Date of Award

12-2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

Roger Nam

Second Advisor

Dottie Escobedo-Frank

Third Advisor

Leonard I. Sweet

Abstract

I am studying hope within Emerging Adulthood in order to bring clarity to the cultural conversations surrounding Millennials and faith so that emerging adults can have the tools to move toward and experience an abundant life. The conversation around Emerging Adulthood is often limited to the Millennial generation. This is problematic because it paints Emerging Adulthood as a rebellious generation rather than a natural stage of human development. Within this generation framework, emerging adults are viewed as needing to be fixed and/or assimilated; therefore, their voices and contributions get minimized until they decide to fall in line with the status quo. In my dissertation, my research focuses on the ethos of Emerging Adulthood, the cultural, theological and philosophical shifts that produced this new stage of development, and the hope that Emerging Adulthood and Millennials offer the church as a whole. It is my argument that the hope of the Church is tied to the hope of Emerging Adulthood. New expressions of faith are needed if the Church is going to successfully engage this new demographic, and Millennials are a prophetic voice that is seeking to inspire change.

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