Generations Y and Z

The children and youth of today, known as Generation: Z (born mid to late 90's onwards) live in what is now called the post-Christian era. Their younger siblings, 'Generation Alpha' are beginning school!

Out of the 5-10% of Aussies who do church regularly, maybe less than a third are under 25s who have any meaningful connection to God’s community. Younger Aussies do not operate from a traditional Christian worldview. When they look at the ‘Church’ they too often don’t see a vital outward-focused, Godly, engaged relational community. Ironically, just at this strategic time in history, the Western Church finds itself in crisis. It is losing ground; it is often seen as out of touch; it is often  perceived as ‘institutional’ rather than ‘communal’, it is seen as ‘institutional’ rather than ‘missional’.

It is vital that we consider how to connect with Generation Z and their parents!

Who are ‘Generation: Z?’

1. -Generation Z are those people born from 1995 to the end of 2009.    
2. -They are the next generation after Generation Y (today’s teenage and twenty-somethings).    
3. -They are mostly the children of Generation X.    
4. -They are in their childhood although at the oldest edge they are approaching their teenage years.    
5. -They are today’s children and students, and tomorrow’s employees and leaders.    
6. -They are the world’s first 21st Century generation - the digital natives, the dot-com kids, Generation 'media.'    
7. -They are today’s emerging generation who resemble children of any era past, yet they personify our future.
8. -Their siblings, Generation Alpha are now entering primary school.

What defines Generation Z?

1. -Generation Z are demographically distinct from every previous generation.
2. -They are numerically the smallest of any other living (Western) generation.
3. -They were born the year Australia’s annual births dropped below 300,000.
4. -They were born in an era where the total number of births per woman fell below 2.
5. -They were born into smaller families - and they have the fewest siblings of any era.
6. -They were born to older mums - whose median age is now approximately 33.
7. -They will live longer than any generation in history: as of 2005, the life expectancy at age birth is 78.5 years for males and 83.3 years for females. 
8. -They have the lowest infant mortality rate ever: just 5 deaths per 1,000 babies, compared to two to three times that rate in 1974.
9. -They are the most formally educated generation in history - starting education younger
   than ever, and projected to stay in education for longer than ever.
10. -As a generation they are the most financially endowed generation in history.
11. -They are the most technologically literate generation of children ever.
12. -As the children of older, wealthier parents with fewer siblings and more entertainment
    and technological options it is likely that they will be the most materially supplied generation of children ever. 
13. -They are the most technologically and socially empowered generation ever.

Why are generation Z unique?

1. -Generation Z could be differentiated from any generation by 3 factors: 
2. -a. Age & life stage (ontological factors), 
3. -b. Times & technology (sociological factors), and 
4. -c. Events & experiences (historical factors).
5. -Age: they, like their younger sblings) are being parented by older parents (the median age of mother at birth of 1st child is approaching 31) and taught by older teachers (the median age of a school teacher is 42) than ever before.
6. -Lifestage: they are an ‘up-ageing’ generation. They are growing up faster. They are in education earlier. They are being exposed to marketing younger.
7. -Times & Technology: This internet-savvy, technologically literate generation have been shaped to multitask. They move quickly from one task to another placing more value on speed than accuracy. They have only known this wireless, hyperlinked, user-generated world where they are always only a few clicks from any piece of knowledge. This is the open-book world of Generation Z and beyond.
8. -Events & Experiences: Within a few years they will comprise 10% of the workforce. And they will be entering the workforce in an era of declining supply: more people exiting the workforce than entering it. And so for Gen Z the skills shortages, the ageing population and the global demand for labour will continue to empower them. 

Families

1. -The importance and responsibilities of parenting are timeless but the challenges and complexities of parenting today are very different to previous eras.
2. -The options are greater, the expectations are higher and the times totally different than those of parents past. Therefore understanding the youth culture, threats, technologies, education styles and emerging careers is important to effectively parent today’s children.
3. -The majority of kids who go to church and stopped did so between their 10th and 11th birthday, not only that but 57% of children who leave churches do so before their 10th birthday. The key years are between 7 and 10 where children are deciding if church is for them or not’ (Reaching and Keeping Tweenagers, 2002, p111).
4. -The older siblings of Gen Z have increasingly abandoned faith: “Fewer than half of Australia's Generation Y (born 1976-1990) identifies with a traditional religion, a three-year study of youth spirituality in Australia has found ... Generation Y Christians have moved away from formal church participation, with only one in five attending religious services once a month or more. Some respondents were angry or disenchanted with organised religion, but most simply did not care or were not interested...” (The Spirit of Generation Y project, 2003-2006),

So how will the Church connect with the Gen:Zs, Gen:As and those that follow?

Aaron Earls online Editor at 'Facts and Trends' has written an interesting article about the Millenial Generation (Gen:Y). 

I think the same reasons hold for the emerging Gen:Zs. 

Read and ponder:

6 Reasons Millennials Aren’t at Your Church

By Aaron Earls

Why aren’t Millennials at your church? You don’t want them there.

I know it sounds harsh and is admittedly a bit hyperbolic, but that is the basic reason any group of people are not actively involved in your church body. You have created, be it intentionally or unintentionally, an environment in which they do not feel welcome.

If your church does not have anyone under the age of 35, it is because of the culture you have established. They don’t feel at home there and until they do, they won’t be there.

Obviously, I am using generalizations to speak about a large group of people. This will not apply to every Millennial everywhere. But we can still learn from the characteristics that are frequently found among young adults.

Here are six reasons Millennials may be staying away from your church.

1. You aren’t online.

Most Millennials do not remember a time before the internet. They grew up on social media and are called “digital natives.” It is not something extra to their life; it is a place they live their life.

Three out of four have created a profile on a social networking site. With it, they connect with friends (some of whom they’ve never met in person), communicate with the world, and check out your church.

If you have not established a web or social media presence, they have assumed you are not not interested in relating to them.

Read the rest of the article HERE.