This post was previously posted on the V3 Church planting blog by Tom Sine —
HIGHEST SCHOOL DEBT EVER!
The bad news is that an extraordinary number of the 80 millennials in the US are economically $crewed. School debt is significantly higher for millennials than for Xers, boomers approaching $40,000 per grad.
I have met three church planters that are struggling with a $90,0000 debt for their MDiv degree and working bi-vocationally in order to plan their church.
HARDEST TIMES GETTING STARTED!
Reportedly numbers of millennials are having difficulty finding jobs that relate to their college preparation. Some are responding by going back to grad school and incurring even more debt with little assurance that a job will be waiting for them when they graduate.
Still others find they have to re-locate to secure short- term contract work. This, of course, undermines their relationships and makes life more uncertain as they try to get started
MORE MILLENNIALS LIVING HOMELESS!
Millennials are also having to pay more for rent than older generations. As a consequence a higher percentage of millennials are either living at home or homeless than any other generation. For example, Christine and I have had two millenniums live with us, in our intergenerational household, that had lived in their cars for months because of the high cost of rent in Seattle.
NUMBERS GIVING UP ON BUYING A HOME
Since the cost to purchase homes seems to keep going up faster that the rise in each generation a huge number of millennials are deferring purchasing a home. Reportedly a growing number don’t ever plan to purchase a home. For example, many of us in the silent generation were able to purchase a house on a single income. For this generation purchasing a home, in many markets, requires such a high percentage of two incomes that numbers in this generation don’t feel it makes sense.
For all the daunting bad news…incredibly millennials are still the all time “good news generation!”
MILLENNIALS …THE GOOD NEWS GENERATION!
In spite of all the bad news facing millennials they are a GOOD NEWS GENERATION! {As I affirm in Live Like You Give A Damn! Join the Changemaking “Generation”} This is a generation that is much more aware of the issues of economic, racial and environmental justice.
More than that a higher percentage of millennials want to invest their lives in serious neighborhood empowerment to new forms of social enterprise to enable poor neighbors to become more self-reliant.
They also are discovering how to create new kinds of church to help them as disciples of Jesus, new forms church that empower them to put first things first in their lives.
Trevor and Hilary are a millennial couple who live in the top floor of our inter-generational household here in Seattle. They are planting a new church here called Kardia.
I am impressed that in the first year they have over 50 interested young people coming to their gatherings. A major part of the focus is showing members to become more creative stewards of their time and resources. As a consequence growing numbers are freeing up time and resources to make a difference in the lives of the homeless here in Seattle.
Clearly one of the most important topics for this generation is how, as followers of Jesus, to steward their entire lives to shift from Generation $crewed to GENERATION EMPOWERED!
In my February post I will share one creative way to enable millennials to become GENERATION EMPOWERED by helping one another discern how TO PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST IN THE WAY OF JESUS!
We would love to share your stories of and those of new startups of how millennials are becoming GENERATION EMPOWERED. SEND YOUR STORIES THIS WEEK!
Email you stories to me this week to twsine@gmail.com