3 Reasons Your Church Should Hire a Millennial

I know you may be thinking, really? You’re going to suggest I hire a millennial? Why would you suggest I add a staff member in a certain age range and not one who is called to a certain kind of ministry? What I need is a minister of education, not someone born in the 80’s.

Read on.

Statistically speaking, your church probably has tons of millennials or you have, well, zero.

Either way, hiring at least one millennial makes a ton of sense. Here’s why:

• Millennials want to do meaningful work. Millennials are the children of Baby Boomers. This generation has grown up with a lot of privilege and one of those engrained privileges is that they have the right to do work that matters. While certainly rocked by the Great Recession, any Millennial you hire will undoubtedly have a passion for changing the world--even your church’s small corner of it. Millennials want to matter. They want to count. They want to make a difference.
• Millennials are digital natives. That means that they grew up with computers in their classrooms, in their homes, and the vast majority have one to call their own right now. This generation, unlike any before it, gets communicating through the web. Hiring a Millennial gives you the opportunity to have someone on staff who understands online media naturally. It was always a part of the culture as they know it. Not only does this mean you have an in-house “expert,” but it also means you can have a hands-off approach when it comes to tech support. Millennials will figure it out.
• Millennials can provide fresh perspective. Millennials come to the table with a different set of presuppositions. Whether it’s their post-cynical, post-post modern perspective or their bewilderment of the fact that you still watch TV on a television, having a Millennial in your staff meeting brings a new point of view. From their natural understanding of viral marketing to their preference for text messages over phone calls, Millennials have a different frame of reference for technology, communicating, and what is “normal.”

Having a Millennial around serves as a constant reminder of a generation that needs to hear the Gospel message. Often the church simply does not speak the same language as Millennials. Simply put, having someone on staff that is a Millennial is the first step to reaching them.

Does the average age of your church staff limit your adoption of technology as an essential ministry tool?