Coyner says generations are our new territory

During a Friday afternoon Bible study of Acts 10:6-8, at the South Indiana Annual Conference Bishop Mike Coyner said Jesus commissioned his disciples to take his ministry to the ends of the world. That's geographic and is still true. Like Russia, where we now have more than 100 congregations.

Today generation issues are our new territory. It's a new thing we have Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation Xer's and Millennials.

Veterans are hard working folks with much personal sacrifice. They also travel world-wide.

Baby Boomers were born after WWII. They have a driven work ethic and a love-hate view of authority. Leadership is by consensus. They seek personal gratification and have a huge divorce rate. They are the most materialistic generation. Will Boomers be as generous as Veterans when they retire?

Gen Xer's are skeptical and tend to be more balanced in a work ethic. They are reluctant to commit to relationship such as marriage and church membership. They are the first generation to live with a screen and the Internet.

Millennials are a whole different generation. They are hopeful about life and are hard working. Most high schoolers have a job. They are polite and work together as a team. They are very inclusive and diversity is no big deal. They are turned off by promiscuity.

Coyner said our challenges comes as we figure out how we share the Gospel across this community? How do we communicate?

According to Leonard Sweet, we must work an EPIC plan. - Experience, Participation, Image and Connected.

How can we overcome our preferences to spread the Gospel beyond my preference. The Gospel is for us to share to the generations.

A PowerPoint presentation of this presentation is available at "Ministry to the Edges."

Last updated on 11 Jun 2008

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