Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

7-2011

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to help church leaders find ways of inspiring commitment to the church among the Millennial Generation. The Millennial Generation has been abandoning traditional churches at a rate of nearly 80 percent once they leave high school, many of them never to return. My goal was to discover solutions, new ways of thinking, and possibly a new design for faith community. For this I chose to research a community where Millennials thrive, The Bridge Church of Portland, Oregon. My chapters include: The Problem in chapter 1, Literary Reviews in chapter 2, The Context of Ministry in chapter 3, Theological Basis in chapter 4, Research Methodology in chapter 5, Research: Presentation of Analysis in chapter 6, and Conclusions and Recommendations in chapter 7. I studied the tension between the practices of the traditional faith communities and Millennials in light of the Christian Jewish and Christian Gentile church conflict in Acts 15 to determine what the response of those who hold the power should be. I further discovered successful elements of the Millennial church practice at The Bridge, which is unique to their community and always changing. Their ideals, however, what I call the DNA, remain constant and seem to be universal among the generation as a whole. I fleshed out the findings and concluded with a suggested response for the traditional or modern church to help them understand the Millennial Generation and build a church for the future that will make sense to them. Research was conducted through a qualitative research method called narrative research. I gathered stories from twelve subjects and grouped the data according to x i grounded theory. My conclusions fell easily into six categories: positive deviance, hospitality, inclusion, transparency and authenticity, power, and integration and incarnation.

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