Writing for WordSlingers has me feeling like a 25-year-old again. I haven’t felt that young since 1988, when I was 25.
Then, I did the math and realized that people who are now 25 were born in 1988. That then got me thinking about sinking into a box of Samoas Girl Scout cookies to drown my feeling of lost youth.
I have mission trip t-shirts that are twenty-five years old!
When I was 25 I had just quit trying to be a stand-up comedian in the amateur night comedy shows and decided I better get back to college (I graduated high school in 1982). While returning to university, I got involved in BCM (then BSU) and became very interested in mission trips and ministry. That was also the year I started praying about being “in the ministry.” But I used to struggle, why would God take me out of stand-up comedy and put me into the ministry? Then someone suggested, “Well, maybe He saw your act!”
That was a long time ago, but it feels like yesterday. What were you doing when you were 25? Maybe you’re 25 now. Aren’t we all really just a bunch of 25 year olds?
There are several generations of twenty-five year olds all around you. And if you care to, you can teach yourself to see the world through the young eyes of the older.
Speaking of missions, when missionaries begin working with people groups, they study and understand each group. Knowing who you are trying to reach is the starting place for good ministry. Every day in ministry you are serving people, so you should take it upon yourself to become an expert on them.
Presently, there are five generations of twenty-five year old people in the marketplace. Which one do you belong to?
- Silent Generation (born: 1925-1945) Age: 68-84. When they were 25: 1950
- Baby Boomers (born: 1946-1954) Age: 59-67. When they were 25: 1971
- Generation Jones: (born 1955-1964) Age: 49-58. When they were 25: 1980
- Generation-X (born: 1965-1979) Age: 34-48 When they were 25: 1990
- Millennial Generation (born: 1980-1996) Age: 17-33 When they were 25: 2005
These generations each have perspectives and needs that differ from each of the others. In the next few posts in this series, I will write about these generations of 25 year olds, what they are like now and suggests ideas to be successful in reaching them. I hope you will read along!