Last night on on BlogTalkRadio we received an excellent primer for understanding millennials from two of our millennial leaders here at the Catch. Deborah Mullan and Elizabeth Shirk answered a number of questions about their peers, such as: What are millennials looking for in life? What are they afraid of? Why are millennials dealing with loneliness and anxiety? What would a real relationship with a millennial look like? What barriers do we have to overcome in order to be friends across the generations? What are the things that are most important to millennials?
This is important. These are the people who are walking into the new frontier and as the Catch Ministry we want to walk alongside them. So be sure and take the time to listen to the whole 38 minute interview, but here are some summary considerations to get you warmed up.
1. Millennials are seeking truth, honesty and authenticity. They are tired of always being sold something. They want genuine relationships and they want to be known. Trust is very important and it must be earned.
2. Millennials are looking for a safe place to be vulnerable. To a large extent, their immersion in social media has created a false sense of identity. You can be anything you want online, but that comes at the price of not being yourself anywhere. Thus the need for authenticity.
3. Anxiety is a real thing. Think of how the internet and the news is always throwing the worst of the world in your face. Mental illness, therapy and what anti-depressant you are on are all commonplace among millennials. They talk about these things all the time.
4. The way to build relationships across generational barriers is to find out what we have in common with each other. Elizabeth, a fourth grade school teacher, found another educator (a boomer) on one of our online studies and they now share an email relationship. We all need to learn to ask questions of each other and care about the answers.
5. What do millennials need the most? Family. Mental health. Caring and compassion. Like anyone, they want to be known. They want someone to genuinely care about them. They want someone to know them by name and miss them when they are gone.
6. Millennials love Grace Turned Outward because they are tired of being judged and they respond to the humility of grace. They care about social justice, the environment, the homeless and the poor, and what they can do to make a better world. They want to make peace, not war.
DON’T MISS OUR INTERVIEW WITH TWO OF OUR MILLENNIAL LEADERS LAST NIGHT. CLICK HERE.
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