37 empowering women for leadership; however, empowering women to serve may have intended to include leadership development. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Characteristics of the millennial generation provide some insight into the value system and lifestyle of women in their twenties and thirties. The millennial generation values balance between work and a social life. The days of women devoting most of their time to the local church have passed. Women’s ministries should consider how to maximize the limited time women are willing to give the local church.25 Every person should be considered individually, but as a group, millennial women tend to prefer meeting in small groups, to gather with friends away from the church building, and to seek out ministries that are community focused.26 Results from the current study support previous reports stating millennial women do not want to participate in traditional women’s ministry activities and are looking for new ways to express their faith and spiritual beliefs.27 When asked to identify how women’s ministry should be organized and applied in the local church, only two items reaching consensus were shared between the two panels. Both panels agreed women’s ministry should be more focused on relational ministry and incorporate a greater use of technology. However, none of the top three responses for how women’s ministry should be organized were listed by both panels. Thus, millennial women and non-millennial women have different views on how women’s ministry should be designed to fulfill the purpose previously discussed. The findings suggest millennial women do want to participate in ministry with other women, but that they choose to engage in activities that may not have been provided by non-millennial women’s leadership. Women’s ministry will need to be organized in small groups, focused on building relationships, and be made available at various times to meet the schedule demands of today’s postmodern woman. Factors influencing decisions to reduce or stop participation in women’s ministry are unique to every person; but for many, it may simply be a question of prioritization. The current study revealed that the millennial THE FUTURE OF WOMEN’S MINISTRY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODc4ODgx