1. Generations: What Impact on
Faith Formation?
Beth Lewis, President & CEO
Augsburg Fortress
August 2010
All Rights Reserved
© 2010 Augsburg Fortress

2. 2010: Five Living Generations
• G.I. 1901-1926 (84+)
• Builder 1927-1945 (65-83)
• Boomer 1946-1964 (46-64)
• Gen X 1965-1981 (29-45)
• Millennial 1982-Present (0-28)

3. Who is in our mainline churches?
65% 35% 18% 4%

4. The Builders 1927-1945 (65-83)

5. The Builders 1927-1945 (65-83)
• Wealthier, physically fit, and savvy consumers
• Unique formative years: 1930’s to 1960’s
(suffering thru depression and threat of cold
war, yet enjoyed prosperity of the 50’s and
60’s
• Conservative—don’t rock the boat!
• As they age a) connect with grandchildren; b)
think and act young; c) travel; d) loyalty

6. The Boomers 1946-1964 (46-64)

7. The Boomers 1946-1964 (46-64)
• Formative years: 50’s to early ’80’s
• Values: powerful message of idealism, sense of
right/wrong
• Activism of first wave of Boomers (Viet Nam war
protests)
• Empowerment: “We can make a difference!”
• Experienced family of origin as a strong unit
• Live life to the fullest, unlimited opportunities,
career-driven/ competitive

8. Adulthood of Boomers
1946-1964 (46-64)
• Dual career generation
• Struggle w/ marriage: high divorce rate
• Struggle w/ parenting: neglecting children
• Brilliant in the workplace:
--Define self in terms of accomplishment
--No rush to retirement
• Forever young mentality
• Free-spirited, boisterous
• Comfortable in the spotlight
• Consumption-oriented

9. Gen-X 1965-1981 (29-45)

10. Gen-X 1965-1981 (29-45)
• First generation of latch-key kids
• Formative years: ‘70’s, ‘80’s, ‘90’s
• Much of their life is about survival:
– Widespread divorce (40% raised in
single parent household)
– Parents lacked time to spend with kids
(dual career or single parent
households)
– Permissiveness (parents compensating
for lack of time)
• Mobile society (multiple schools)

11. Core Values of Gen-X
1965-1981 (29-45)
• Independence
• High expectations of “having it all…now”
• Self-reliance
• Marriage is disposable
• Us-against-them (generationally)
• Non-racist, non-judgmental generation
• Strong female generation (males seeking
identity/masculinity)
• “The Computer Generation”

12. A few ways to reach the Gen X generation
1965-1981 (29-45)
• A high quality website as an entry point to
church
• More intentional connection w/ preschool &
school age families
• Community events/Service events (connect)
• Inspiring, multi-sensory worship
• Authenticity/transparency

13. Then, how do we keep them?
• Small groups to build and enrich community…often
outside traditional church settings
• Kid friendly worship (children’s time, cry-room)
• Hands-on service opportunities
• Educational programs that relate to life
issues (parenting, financial planning)
• Help them become significant leaders
in the church community
• Communicate using technology (emails,
good website, Facebook, etc.)

14. Millennial 1982-2006 (4-28)

15. Millennial 1982-2006 (4-28)
• Formative years: 1980’s to 2010
• Two events that define this generation: September
11 and Hurricane Katrina
• Most adult-supervised kids ever (vs. Gen X)
• Raised with strong family ties & parental
involvement
• Optimistic and enthusiastic

16. Millennial world-view
1982-2006 (4-28)
• Focused on education
• Team players
• Active in the world: social service activities, concern about
the environment, etc.
• “The Giving Generation”: Helping others in record numbers
• Declining teen pathologies (compared to Boomers & Gen X)
• Digital “natives”
• Active in social networks
• Non-judgmental re: race, ethnicity, religion, sexual
preference

17. A few ways to reach Millennials
• Websites & social networking taken for granted
• Text-messaging: their communications tool of
choice
• Many service event options
• Intergenerational activities
• Inspiring, multi-sensory worship

18. Then, how do we keep them?
• Communication via social networking
& text messaging
• Small groups to build and enrich
community…often outside traditional
church settings
• Kid friendly worship
• Hands-on service opportunities
• Educational programs that relate to
life issues
• Intergenerational faith formation activities
• Help them become involved in church with small, flexible
commitments of time

20. American Cultural Challenges
• From 1984 to 2007, those who identify themselves as
Christian dropped from 85% to 77%*
• Americans with no religious identification: 1998 8% vs.
2009 16%*
• Regular attendees in the average congregation were
older than age 60: **
– 25% in 1998
– 30% in 2007
• Regular adult participants younger than age 35: **
– 25% in 1998
– 20% in 2007
* Gallup, 2009
** General Social Surveys, 2010

21. Congregational
programming reflects the
relative absence of young
adults (or vice versa?)
Religious education offered for those:
• age 12 and younger = 82%
• 13-14 year olds = 64%
• 15-19 year olds = 53%
• Young adults or college students = 37%
* National Congregations Study, 2009

22. Research
How Young People View Their Lives, Futures, Religion, and
Politics: A Portrait of Generation “Next”
http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/300.pdf
Religion Among the Millenials
http://pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Demographics/Age/
millennials-report.pdf
National Congregations Study: American Congregations at the
Beginning of the 21st
Century
http://www.soc.duke.edu/natcong/Docs/NCSII_report_final.pdf

23. Some good news for the church…
• Teens & young adults want to serve others
• Teens & young adults care about social justice
issues
• Teens & young adults often self-identify as
“spiritual”
• Teens & young adults crave community

24. At Augsburg Fortress and sparkhouse, we think
that we in the church have a chance to engage
teens and young adults
if we focus less on how
“we’ve always done faith formation”
and more on
“helping them follow Jesus”

25. Please don’t hesitate to contact me
if we may assist you!
Beth Lewis
beth.lewis@augsburgfortress.org
http://twitter.com/bethalewis
www.augsburgfortress.org/blog