Gen Y, Millennials, De-churched Youth, Reasons that a Gen Y is leaving Church and what to do about it. You Lost Me, Almost Christian, Re-Discipled

2. Think – Sing – Pray
10,000 Reasons

3. THE MILLENNIAL
EXODUS
Why 20-Somethings are
leaving church and how to
re-engage this generation.

4. ‘The loss of the national treasure of an entire
generation of Haiti’s best and brightest is a loss that
cannot be measured or replaced.’
DISCUSS:
Are you
aware of
this missing
generation ?
What will
that mean
to the
church if
changes
don’t occur?

5. “HEMORRHAGING FAITH” –
2011 James Penner et al.
• “(This) sobering new research on
Canadian “raised Christian” 18 to
34 year-olds. For every five Catholic
and Mainline Protestant kids who
attended church at least weekly in
the 1980s and ’90s only one still
attends at least weekly now as an
adult; for those raised in
Evangelical traditions it is one in
two. And that’s not all. Most who
have quit attending altogether
also have dropped their Christian
affiliation.”

6. Session Outline:
• 1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD
• 2) REASONS FOR THEIR EXODUS FROM CHURCH
• 3) MILLENNIAL RE:ENGAGEMENT

7. 1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD
• a. Who are Millennials and what are they like?
•
• Stats Canada: -“...In general, a generation is a group
of individuals who are about the same age and have
experienced, most often as children or young adults,
specific historical events, such as an economic crisis,
an economic boom, a war, or significant political
changes. These events may influence their views of
the world.”

8. Compare Generations – Pew Research

9. 1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD
• BORN between 1980 -2004:
• Largest Generation in Hx
• Ethnically Diverse
• Digital natives
• Most Educated

10. 1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD
• Continued..
• Cause oriented
• Optimistic
• Need Mentoring
• ‘Spiritual but not religious’

11. 1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD
• TOP PRIORITIES for Millennials (2010)
• To be a good parent - 52%
• Have a successful marriage – 30%
• Helping others in need – 27%
• Buying a home – 20%
Pew Research

12. Big Bang Theory

13. 1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD
•b. Millennial Pressures on faith
• Worldview challenges: from Rabbit-ears to cable TV.

14. ‘It’s Complicated!’
• “it’s hard to know how to live with the
onslaught of information, worldviews and
options they are faced with every day. One of
the specific criticisms young adults frequently
make about Christianity is that it does not
offer deep, thoughtful or challenging answers
to life in a complex culture.” - (David Kinnaman)

15. 1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD
•b. Millennial Pressures on faith
•Post-modernism & truth
•Lost Confidence in Authority
•Runaway Consumerism
•Deconstructed Family
•Compressed Time & Demands
•Secularizing Culture

16. 1) EXPLORING THE MILLENNIAL WORLD
• c. The Millennial Exodus:
• 60% of ‘Churched Millennials’ are now De-churched.
• “you had a better chance of survival on the Titanic than
a child’s faith has in our churches”

17. CANADIAN MILLENIALS

19. Who are the Millennials?

20. 2) REASONS FOR THE EXODUS FROM CHURCH
Discussion:
What reasons would you
suggest for the departure?
‘Its complicated…”

21. 2) REASONS FOR THE EXODUS FROM CHURCH
a. Sociological Factors
“Study after study indicates
that parents are the most
significant spiritual influence
in their spiritual
lives….changes in parents
marital status or their rate of
attendance would influence
the spiritual lives of their
children.”
- Hem. Faith Study.

22. 2) REASONS FOR THE EXODUS FROM CHURCH
b. Ecclesiological factors: Church problems
• Mission involves ‘engaging the ever-changing culture
with the never-changing Gospel.’ – John Stott
Culture
Gospel

23. i. Church’s failure to navigate changing-culture
Culture
Gospel

24. ii. Church’s failure to communicate the neverchanging Gospel adequately:
• Kenda Creasy Dean “Almost Christian”, we
pass on an ‘almost-Christian mutant’ faith
to their kids.
• Sociologist Christian Smith - “moralistic,
therapeutic, deism”
• “Our serious questions, if they were
answered at all, were often answered with
simple platitudes and insufficient clichés…
We weren’t taught the Bible.” - Millennial
Blogger – Ben

25. ii. Church’s failure to communicate the neverchanging Gospel adequately:
“We’re not leaving the
church because we
don’t find the cool
factor, there; we’re
leaving the church
because we don’t find
Jesus there!”

26. 3) MILLENNIAL RE: ENGAGMENT
What can be done?
“…Here’s the thing, having been advertised
to our whole lives, we Millennials have highly
sensitive BS meters and we’re not easily
impressed with consumerism or
performances…” - Rachel Evans, CNN 2013
Pursue 3 Values:
• Authenticity
• Expectancy
• Holistic Church

27. 3) MILLENNIAL RE: ENGAGMENT
a. Authentic Culture in Church
• Exploring calling together
• Resourcing rather than recruiting:
• Dealing with Disappointments:

28. 3) MILLENNIAL RE: ENGAGMENT
b. Expectancy in Worship

29. 3) MILLENNIAL RE: ENGAGMENT
c. HOLISTIC MODEL OF CHURCH

30. •Holistic Christians know that Church is far
more than a weekend service…
•C.H.U.R.C.H. =
• Christ
• Honoring
• Unified and
• Redemptive
• Community of
• Hope

31. WHOLE BIBLE – Spiritual Formation
• “Spiritual formation is the grace-directed process
into Christlikeness, that involves the renewing of the
mind, heart and habits, through God’s word and
God’s presence, which is the expected norm of
historic Christianity.” – Dallas Willard
“offer your
bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and
pleasing to God—
…be transformed
by the renewing
of your mind.”
Romans 12

32. WHOLE CHURCH: AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY
• “…They refuse to be worship-only
attendees, they desire to be in
more relational settings..” Rahner
• “…just as I have loved you, you
also are to love one another. 35 By
this all people will know that you
are my disciples, if you have love
for one another.” - JESUS

33. WHOLE WORLD – Missional Servants
• Millennials are intensely community focused, they are more
likely to be in a church where the leadership and congregation
care about and are involved in the community they serve. –
Thom Rahner
In the same way, let
your light shine before
others, that they may
see your good deeds
and glorify your Father
in heaven.
- Jesus

34. WHOLE GOSPEL: X-Centered Lives
• “Millennials need guidance on engaging culture meaningfully,
and from a distinctly Christian perspective. This idea of finding
a way to bring their faith in Jesus to the problems they
encounter in the world seems to be one of the most powerful
motivations of today’s practicing Christian Millennials.”
(BARNA)
Mentoring – 90% of de-churched had none…
Vulnerability about marriage, money, sex, work

35. Haiti - “Building Back Better”
• Leslie Voltaire
and a number
of Architects
dreamed of
rebuilding Haiti
– it would
involve creating
“Magnets of
attraction” that
would draw
people from the
camps and
ghettos to
places of
health, work
and community.

36. CONCLUSION:
•Discussion Groups
•Youth Workers
•Parents
•Ministry Leaders

37. POWERPOINTS - Contact
www.danrutherford.ca
dan.rutherford@gmail.com