Recommended Resources For The Next Gen
What resources are there for better understanding Millennials & Generation Z?
My heart is to provide helpful resources that are useful for leaders, rallying points that can be catalytic for teams, and networking opportunities which can open up doors of relationships that can last a lifetime! In fact, the reason youngadultstoday exists is because other resources do not. With that being said I will say that this generation is studied and researched to an extent far greater than actual intergenerational relationships are being pursued and happening! I am going to recommend a list of books and podcasts, but I think that resources come second to relationships.
In other words, we as leaders can learn all we want in theory - but that comes after our personal relationship with Christ and from the overflow of that, our relationships with those in the next generation themselves will actually then inform our thinking and our approach to leadership. That being said, here’s some great resources for business leaders, ministers, and those wanting to grow in serving the next generation:
Books on Millennials:
Unchristian, You Lost Me (David Kinnaman)
Quarter Life Calling (Paul Sohn)
Millennials in Ministry (Jolene Erlacher)
Generation iY (Tim Elmore)
A minute on Millennials - depending on which social scientist you read, Millennials were born roughly between the years of 1981-1996. Each generation spans about 15 years. That makes them currently ages of 25 and 40 years old at the time of publication for this article. So often, I hear people talk about teenagers or college students and refer to them as millennials - when in all actuality time has gone fast and millennials are now young professionals, homeowners, and starting families.
Youngadults.today has hosted each of these authors where Micah and I have had the chance to interview experts on generational research! Above you can click on the active links to our conversations with each author!
Books on Gen Z:
Faith For Exiles (David Kinnaman)
Daniel Generation (Jolene Erlacher)
Gen Z Unfiltered (Tim Elmore)
Passion Generation (Grant Skeldon)
Meet Generation Z (James Emery White)
We have held interview conversations with each of these authors (with the exception of James Emery White) where Micah and I have had the chance to interview experts on generational research! Above you can click on the active links to our conversations with each author!
Generation Z on the other hand is comprised of those born roughly during the years of 1997-2012. This makes them ages 9-24 as of 2021. Meaning they are currently in middle school, high school, and college aged.
Three practical tips I’d suggest for any/every leader:
Take a young adult to coffee or lunch!. Getting to know someone personally by learning their name and hearing their story moves them out of the category of a crowd and into the personality of the individual.
Subscribe to the youngadults.today podcast! We have a burden and burning passion to have conversations about reaching the next generation in our world today.
Pick up a copy of Reaching The Next Book! We collaborated with 13 different contributing authors who are each next generation leaders in the academy, the business world, or in ministry!