Why Many Millennials Are Starving for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Children and youth are the largest generation around the world. There are over 80 million millennials in the United States, which is 34 million more than my generation called X, and is 4 million more people than the Baby Boomers.

Millennials are spiritually hungry and readily accept the supernatural. They want something more than what they are getting from pop culture. They are bombarded with things to buy and do, but they want to keep their personal identities while desiring for authenticity.

Relevance seemed to be a key term several years ago, but now the youth are not asking for relevance but instead want to be part of an authentic community based on reality which addresses and applies positive change to every aspect of life. As the church. we can provide their answers for life and provide authentic fellowship. They will commit to be part of the community before they come to Christ and when His power is on display they will wholeheartedly commit to Him and bring their friends.

The power of God needs to be displayed in all ministries, places of work and homes. As a youth pastor, I saw many teenagers receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Once, while out for coffee with a group of teenagers, one asked me about the Holy Spirit. Once we got back into the church van, I sensed the Spirit of God wanting to move. I led the teen in a simple prayer and she started to beautifully speak in tongues as we traveled back to drop everyone off.

These occurrences took place often. I had a group of student interns in my vehicle returning from an outreach. While worship music played, one student in the back asked about the topic of speaking in tongues. While driving, I explained it to her using Scripture and led her in prayer to receive this spiritual gift.

Right then, the student in the passenger seat was filled with the Spirit, and it prompted other students to ask about it. The young lady who asked didn’t receive at that moment, but testified within the week that she was deep in prayer and filled with the Holy Spirit while vacuuming.

God enjoys giving spiritual gifts, even on holidays and birthdays. One time I was in my church office and received an urgent phone call. A woman in our church told me about her nephew, who was in crisis due to drugs. She asked me to drop everything and intervene. I arrived at the home and shared the gospel with her nephew, who accepted Jesus and became instantly sober. Worship music played and I discussed the Spirit baptism from Acts 2:1-4, and the woman from my church said she wanted that to take place in her life. I led her in a simple prayer, asking for the Spirit to fill her up, and she gloriously received it on her birthday!

A year ago, after preaching on salvation and seeing over 100 young people give their lives to Jesus, I gave a testimony and instruction on the Spirit baptism and its purpose to make us more effective witnesses for Jesus. Our team moved around, praying for healing and the kids to receive the baptism. We had testimonies of knee problems and migraines healed as we watched the Spirit of God empower these young students.

With previous generations, I witnessed that people would walk away and leave when someone began to about God’s power. But due to the spiritual hunger of this present generation, I’ve seen that they they want to experience truth. Power must be evident through preaching the Word in order to reach this emerging generation. His promise for the Spirit is for all generations (Acts 2:38-39) and it is for you.

If you have not yet received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, set aside time to worship God and ask Jesus to fill you. Praise Him, knowing that when you ask, you will receive (Luke 11:13). When a language you don’t know comes to your mind, start speaking it out loud, loud enough for you to hear and as you give Him thanks.

Then, pray in this gift daily and know it has empowered you to tell others about Him. Also, find several millennials and invest your time with them and share what the incredible Spirit of God has done in your life, pointing them to the Scripture but also taking time to pray with them to receive this great gift.

Mentor them to help them apply the Bible to their life and to walk in the power of God. The promise is to you, to your children and all generations. {eoa}

Jared Laskey is starting Destiny Open Bible Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He served in the Marine Corps from 2006-2011 and ministers living to see Jesus awaken this generation to the power of His Holy Spirit. You can follow him on twitter @jaredalaskey, or contact him through his website, firebornministries.com. He has recently co-authored a book called Veronica’s Hero you can find on Amazon here. It describes how God worked in a young woman who received news that her husband paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country.