The Millennials (Part 6)

Matthew 5:14-16 "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Pew Research has done extensive research on the generation gap that is affecting our churches today. I give them the credit for this information again today.

The Millennials are the largest living generation by population size, but they trail Baby Boomers and Gen Xers when it comes to the number of households they head. Most Millennials still live under their parents’ roof, in a college dorm, or some other shared living situation. As of 2016, Millennials (ages 18 to 35 in 2016) headed only 28 million households, many fewer than were headed by Generation X (ages 36 to 51 in 2016) or Baby Boomers (ages 52 to 70).

Some of the latest available data indicates that Millennial-run households represent the largest group in some key categories, such as the number of households living in poverty. Looking at households is important because many economic and spending decisions, such as whether to own or rent a home, support a church or ministry, or save for retirement tend to revolve around the household rather than the individual adult. 

-More Millennial households are in poverty than households headed by any other generation.

The relatively high number of Millennial households in poverty partly reflects the fact that the poverty rate among households headed by a young adults has been rising over the past half century while dramatically declining among households headed by those 65 and older because of health or death.

-Millennials are more racially and ethnically diverse than the other adult generations.

A greater share of Millennial households are headed by minorities, who tend to have higher poverty rates. Millennial heads of households are also more likely to be unmarried, which is associated with higher poverty. 

-Millennials headed 18.4 million of the estimated 45.9 million households that rent their home, and are also significantly less likely to own their home than prior generations of young adults when they were the same age. 

The Great Recession did lead to a widespread increase in renting across households of all ages, but homeownership declined most among younger households.

-Millennials have headed more households made up of unmarried partners since 2011 than any other adult generation.

The greater prevalence of cohabitation among Millennial households partly reflects that Millennials are more likely to live with a romantic partner than earlier generations of young adults. For example, in 2012, among women ages 25 to 29 who were living with a spouse or partner, 37% were cohabiting. By comparison, in 1987, when Boomers were at a comparable age to Millennials, just 10% of 25- to 29-year-old women in a union were cohabiting.

-Millennials for the first time surpassed all other generations in number of household heads who were single mothers.

In 2015 8.6 million households were headed by a single mother who lived with a child younger than 18. About 4 million of these mothers were Millennials, slightly outnumbering the 3.9 million Gen Xers heading single-mother households. Baby Boomers who were single mothers with young children and heading a household numbered only 0.6 million. The incidence of single parenthood has increased markedly since 1980. That year, 19% of children lived in a single-parent family; by 2014, 34% did.

Satan has taken a toll on this present generation. Jesus wants to extend a helping hand to all of them, the church needs them, and the Kingdom of God will increase if we bring them in. The harvest is ready-are we? Jesus said the "harvest was plentiful, but the laborers were few."

We can't run from the fact that the lifestyle of many a Millennial is different from ours. Nor can we ignore the fact that if somebody hadn't helped me in my walk with the Lord I could be in their shoes. Children need spiritual fathers, single parents need a helping hand, and many of these Millennials need their faith restored in the church, that has often said one thing and done another.

Let's be that church. Let's be that difference. Let's win the lost at any costs and don't look back!