Understanding Generational Differences

Shelly Melia | December 2, 2025

While the Gospel hasn’t changed, leaders must understand the cultural landscape forming today’s kids and teens and evaluate the effectiveness of current discipleship strategies so that the “next generation will know” (Psalm 78:6-8). 

Generational Mindsets and Discipleship Strategies

Before missionaries step onto unfamiliar soil, they spend time studying the language, customs, and values of the people they hope to engage with the gospel. In the same way, leaders must work to understand new generational cohorts so our ministries do not rely solely on approaches that worked for previous generations but may not be as effective for newer generations.

You may be thinking, ‘but the Gospel never changes.”

And you would be right. Not only does the Gospel never change, neither does God. In a world that is ever-changing, we can cling to the never-changing Truth found in God’s Word.

However, this does not mean that we should not try to understand the mindset of the next generation. Their unique experiences as a generational cohort have shaped them, and their viewpoints are often very different from older generations.

Generation Example

Older generations grew up in a time when their neighborhood (or community) was their world. They enjoyed a familiar environment where family, school, church, and community shaped their ideas and beliefs. They were influenced primarily by the people physically present in their lives.

But that is not the neighborhood shaping the next generation. Today, the world is their neighborhood and there are no proverbial fences or boundaries to keep them safe. The digital world they are immersed in is borderless, immediate, and filled with voices their parents did not choose or endorse. Instead, influencers, algorithms, global events, online communities, and even AI-generated content speak into their lives 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

1. Young adults are waiting longer to get married.

The average age for marriage is now 28 years old for women and 30 years old for men.[1]

2. Pornography is ravaging the next generation.

Around 40% of 13–17-year-olds report it is normal to share nude pictures with each other.[2]

3. Family structures are changing.

In 2021, 41% of all births in the U.S. were to unmarried women.[3]

Shelly Melia (PhD, B.H. Carroll Theological Institute) serves as associate dean and program director for the Graduate School of Ministry at Dallas Baptist University. Prior to this she served in children’s and family ministry and is also a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in grief and resilience.