The Church Should Not Dismiss Millennials as Selfish, Says Ministry Director at Redeemer NYC
Twentysomethings are eager to create change in an era led by technological advances and a struggling economy. However, the church doesn't seem to engage them, says the executive director of the Center for Faith and Work at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.
"The calling that God gives people is about changing communities and the world. The church should not dismiss them as selfish and self-entitled," said David H. Kim, who served as a Princeton University Chaplain before coming to Redeemer.
"We need to come together and think what's going to impact them so they can impact the world because when they begin to see the gospel, they can't help but translate the gospel into each part of their lives, because their lives have meaning," he added.
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Kim's message, "The New Shape of Young Adulthood" was part of a Barna Group "Frames Live" webcast composed of short videos that addressed top issues people face in today's complex culture. He focused on the cultural shift that has occurred over the last two decades and how it has led millennials to think differently about the way they view the world.
"From the moment this generation was born, they entered a world in which change was happening so quickly," said Kim.
Individuals born between the early 1980s and early 2000s began to witness terror on Sept. 11, 2001 and they continue to see the rise in violence through mass shootings that have dotted various parts of the country in schools, malls, movie theaters and other public places.
Events such as these have had an effect on society in general but more so on people just entering teenage-hood, according to Kim.
Corruption in high places has also altered the mindset of millennials, like the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal, Kim said. It was the first case known to twentysomethings that placed the spotlight on moral failure within national leadership. Through time, Kim says, millennials have begun to question the role of government and politics, which has prompted them to embrace an active part in the country's political landscape.
In addition, the fall of large financial corporations such as Enron, WorldCom and Lehman Brothers which contributed to the present global recession and the Occupy Wall Street movement, has triggered twentysomethings to take action to change the "mess" they have inherited.
"[These events] have had the ripple effect of undermining our confidence in higher education because when people were graduating from college, they found that the thing that was supposed to secure their future and jobs wasn't secure," said Kim.
Although there are divergent views about twentysomethings from being "spoiled and self-entitled" to "creative luminaries of the future," they have a unique, positive mindset compared to past generations, he explained.
"What's amazing about twentysomethings is that they respond to this with hope and change," said Kim. "They don't respond with skepticism, they're not sarcastic people. They seek authenticity…despite the brokenness they've experienced, there's an intense desire to change things."
Furthermore, millennials are ambitious compared to previous generations that worked to simply get by, he said. Now, this generation is actually passionate about their work and feels the need to change the world as a whole.
"According to a study, 58 percent of millennials would call themselves entrepreneurial," said Kim. "That's pretty startling. They look at this world and say, 'what can I do to change it?' combine that with the technological advances that have happened, the future is quite bright with these two trends."
Due to how millennials are transforming themselves and their communities, the church "should have something very specific to say" and once they do, young adults will make faith the center of their lives and the integration of their beliefs and potential will create further positive change, Kim emphasized.
