• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Lifeway Research

Lifeway Research

Enlightening today’s church with relevant research and insights

  • Research
  • Insights
  • Resource Library
  • Fast Facts
  • Search

Jefferson Bethke: Reaching Millennials

Uncategorized | Apr 15, 2014

You don’t need the fog and lights to get young people to show up in church.
I think what they want is real deep, authentic truth. Church leaders need to be authentic and vulnerable.
I see millennials getting back to this idea of narrative and story. It’s very popular in culture. The reason you like movies is because it’s a grand narrative of a beautiful story. I see that getting pulled back into the Christian faith, and it’s been radically missing.
The Christian faith I grew up with in the 1990s was mathematical, equation-based. You zoomed in on specific verses but had no idea what was going on from Genesis to Revelation. When I look at my generation, I see a little bit of a pull back looking to see how we fit into the grand story of Scripture. And that really excites me.
I grew up on the gospel bracelet evangelism. It’s a great tool in its context, but the gospel bracelet I wore started with the color black, which means it starts with sin. The first thing you’re telling people is you are a sinner. I think it was Dallas Willard who said when you start there, Jesus becomes nothing more than sin management.
I think you have to start with creation. Genesis 1 and 2 is jumping up and saying everything is working the way it’s supposed to be working. Everything’s beautiful. And then Genesis 3 happens. When you start with Genesis 1 and 2 and then Genesis 3 follows, Jesus becomes the restoration of all things.
That is a bigger God, a deeper God. It excites me when I see Jesus restoring the entire cosmos, the entire fabric of the world including us.
I’m not saying sin isn’t an issue. Sin is a toxin that affects every facet of the universe. Everything is broken because of sin. And only through Jesus can that restoration come. 
I often tell people who are my age, “Don’t say no to the Jesus you think you grew up with. If you’re going to say no, at least see what He has to say, investigate Him.”
A lot of millennials don’t like to admit it, but when you start talking about Jesus, often they haven’t even read the Scriptures. I always tell them to start there. When you get on that pursuit of truth, I think you find Him.
Jefferson Bethke is an evangelist, poet and spoken word artist. He is author of the New York Times bestseller Jesus>Religion (Thomas Nelson). Article adapted from The Exchange webcast (EdStetzer.com/TheExchange).

See also  Christians Say They’re Seeking but not Having Evangelistic Conversations

Related posts:

Most Open to Spiritual Conversations, Few Christians Speaking watch clock end times Bible pastors researchWhat Do Pastors Believe About the End Times? What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation? The Vanishing Bible Belt: The Secrets Southern Churches Must Learn to Stay Healthy

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us On…

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Popular

  • Pastors Have Clarity on Same-Sex Marriage, Not the Role of LGBTQ+ People in Churches
  • 7 Reasons to Praise the Lord
    praise
  • Gen Z Mental Health Crisis: How Pastors Can Make a Difference
  • Most Popular Sermon Passages, Topics in 2021

Join the Lifeway Research Newsletter

Lifeway Research: Enlightening Today’s Church with Relevant Insights.

Signup for email updates on our church and culture research.

Sign Up

Leader Resources

Bible
Clip Art
Classics
Clip Art
Current Events
Clip Art
Discipleship
Clip Art
Pastoral Ministy
Clip Art
Theology
Clip Art
VIEW ALL RESOURCES
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Custom Research
  • Resource Library
  • Search

Copyright © 2022 · Lifeway Research, a ministry of Lifeway Christian Resources