Over the next several weeks, you’ll hear from several women writing about what they wish others knew about their generations. This week, you’ll hear from Elizabeth Hyndman (Millennial)! Read last week’s article by Georgia Williams (Gen Z) and stay tuned for articles written by a Gen Xer, Baby Boomer, and Silent.
If you search the term millennials on the internet, you will find a lot of articles, many of them negative. Millennials are the Me Generation; we’re entitled; we can’t afford to move out of our parents’ houses; we’re completely freaking out about being adults.
I’m not going to play into stereotypes and whine about Millennials being misunderstood. But here’s what I’d like you to know about my generation.
Millennials are generally defined as those born between 1981 and 1996. That means that all millennials have fully developed prefrontal cortexes—we’re all adults now. Some of us are even “over the hill,” to use the terminology of previous generations. We’re the largest generation, and we’re the largest generation in the workplace right now. You know us. You work with us. You go to church with us.
What Shaped Us
Two things shaped our lives perhaps more than any other generation: The tragedy of 9/11 and the accessibility of the internet and invention of social media.
Most of us have distinct memories of 9/11. The youngest millennials were five years old at the time. The oldest were college-age. We experienced that terrorist attack in real time, watching it unfold on TV in our classrooms, college dorms, or at home. Most of us have an answer to “Where were you on 9/11?”
The other milestone for millennials is the internet and social media. We are the last generation to remember life before the internet and social media. We grew up with the internet. Older millennials remember getting a computer in their home. A lot of us remember dial up; AOL Instant Messenger taught us how to type quickly; we learned to drive without a GPS. Facebook was invented by a millennial while he was in college.
All generations were greatly impacted by these two events, but they are the events that shaped millennials’ lives, worldviews, and mentalities more than any other. We can’t separate the rest of our generational tendencies from them.
Who are millennials?
So, what are those tendencies? I can only speak in general terms. You probably know millennials who are different from all of these statistics. It’s important to every generation, and especially the millennials and younger, to be seen and heard. We don’t feel seen or heard when we’re lumped into stereotypes or written off as “Ugh, you know millennials.”
With that caveat, here’s a picture of millennials in general.
We are highly adaptable. Perhaps because of the two events above, along with The Great Recession, we have learned to roll with it. We also serve as a bridge between our Gen-X and Baby Boomer parents and coworkers and our Gen-Z children and coworkers. We often serve as translators and teachers, because of the way we grew up with technology and the internet.
In general, millennials are more educated. For the most part, we are safe, and our basic needs are met. This is a shift from previous generations.1 Therefore, we see commerce and work as an opportunity to pursue our purpose. We have very high expectations of ourselves. We also care a lot about our health—we exercise more, smoke and drink less, and pursue mental health more than previous generations.
Millennial women are also more likely to work than previous generations. And we work hard and play hard. It’s important for us to have meaningful work. We grew up being told we could change the world. And we believed it. I recently heard someone joke that everyone in our generation started a non-profit. We are passionate about making the world a better place. Often this means unrest when it comes to our jobs. Work/life balance is crucial for us, as is fulfilling work. Moreso than older generations, we tend to find our identities outside of our 9-to-5s. We change jobs more than previous generations as a result.
Millennials also believe what we buy says a lot about us. We crave authenticity and transparency in companies, organizations, and people. We look for companies and organizations that show us their personalities, that feel real to us. We pledge our loyalty to those (people, churches, companies) we believe are doing good work.
We’re slower to get married. In 2019, only 44% of millennials were married. If this trend continues, one in four adults will have never married by the time they reach their mid-40s to early 50s. We’re also waiting longer to become parents.2 This is perhaps one of the biggest shifts that will affect the church and how the local church does ministry. If you live in an area where this statistic rings true, your ministry to adults will look different than it did for previous generations.
Conclusion
All of these statistics have pros and cons. We millennials can be seen as fickle or selfish, and certainly those articles have been written. I also see beauty in these stats and what they mean for our churches and communities.
Millennials are passionate, adaptable, and loyal. We’re willing and ready to put in the work and time to create community and build something good. We have a skill set and a mindset that is ready to work with multiple generations and diverse backgrounds to accomplish a goal. While we may often be the butt of the joke or the generation who gets the blame for whatever is going wrong, we don’t really mind very much. We’re too busy changing the world.
Get a head start and sign up for our free You Lead Webinar in November 2025: Every Generation Asks: What Do I Have to Offer?
ABOUT ELIZABETH HYNDMAN
Elizabeth reads, writes, and argues about the nuances of punctuation. Officially, she’s an Editorial Project Leader at Lifeway. She managed to find a job where she uses both her English undergraduate and her seminary graduate degrees every day. Elizabeth grew up in Nashville, sips chai lattes every chance she can get, and believes everyone should have a “funny picture” pose at the ready. Follow her on X or Instagram.
