Mentoring Millennials is a must read for older people in the church. College students already get the point. If you are a
campus minister, elder or leader concerned about connecting with college students and doing your part to encourage a vibrant campus ministry, this book is for you.
Daniel Egeler contrasts the Millennial generation to previous generations. He marks the Millennials as very different from the Boomers and Gen X. He describes them as a very positive generation. In his study he shows how the Millennials have stronger ethical values reflected in a
decrease in alcohol and drug abuse. He also mentions the decrease in premarital sex in this group. In fact, he compares them to the Builder generation (the World War II era) that saved America. Dr. Egeler believes this is the next heroic generation that indeed has the potential to move America into a more positive and meaningful future.
The central thing lacking in the Millennial generation, according to Egeler, is that they have been abandoned by adults. This generation simply doesn't have many older people who are intentionally connecting to them in a favorable fashion. The tragedy is that this generation is desirous of intergenerational reconciliation and relationships. Because of the rejection of older people by Gen X and Boomers, the general consensus is that young people don't want relationships with older people. This is simply not true among the Millennials. They like older people and tend to relate well to them, but they simply don't get the opportunities to cultivate community with them very often.
According to Egeler, Millennials need mentors, not simply friendships. In the book, he tells many stories of how he has tried to connect with younger people as a mentor. By reading the book, anyone older than the Millennials will get some good ideas for discipling a younger generation. This book is important since we are just now encountering the Millennials on our college campuses. If we treat them like the previous generation, we not
only may be irrelevant but we may also miss one of the greatest opportunities in decades for equipping a new generation for ministry.
Milton Jones ministers with the Northwest Church of Christ in Seattle and teaches preaching at Puget Sound Christian College. He serves on the board of Christian Relief Fund as well as Campus CrossWalk. He has written numerous books, including
Christ: No More, No Less and Sunday With Scottie.
