One of the most important endeavors a Christian university can undertake is the investment in its future generations.  Indeed, there is biblical precedent for both the pedagogical and replication aspects of discipleship, as evidenced in the relationships between Moses and Joshua, Paul and Timothy.  This investment is particularly needed in the Millennial generation. Millennials are the largest of the generational cohorts, surpassing even the mammoth Baby Boomer generation.  Millennials are the culture molders, policy makers, and church leaders of tomorrow.  However, at present they are also the most un-churched, de-churched cohort among us.  It is imperative, therefore, that we design ministries and discipleship strategies that are missional in nature, engaging Millennials where they are so they can encounter Christ and fulfill their generational calling.

The Millennial Ministry program equips followers of Jesus, churches, and church leaders to engage the mission of God with all of who they are in order to reach the Millennial generation for Christ.  You will develop competencies in the following areas:

• Comprehending how biblical reflection and missional action shape all of life
• Embracing the task of coherently presenting the gospel in our complex world
• Creating environments of belonging that lead to believing by nurturing Millennials to join a gospel-shaped community.
• Experiencing the life-changing presence of Jesus Christ as your own life and the lives of Millennials far from God are dramatically transformed by the gospel.
• Discovering how to join Jesus on the margins of Millennials’ lives, in the places of their greatest need, through self-donating practices.

God becomes a tangible reality when individuals and congregations join Christ as servants in his world.  This program will train you to see God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven!

We desire to see every graduate become equipped to join God’s mission to transform the Millennial generation through Jesus Christ, as well as to mobilize Millennials to also engage in God’s mission.  God’s gracious invitation to the church is to join him in that mission of redemption – this program will teach you how.

Much has been written on the Millennial generation and their relationship with the Christian faith, specifically, their disillusionment with organized religion, their perceived irrelevance of the institution of the church, and the resulting dropout phenomenon of young adults from traditional forms of congregational life (Rainer and Rainer, 2008; Dean, 2010; Kinnaman, 2011).  However, the topic of the discipleship of Millennials remains underexplored, particularly the practical aspects of effective ministry to young adults in postmodern, post-Christendom cultural contexts.  There is a need for new voices in the area of ministering to Millennials, voices that can re-vision discipleship for this unique generation living in this unique time in history.  Further, to date research has focused either on the relationship of Millennials to discipleship (Setran and Kiesling, 2013; Kinnaman and Matlock, 2019) or the relationship between discipleship and the missional movement (Frost and Hirsch, 2008; Hirsch and Hirsch, 2010), but a paucity of research exists that focuses on the confluence of all three subjects.  This gap in Christian education provides an opportunity to contribute new data and insights by identifying transformational aspects of discipleship in a changing ecclesiological landscape.

As postmoderns living in a time when the evangelical church is still largely entrenched in Enlightenment thinking, Millennials are philosophical exiles.  A conceptual niche needs to be carved for them, one that accommodates their epistemology while retaining the essential tenets and practices of the Christian faith.  Theologians have addressed this need generally, but this program provides a unique theoretical and practical contribution by specifically investigating the connection between Millennial discipleship and the missional church movement.  I argue that by adopting missional, action-oriented discipleship practices that utilize Millennials’ emphases on relationship and experiential meaning-making in fresh ways, the church can begin to speak Millennials’ epistemological language. 

Who are the Millennials and how do we reach them for the cause of Christ? Building on generational theory and biblical theology, this program will familiarize the student with the Millennial generation, separate fact from fiction, and identify and develop effective methods of discipleship.  The goal is to equip students to be leaders who can missionally engage the Millennial generation faithfully and effectively in various cultural contexts. 

The MU website explains, “Most societies across the globe are increasingly young, educated, and urban.” (1)  Thus, emerging leaders need to understand what makes these younger generations “tick” so that they can be effectively reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all approaches to discipleship; instead, the most effective methods are generationally relevant and highly contextualized.  Thus, students need to be equipped with the requisite tools and training to reach Millennials using missionally-oriented approaches and practices.

The Bible is the foundation for the call to make disciples of all nations, peoples, and generations.  This program gives special attention to Scriptures which address the replication aspect of discipleship, particularly the concepts of generational calling and intergenerational ministry.  These ideas will be explored within the larger context of biblical missiology.

The missional approach to ministry is especially relevant for the discipleship of Millennials, as they are the generational cohort least likely to engage with the traditional, institutional church.  It is imperative, therefore, that emerging leaders develop contextually appropriate discipleship strategies that understand how to “take church” to Millennials rather than expecting them to re-engage with traditional, institutional forms.

Students will learn about the importance of culture and context vis-à-vis the discipleship of Millennials.  Through the study of demographic and sociographic data, as well as the exploration of ministries and programs that have been contextualized for emerging adults, students will be able to develop leadership skills that will aid them in the implementation of contextualized missional ministries to Millennials.

Millennials are the most globally-minded of the generations.  Because of their access to common media sources, they share many of the same ideals, concerns, and opinions.  Despite these commonalities, intercultural nuances do exist among Millennials; thus, it is important to understand how ministries to Millennials can be contextualized so that faith can be expressed in culturally appropriate ways in their respective cultural milieus.

Students will be challenged to take the principles and concepts learned and apply them in the world around them.  The goal is transformation of the student by drawing out their individual giftedness for their unique missional calling.  Students will be encouraged to move from theory to praxis as they apply their acquired knowledge to effectively disciple Millennials in missional settings. 

This program strives to go beyond mere information.  It is designed for personal transformation of the student that results in missional living.  Thus, this program will employ experiential exercises that provide real life experiences with Millennials.  Possibilities include ethnographic practices such as interviewing, participant observation, and document analysis.

The Millennial Generation is all about meaning, purpose, and passion.  You can find them in every sector of society, rattling the status quo and making an impact on the world around them.

That’s why Missional University is such a perfect fit for Millennials. 

Missional University is an online, global Christian university designed to prepared biblically-grounded, missional leaders by incarnating the gospel message with culturally appropriate skills.

At MU, we are dedicated to training Millennials to use their passion to change the world for the cause of Christ. 

If you are a Millennial who is eager to find your place as a world-changer, check out your options on our website, missional.university where you can explore your purpose, passion, and mission.