The Alpha Generation, born 2010–24, are often described as “digitally-dependent” since they receive, on average, some 237 digital communications every day — primarily because they obtained a smartphone by age 10.
“The whole world is speaking to their hearts, and the church is a minor, though significant, instrument speaking to them,” noted Shelly Melia of Dallas Baptist University.
She was guest presenter at a “Reaching and Teaching the Next Generation” conference at Westwood Baptist Church Alabaster Aug. 9. Melia is associate dean and program director for the master of arts in children’s and family ministry at DBU.
Right mindset
Melia told participants the church must have a “missionary mindset” to minister to Alpha since their culture is so unique.
“These children were under 10 during COVID-19, and we’re still dealing with the social isolation of that era,” she noted. “Electronic communication became even more important, and our children are ‘click bait’ targeted by many sources. They’ve seen violent and horrible things and have become desensitized.
“Some research shows up to 40% of teens 13–17 routinely share nude photos, and the disconnect is that most parents don’t believe this is true.”
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This article was originally published at TheAlabamaBaptist.org.
