I certainly wouldn't say they are a "What's in it for me" generation. Actually "Passionate" and "What's in it for me" don't even go together. I would say Passionate is definitely correct. Gen Y comes out of a Generation of "entitlement" or a "Just give it to me" mentality and they recognize the dangers behind this. That is what is giving them their "Passion" Unfortunately being a product of the previous generation they don't always know what to be passionate about. This is where I assume you are seeing the "What's in it for me" They are looking for something to truly grab hold of and be passionate about but need to know it's truly worthwhile before they will dive in. Because of this it should be an exciting time of awakening and movement in your ministry. If not I would suggest it could be because of that subtle misunderstanding of the Generation. They will sacrifice once shown a passion. I've watched it happen and It's an exciting thing to see when the passion is focused on Christ.

Passionate
Searching
Wanting to leave their Mark

That is how I would describe this generation!

Enlightened
Cause-oriented (although not always for the right reasons)
Fame-hungry (mostly because they know new mediums allow for their voices to be heard)

Dawn ... You've piqued my curiousity. In what ways have you seen Gen Y be cause-oriented in a negative way?

I wouldn't call it negative...standing for causes is "in" right now. And, I personally don't believe it's a fad, I think we're seeing a societal transformation in people understanding their own power to make change. But in that process, there is a lot of pressure to stand for something. So, sometimes, what I see are individuals standing behind causes because they think they need to to be cool (without any understanding or action)...or they stand for 1000 causes because the thought is that more is better.

Don't get me wrong, I think that both of those (regardless of how they came to be) are at least educational and can raise awareness. But, I believe there is a difference between talking about a cause and standing/working for a cause. It's as if there is a menu of causes that gives people ADD. I think the opportunity is in helping each other turn awareness into action.

And, for the record, I think it will get better. But there is such a fascination with it right now. It's really no different than what celebrities have battled at some level for years...standing behind a cause for attention, versus standing behind a cause to make change.

Great point. Good clarification.

In other words, stand for something because you believe in it–not because it's the cause du jour.

1. action-oriented
2. restorative
3. dreamer

As a millenial/Gen Yer I've seen most of us as wanting to act more on things, not just talk about it. Restorative because tearing down old things isn't necessary if they can be restored for something else. Why not use what we've already got? Which is resourceful, too. And dreamer because they want more for everyone on earth, not just themselves or their country. Their/our dreams seem to encompas things way out of the realm of what seems possible. But those are usually the people who do them.

1) Cynical
2) Passionate
3) Confused

What a fun game!

Wonder if there's big differences between US and UK Gen Yrs. Have you seen the good work done by Phil Rankin, 'Buried Spirituality', and Bob Mayo et al, 'Making Sense of Gen Y'? Both focus clearly on British culture but may be worth the read.

It is a fun game :)

Those seem like interesting reads. What was the one largest take-away for you from these books?

Interestingly they contradicted each other (surprise, surprise!!)...basically Mayo says Gen Y is not spiritual, at least not how we in the church understand. Rankin, however, states that Gen Y are in fact deeply spiritual, but lackthe language to describe it.

Interestingly, the biggest thing Rankin uncovered for me is that while Gen X recognised their spiritual side but didn't trust religion Gen Yers link spirituality with religion and therefore are negative about that too.

In other words we need to think deeply about how we communicate the basics of our faith, like talking about prayer, or even words like grace or sin...which basically lean nothing to your average Yer. I do some work in a school here in the UK and it's really made me work beyond the usual cliches...great stuff.

Really recommend Rankin for his interviews with British young people...so powerful and challenging to the church today.

I would say, creative, social and fearless.

Sarah
http://www.genyguide.com