Understanding and Leading Generation Z in Short-Term · Generation Z: Who are they? •Used to finding what they need in an instant (nearest Starbucks, latest music) •Answers at

Jolene Erlacher, [email protected]

LEADING TOMORROW

STRATEGIES FOR A NEW GENERATION

Jolene Erlacher, Ed.D.www.leadingtomorrow.org

Understanding and Leading Generation Z in Short-Term

Missions


Generations Today

• Silent: Born 1928-1945 (Age 72+)

• Boomer: Born 1946-1964 (Age 53-71)

• Gen X: Born 1965-1980 (Age 38-52)

• Millennials/Gen Y: Born 1980-1995 (Age 23-37)

• Gen Z/Homelanders: Born 1995-2010 (Age 8-22)

• Generation Alpha: Born after 2010 (Under 8)


Sources of Age Diversity

• Life cycle effects: Young people differ from older people, but may resemble them later in life (idealism)

• Period effects: Major events (war, economic decline, etc.) affect people differently based on location in life cycle (recession)

• Cohort effects: Period events and trends that influence young adults as they are developing their core values (culture shift, education, parenting, technology)

Taylor, Paul, and Scott Keeter, eds. “Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change.”Pew Research Center. February 2010. Web. 13 September 2010.


“Every few hundred years in Western history there occurs a sharp

transformation…society rearranges itself…its worldview; its basic values; its social and political structure; its arts; its key institutions…we are currently living through just such a transformation…”

--Peter Drucker, Management Consultant


Faith Trends

• Only 4% of Gen Z has a biblical worldview (as compared to 10% of Boomers): personal commitment to Jesus, Bible is accurate, responsibility to tell others, cannot get to heaven by being good, God is all-powerful creator and ruler of world)

• Teens are twice as likely as adults to say they are atheist (13% vs. 6%)

• 51% of Gen Z say happiness is theirultimate goal in life (43% say this=$$$)

• Biblical literacy is at an all-time low• Live in post-Christian/post-truth world

Adapted from Barna Group


post-truth adjective

Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public

opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

“Post”=‘belonging to a time in which the specified concept has become unimportant or irrelevant’

--Oxford Dictionary 2016 Word of the Year


Education Trends

• School starting sooner, lasting longer without as much “real-life” experience, delayed adolescence

• Standardized tests, teaching to the tests

• Collaborative education, students work together, learn from peers and share responsibility

• Student-centered education, meets students where they are at, can create expectation of needs being served

• Technology…teachers give interpretation, not information


Parenting Trends

• “Demon” child vs. “Angel” child • The era of the “wanted child” vs. the “latchkey”

child• Well-being of children has dominated national

debate• Fear of legal action (parents, teachers, coaches,

etc.)• Parental issues (insecurity, doubt, fear) affect

parenting in a more active vs. passive manner (comparison, criticism, competition)

• Protected by helicopter parents/stealth fighter parents, free range movement, double-minded parents (Barna)


Technology Trends

• The average 13 to 17-year-old exchanges 3,339 text messages a month (The Nielson Company)

• Kids spend more time with technology than with family or in school, averaging 8-11 hours/a day (Kaiser Family Foundation Study)

• If ADHD has become ten times more likely in the past three decades

• More than half of children aged between two and ten feel more confident using a tablet than learning to swim, telling the time and tying their shoe laces (Huffington Post)

• Studies show that young people feel insecurity and social anxiety in a world where text messaging and posting have become appropriate platforms for personal confessions, breakups, anger and jealousy. (Steyer)


Generation Z: Who are

they?

• Used to finding what they need in an instant (nearest Starbucks, latest music)

• Answers at their fingertips (Google), if they have a question, they go find an answer

• Digital natives use the internet to research their options, reference others, but independent thinkers

• Preparing early (many high schoolers taking classes for college credit, starting businesses, etc.)

• Raised in a culture of fear (post 9/11, recession, shootings, etc.)

• Creating and choosing through access to technology/internet since infancy


Generation Z: Who are

they?

• Self Learners/Entrepreneurial (over 70% want to start business)

• Curious/Well Informed (access to information)

• Collaborative/Independent (make their own decision)

• Cautious/Realistic (vs. idealistic; value privacy)

• Diverse/Tolerant (struggle with identity and conviction)

• Future-Focused (vs. now focused)

• Work for Success (avoiding debt, seeking financial stability and happiness)


A Snapshot of the GenerationsSilent Boomers Xers Millennials Gen Z

Attitude w/Authority

Endure them Replace them Ignore them Choose them Do it yourself

Role of Relationship

Significant Limited, useful Central, caring Global, 24/7 Utilitarian

Value System Conservative Self-based Media Shop around Pragmatic

Role of Career Means of living Central focus Irritant Place to serve It’s my hobby

Schedules Mellow Frantic Aimless Volatile Multi-tasking

Technology Hope to outlive it Master it Enjoy it Employ it Hacker

View of Future Seek to stabilize Create it! Hopeless Optimistic FOMO

Elmore, Tim. Generation iY . Atlanta: Post Gardener Publishing, 2015.


Technology vs. Soft Skills• Technology vs. empathy

• Information vs. attention span

• Options vs. long-term commitment

• Speed vs. patience & personal discipline

• External stimulation vs. internal motivation

• No consequences for failure vs. value of success

• Virtual connections vs. emotional intelligence

Elmore, Tim. Generation iY . Atlanta: Post Gardener Publishing, 2015.


Engaging Gen Z in STMs: Pre-Field

• Use images/bites of info in messaging (6 second attention span; capture attention in first few minutes)

• Cultivate a relationship

• Be present where they are interacting (online)

• Educate on purpose/value of missions in general; trip specifically

• Communicate hope, their role in giving hope

• Communicate social media/technology guidelines and purpose!


Leading Gen Z in STMs

• Be authentic, transparent; answer the “whys”

• Communicate belief; Teach like a mentor; assign mentors

• Expose them to different generations and relational scenarios to help them interact, gain emotional intelligence

• Don’t give them answers, help them find and interpret information; engage them as “uploaders” of information, participatory

• Foster unity and team building


Encouraging Gen Z for Ministry On and

Beyond Trip

• Identify their gifts and strengths; encourage them in how God has designed them

• Demonstrate interest and investment in their skills/future

• Plant seeds regarding how they can invest in missions now and in the future

• Encourage them to take appropriate risks; not to fear failure

• Challenge them with something bigger, eternal; invest beyond the “now”


Gen Z and Mid-Term Missions

www.gocorps.org


Questions?

Feel free to contact me with other specific questions: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Sources Referenced

• Gen Z: The Culture, Beliefs and Motivations Shaping the Next Generation, A Barna Report

• Generation iY by Tim Elmore

• Marching Off the Map by Tim Elmore

• “Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change,” Pew Research Center


Other Recommended

Resources

• Meet Gen Z, by James Emery White

• iGen by Jean Twenge

• Glow Kids by Nicholas Kardaras

• The Shallows by Nicholas Carr

• Daniel Generation: Godly Leadership in anUngodly Culture by Jolene Cassellius Erlacher

Documents

Understanding and Leading Generation Z in Short-Term · Generation Z: Who are they? •Used to finding what they need in an instant (nearest Starbucks, latest music) •Answers at