Thom S. Rainer and Jess Rainer, The Millennials: Connecting to America’s Largest Generation. Broadman and Holman, 2011.
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Referenced in: Generational Issues in Churches
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This is one of several resources on the younger generations produced by LifeWay Research, a ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Millennials is a broad, comprehensive demographic picture of the younger population as a whole. LifeWay also has produced Essential Church, a more specific look at the younger de-churched, and Lost and Found on the younger un-churched.
Rainer defines millennials as those born 1980-2000, though the research focuses on older millennials 1980-1991. They are the largest generation to date in American history, exceeding the Baby Boomers. From his representative sample of 1,200, he found several interesting generational features.
- They are the most diverse generation ever in America, which means that for every characteristic found by research, there are plenty of exceptions.
- They are more educated than any generation before them. Nearly 4 in 10 millennials will receive a college degree.
- They wait longer to marry, with 65% of them cohabiting one year before marrying, but 86% disagreeing that they would marry more than once. On the other hand, most see nothing wrong with same-sex marriage.
- They are highly optimistic, deeply relational, respect authority, value diversity, and cherish family. 94% respect the older generation, and 89% continue to receive guidance from their parents, even to the point of parents sitting in on job interviews and negotiating salaries.
- They voted for Obama over McCain by a 2-1 margin. Over 70% believe the government should provide health care, and over 60% want federal government to fund their retirement.
- They adopt new technology quickly, especially video games. They communicate most by texting (37%) and almost never by letter (1%). They like blogs (30%), but prefer Facebook (73%). Approximately one-third of Millennials’ waking lives are spent on their computers.
- While many think of themselves as spiritual, only 13% practice any kind of spirituality on an important level. Church-goers were only slightly higher, at 18%. Most are not hostile toward organized religion, but are quite indifferent, with religion being sixth on the list of importance behind family, friends, education, career, and spouse/partner. Only 24% attend church at least once a week. The only sub-strata of the research sampling that were strong in this area were the Evangelicals (6% of the group), with 65% of them saying their faith was important. They are more likely to be syncretistic in beliefs.
This is a very revealing picture of the young generation. Any church leader will benefit from this snapshot, alongside other ministry-specific material. The authors close with an excellent chapter on “The Church Responds to the Millennials.”
From the Publisher
At more than 78 million strong, the Millennials—those born between 1980 and 2000—have surpassed the Boomers as the larger and more influential generation in America. Now, as its members begin to reach adulthood, where the traits of a generation really take shape, best-selling research author Thom Rainer (Simple Church) and his son Jess (a Millennial born in 1985) present the most comprehensive research project on Millennials from a Christian worldview perspective ever undertaken.
Research, which began in early June 2009, is based on 1200 interviews members of the Millennials that aim to better understand them personally, professionally, and spiritually. Chapters report intriguing how-and-why findings on family matters (they are closer-knit than previous generations), their desire for diversity (consider the wave of mixed race and ethnic adoptions), Millennials and the new workplace, their attitude toward money, the media, the environment, and perhaps most tellingly, religion.
The breadth and depth of this research should be of interest to anyone who is studying this generation. While this book includes significant demographic and literary research, the centerpiece of this project is the original research. The authors close with a thoughtful response to how the American Church can engage and minister to what is now in fact the largest generation in America’s history.
About the Authors
Thom S. Rainer is the president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, one of the largest Christian resource companies in the world. Also a respected pastor and researcher, he has written more than twenty books and coauthored the No. 1 best seller Simple Church. Rainer and his wife, Nellie Jo, have three grown sons, are proud new grandparents, and live in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jess Rainer is a banking professional and seminary student. He lives with his wife and son in Wake Fo rest, North Carolina.
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