“The share of Americans younger than 24 neither at work nor in school has steadily increased since 2007.”–source
Interpretations of this kind of data often leans toward the negative–focusing on the idleness, lack of a steady income, or not gaining skills to help with employment. I’m sure these things happen but I see tremendous opportunities for these post graduates to take on entrepreneurial ventures that might not be directly related to a future job, but could expose them to undiscovered strengths, giftings, and passions.
Consider the characteristics/experiences that come from unstructured time:
- Comfort with ambiguity/uncertainty
- Having to see themselves as “the boss” of their time rather than a literal boss
- Exploration, Innovation, Risk taking
- Frequently failing
I love what Seth Godin says about being your own boss:
“I always took the position that my boss (when I had a job) worked for me. My job was to do the thing I was hired to do, and my boss had assets that could help me do the job better. His job, then, was to figure out how best give me access to the people, systems and resources that would allow me to do my job the best possible way.”
Have you thought about ways to involve and empower this group in your church and ministry?