I have heard a lot of discussion about Millennials over the past couple years. Most of it negative. I’ve seen the memes on Facebook and heard the jokes. I have seen the shaking heads of the older generation and heard some of the rants. So I think I’m going to throw my 2 cents worth into the ring as well.

I have spent some time with Millennials lately, those who are in their 20s and 30s. And I’ve just got to say, I think we’re giving some of this generation a really bad rap. One of them is a young mom who is devoted to a healthy family, a healthy marriage and a healthy world, and works hard every day to make that happen. One was a young man devoted to teaching farming practices to third world countries so they can feed themselves. My husband recently had one young Millennial share the truth of God’s word at our church. She talked about trials in life in such an authentic way that we both sat there stunned by her light and our hearts were full.

You see, this generation has a passion that is amazing. They care deeply about things. Health, putting an end to sex trafficking, the environment, empowering of the oppressed, feeding the world. I believe that they see things that we don’t see because they are the first generation to have technology that allows them to see the entire world. I’m 48 years old. When I was a kid I knew what was happening on my street and in my family. Apart from that, I just heard about occasional news events. The generations before me knew even less about the world around them. But these Millennials have seen all the good, bad and ugly of the whole world. With the increase in technology they were given this view when they were teenagers…still trying to figure out who they were. And so, this generation has carried the weight of the worlds problems, at early ages, long before any of the rest of us did. And likewise, they feel the need to do something about it. But many of the Millennials are lost. They want to fix things and don’t know how. They want to believe, and don’t know what to believe in.

And fellow “older people”, that’s where we come in. We stop bashing them and pull them under our wing. We stop criticizing and start mentoring. We stop condemning and give them some grace, give them some of our time, give them some of our wisdom. If they are lost then let’s make the effort and take the time to show them some of God’s truth to guide them. If we don’t change our dialogue then we will lose our voice and they will not hear anything we say. What a waste for us to lose our credibility with a generation because of our criticism. A generation that is lonely and searching for connection. We could be the answer they are looking for.

Here’s what I believe. The scriptures say in the last days that God will pour out His spirit. Well, friends, many of us would say we live in those last days. If so, then God is going to pour out His Spirit on this generation. On the Millennials. They are being called to change a world that none of us even imagined would exist. They are being called to do something that has never been done before. They will take the church to places it has never been and in ways we don’t know yet. This generation will rule the world one day. Quite frankly, I think it is time we stopped making fun and started equipping them.

To keep the generations separated is always a ploy of Satan. But we need each other. This generation understands a changing society ruled by technology better than we can. They have incredible passion for making the world better. But we have the wisdom of experience. What would happen if we brought those together?

Church – we need to come along side our Millennials and help ground them in the foundation of scripture. They are going somewhere. But without God’s truth, they don’t know where they are going. It is time to stop openly criticizing and start partnering with this generation. They can teach us some things. We can learn from them. We can teach them some things. They can learn from us. Together we can fulfill the Great Commission and be instruments for good. Now THAT would really change the world.