Hey friends!
It’s been a while since my last update, so I thought today would be a great time to share with you some of the happenings surrounding my work over the summer. We have been pushing ahead at full speed to discover how we can best help folks find what they are looking for, and I think you’re going to be interested to see what I’ve learned.
We’ve been partnering with Lieberman Research Worldwide, an international market research firm, to assist us in learning the trends, needs, and boundaries of people between the ages of 20-40. We began with a number of hypotheses, and our work with this research has helped us clarify some of our goals and vision for the future.
For example, we’ve learned:
- Millennials, just like every generation that preceded them, are seeking to fill their lives with meaning, and an understanding of the greater things in the world that they cannot explain. In other words, they are spiritually hungry (they wouldn’t use that phrase, but I assume its a term that you can relate to!). They’re pursuits include looking for what drives life forward, how we transcend the problems of this world, and how to live into their fullest life. Thats good news for the Orontes Project, because our aim is to help them in that exact journey.
- Millennials care. With all of the pundits of media talking about the selfishness and near-sightedness of this generation, the fact remains that this generation has a deep desire to be caring and thoughtful towards others. “The Golden Rule” is something that they want to follow, if they could only learn how. Is it paradoxical that a generation is hyper-involved in consumerism and yet wants to learn how to look after their neighbor? Perhaps, but we believe that a greater good can come from this discovery of motivations of Millennials if we focus our efforts on guiding them into a life of kindness and hospitality.
- Millennials require flexibility. Perhaps you already intuited this because of your in ability to see the Millennials in your life on a regular basis (that was a joke, kind of). With the need to work multiple jobs, be involved in numerous secular communities, dating, traveling, school, and many other factors, Millennials have had to grow up into a life that is spontaneous out of necessity rather than preference. That means those who want to help them have to form to a new model. A traditional schedule just doesn’t fit in the life of this next generation of adults. Unlike the above two learnings, this one is more of a challenge. We have to be willing to meet these adults on the times and terms of their availability, and provide them with meaningful enough content that they will continue to seek us out as they are ready. But again, that is why we are building the Orontes Project, to meet the needs of adults where they already are.
I hope when you read the above, you are encouraged. It doubly confirms that our work ahead is not easy, but it triply (is that a thing?) confirms that we are doing the right work at the right time for the right people group. I am continually grateful that you are supportive of me in this work, and I will continue to give my best each day for these folks that we love.
For more on what we are doing, check out The Orontes Project.
A Consummate Confessional 