Christian Post click here for the entire artcile...
DALLAS, Texas – Millennials are a passionate, optimistic, global thinking
generation of youths capable of transforming the world, declared the head of an
organization training emerging leaders.
Enlarge this
Image
(Photo: AP Images / News-Courier, Kim Rynders)
University of Alabama Huntsville student Rebecca Purcell
joined a ''silent protest'' against the Ku Klux Klan Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007,
in Athens, Ala.
However, current mission leaders must understand the culture of this
generation in order to harness their passion to change the world for Christ.
“The world they are growing up in is fundamentally different than the world
we grew up in,” said Dr. Tim Elmore, founder and president of Growing Leaders,
who spoke on the first evening of a three-day gathering of mission agencies. The
Mission Exchange, formerly the Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies, is
holding its annual conference Sept. 17-19.
“Yes, in some ways it is the same and salvation, thank God, is still there,
but the world culturally speaking is so different,” said Elmore, who also helped
found the leadership training ministry EQUIP.
He pointed to the generational cultural differences such as the fact that one
of the top rappers in the music industry is white, the number one golfer is
black, the tallest player in the NBA is Chinese, and Russia and China have
lobbied for peace.
“And the French think we’re arrogant,” joked Elmore to the crowd. “Now this
is a whole new world to the one that I grew up in!”
The leadership expert emphasized the need for relevance or using what is
cultural to say what is timeless.
Jesus is a prime example of someone who used the agrarian culture of his time
to express the timeless truth of God’s love, Elmore pointed out.
He used to the acronym EPIC created by theologian and futurist Dr. Leonard
Sweet to summarize the generation in terms of how to communicate with them:
Experiential – The generation prefers to be communicated through
experiences. They much rather be communicated through videos than simply a
lecture.
Participatory – They want to participate in the outcome.
That is why reality TV such as American Idol is so popular. Millennials get to
vote and decide who stays on the show.
Image rich – They are an image
rich generation. A recent survey found that the Millennials watch 35 movies for
every 1 book they read.
Connective – This generation is connected
relationally and technologically. They like to do thing in a community and stay
connected online.
“The one reason why they think they can change the world is because they are
already talking to the world,” commented Elmore. “They have already been to
websites, emails, Facebooks, MySpace and all these other stuff.
“So it’s not out of the realm of believability for them because they already
talked to people in China and Indonesia,” he added.
Connecting to this generation is important because the Millennials make up
about half the world’s population, pointed out Elmore. The average age in both
India and China is mid-20’s.
“It’s just a very young, young world,” emphasized Elmore. “If we are serious
about the Great Commission we have to be serious about this generation.”
The leadership guru also listed 10 characteristics of the Millennials:
1. They feel special and needed;
2. They love family;
3. They are
confident;
4. They are addicted to media;
5. They are team-oriented;
6.
They are global;
7. They are pressured;
8. They are harmonious,
tolerant;
9. They are generous; and
10. They are optimistic achievers.
“They may be the best educated, best behaved adults, optimistic about the
future,” said Elmore.
“We will change the world by noon on Friday,” he imagined them saying.
“There is a great sense of ‘Let’s do it’ in action and interaction.”
Elmore told stories of young Millennials who have taken initiatives to change
the world despite their young age.
One story was about a group of elementary students, 10-11 year-olds, in
Colorado that was assigned to write a paper on Sudan. After they found out that
slave trade was still occurring in Sudan, they push aside their paper and asked
what are they going to do about the problem. They went online and found the
website of an organization that set slaves free, pooled their allowances
together and started to send money to set slaves free in Sudan.
Another story was about some youths from South Carolina who raised and
presented a $300,000 check to the Mayor of New York several years ago. The kids
had read in their history book that after the civil war the people of New York
had given a fire truck to the people of South Carolina thinking that they might
need it. The kids thought New York might need a fire truck after 9/11 so they
started to fundraise for the gift.
“This is the kind of thinking that they have often times,” said Elmore. “I’m
saying let’s mentor them and unleash them to finish the job (the Great
Commission). We may not do it ourselves but we can be the mentors for these kids
who could do it.”
At the end of the presentation, the leadership training expert used the
acronym SUCCESS to advise how to communicate an effective message to
Millennials.
Simple – Messages should be reduced to a simple phrase but one big
idea.
Unique – The element of surprise will cause the listener to
better remember the message.
Concrete – Ideas in terms of concrete
actions and tangible outcomes will be most effective.
Credible – The
Millennial must perceive the person delivering the message to be credible.
Emotional – Messages need to elicit emotions to gain
involvement.
Story - There must be a picture to get the message
across.
Satisfying – The message should address the questions ‘How
does it answer the Great Commission?’ and ‘How does it answer to the deep human
need?’
According to statistics, if the years 1978-2000 are used, as is common in
market research, then the size of Generation Y – the Millennials’s generation –
in the United States is approximately 76 million.
Marketing Pilgrim readers had a 
When I
first read that Google had bought 
I'm talking here about a way to create a plan that's focused on
tracking, accountability, and actually achieving your goals. What a concept,
huh? 
Recent Comments