
IDEAS FOR: THE NEXT GENERATION 1. DON’T OVER REACT 2. RE A REBEL – YOU ARE GOOD AT THAT [HIPSTER] – GET MARRIED – BE POSITIVELY ANTI-‐CULTURE TAKE EDUCATION SERIOUSLY
3. FIND CALLING IN THE MARKETPLACE
IDEA FOR: PARENTS • Be authentic • Communication • Be age specific • Vocation vs Career • They want you! • Keep it simple!
…CONT • Widen the Circle of Relationships • 3 Levers – YOUR TIME WITH THEM – RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS OUTSIDE YOUR HOME (USUALLY OLDER MENTORS)
IDEAS FOR: CHURCH LEADERS • BE INTENTIONALLY INTERGENERATIONAL • DISCIPLE LIKE JESUS • RELEASE YOUR SUCESSORS • MEET A CONTEXTUAL NEED IN THE COMMUNITY • SEEK DIVERSITY
IDEAS FOR: SUPPORTERS OF THE NEXT GENERATION
• BE LIKE JESUS • EMBRACE RADICAL GOSPEL • BE THE RIGHT KIND OF MENTOR
Cont…
• CATALYZE INNOVATION • LIFT UP THE GOD OF JUSTICE • DON’T FEAR DOUBT • SHARE POWER
IDEAS FOR: THE CHINESE CHURCH • DEFINE WHAT IS CULTURAL VS BIBLICAL • BE A MISSIONARY TO BOTH CULTURES • UNDERSTAND CULTURAL VALUE DIFFERENCES & CONFLICTS • EMPOWER THE GENERATION INTO LEADERSHIP • LET THEM FAIL, TEACH AND LEARN FROM THAT. • HAVE A SUCESSION PLAN • USE THEIR GIFTINGS OF THE MILLENAIL GENERATION IN THE CHURCH
IDEAS FOR: THE CHINESE CHURCH • DEFINE WHAT IS CULTURAL vs BIBLICAL • BE A MISSIONARY TO BOTH CULTURES (bridger) • UNDERSTAND CULTURAL VALUE DIFFERENCES & CONFLICTS • EMPOWER THE GENERATION
WHERE DO WE NEED TO GO FROM HERE? • CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION – ITS NEVER ENDING • GIVE THEM A VOICE – LISTEN TO THEM: – They are somebodys – the largest generation to exist in world history.
• MENTORING: PAUL & TIMOTHY • REVERSE MENTORING: 1 TIMOTHY 4:12 – What can you learn from them? What do they teach you about life?
• DISCIPLESHIP: – Great Comission & Spiritual Disciplines. Matthew 28
• LEADERSHIP
Biblical 1 Tim 4:12.
HERE COMES THE MILLENIALS, R U READY? QUESTION FOR YOU: 1. HOW WILL WE RECEIVE THEM? 2. HOW WILL WE CHANNEL THEIR AMBITIONS AND IMPATIENCE? 3. HOW WILL WE WORK WITH THEM IN GREATER SERVICE AND HEALTHY RECONCILIATION? 4. WHAT WILL WE DO WHEN THEY INSIST INSTITUTIONS CHANGE AND CHANGE IMMEDIATELY?
