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UK News

Marriage, mentoring and giving back are key concerns for young Christians

by Hannah Tooley

A survey by the Evangelical Alliance has revealed that millennial Christians, aged between 18 and 37, are considered the philanthropic generation who think about giving their money to charity as a top priority.

The document shows that young Christinas despite living with less money are actually more generous.

A combined total of 47 per cent give away at least a tenth of their money.

Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Christians came out as the more generous - with 60 per cent giving away at least a tenth of their income, compared to 44 per cent of white British young adults.

'Building tomorrow's Church today: the views and experiences of young adults in the UK Church' also found that almost three quarters of respondents said faith was the most important factor in the decisions they make each day.

The research also raised a number of areas that Christians need to work on, for example it revealed that a quarter of young adults said that older people in their church struggle to relate with them and a fifth were thinking about leaving church.

BME and white Christians were also shown to be different in their views, white British respondents consistently appeared much less conservative in their views.

Areas where these groups differed included views on the authority of the Bible, evolution, homosexuality, cohabiting and marrying a non-Christian.

81 per cent of BMEs think cohabitation is not something an unmarried Christian couple should do compared to 63 per cent of white British Christian millennials.

The survey also shows that young people do not think the Church does enough to help young people find a marriage partner or develop leadership skills.

Almost a third of respondents said they did not have a Christian mentor, or a group of friends they are honest and accountable to about their life and faith.

Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance, said: "Our research proves that not all young adults are leaving the Church in droves.

"They are passionate about prayer, sharing their faith and giving.

"However there is still work to be done. It is concerning that millennials lack suitable mentors.

"Mentoring is the most effective tool we have in undoing past mistakes the Church has made and transferring wisdom gained over a lifetime. It is a privilege.

"Within each Christian leader is the potential for limitless reproduction. We can do this."

Yemi Adedeji, director of the One People Commission of the Evangelical Alliance, said: "Peer pressure is a huge reality for Christian millennials who can sometimes feel compelled to behave a certain way in order to fit in to student or work life.

"As church leaders we have a mandate to use the results of this survey to examine how we are engaging with young people and to consider how we can listen to the next generation and position them for success in every area of their lives."

Listen to Steve Clifford's interview on Premier's Inspirational Breakfast with John Pantry here:

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