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Three things happened after I returned from InterVarsity’s Urbana student missions convention in December. First, I had to write an evaluation. So, to prepare, I talked with a number of my peers to get their feedback. Then I turned 50, forcing me to come to grips with the fact that I attended my first Urbana convention 30 years ago.

Thus I was forced to confront the culture gap expressed at Urbana between us baby boomers and the next emerging generation. On more than a few occasions, I felt old and outdated (and unable to understand rap music). A number of my peers were upset that these young Urbana students were too loud, too emotional, too shallow, too overwhelmed by choices, and did I mention too loud?

Before I allowed my 50-year-old negative perspective to take over, however, I decided I should step back and ask, “What are the most exciting characteristics I see in these young people?” If I believe in God’s sovereign hand in history, I must acknowledge his work in this generation to bring some skills and strengths that my generation lacks. What did I see?

So, here is my list of the “Top Ten Things I Like about the Emerging Generation.” (I do have a few concerns too, but I’ll reserve those for another column.)

10. ENGERGY. I’ve attended a variety of student mission conferences—from Urbana or OIL (about 1,000 students, mostly Korean-American) in the US, to Mission in Europe (sponsored by TEMA), to Commission in Kenya. Anytime you get 900 to 20,000 students together worshiping and contemplating God’s call on their lives, the place explodes. When I see 1,500 students praying in unison in Kenya, or 20,000 students singing “Ask and I’ll give the nations to you” at Urbana, I rejoice at the raw energy available to the Holy Spirit for raising up new laborers for God’s global harvest.

9.TECHNO-SAVVY. Having not been raised in a computer-driven, Internet-connected world, I often see technology as a ruthless master rather than a servant to be used. Young people excel at exploiting technology for good purposes. While it takes me days to put together a decent PowerPoint presentation, it takes them hours. When I see these high-tech, high-touch students combining their skills in God’s kingdom service, I also see them capable of harnessing technology for the spread of the gospel.

8. CROSS-CULTURALLY EQUIPPED. I grew up in an Irish Catholic neighborhood outside of Boston where I never met an African American or heard people speaking Spanish. I went on a cross-cultural, short-term mission trip at age 24 and it transformed my life. Today’s younger generation has grown up in a different world. Multiethnic people populate their schools, report the news on TV, and champion their sports teams. A vast number of the young people who attended Urbana have already been on two or three cross-cultural mission trips. They have had multicultural experiences that prepare them for global service.

7. BROKENNESS. They embrace brokenness. “Poor in spirit” is Jesus’ first criteria for being blessed; this generation should be blessed beyond my imagination. They confess openly, repent vigorously, and identify their personal flaws with exemplary humility. Their brokenness will equip them for powerful ministry if they allow the comfort that they receive from God to be a foundation for their comforting others (2 Cor. 1:4).

6.TEACHABLE. They’re looking for mentors. Many of us baby boomers wonder what we have to say to the youth culture we’re no longer part of. When I think back on my youth—a youth culture raised on slogans like “Don’t trust anyone over 30”—I wonder, does this generation look at me the way I looked at my parents and people my age?

In short, the answer is no. This younger generation is looking for parental figures. They want mentors; they look for advice. They are facing so many uncertainties about the future that they love some adult direction. If I take them and their lives seriously, my age and the so-called culture gap are seldom issues. They want a relationship with older adults whose lives they respect, who aren’t afraid to admit their failures, who tell them the truth and who treat them with sincerity.

5. HUNGRY FOR THE CHALLENGE. The rising generation loves bungee jumping, Xtreme Sports, avalanche-country snowboarding and “Fear Factor” confrontations. Some of us older folks talk about youth as if they were wimps looking for “missions lite.” In contrast, the students I interact with want to volunteer for hard-place service. Students at Urbana wanted to know which ministries were going to Afghanistan and Iraq. In a class at Gordon College, I casually referred to serving alongside a Palestinian pastor working in Gaza; more than half the students came up at the close of class to volunteer. I hear young people saying, “Give me a challenge worth dying for!”

4. DIVERSITY. In “The Local Church in a Global Era,” Tim Dearborn asserts, “The church will have global credibility only to the extent that it has local diversity.” The emerging generation is diverse, wants diversity, and loves coming together with all of our diverse cultures and backgrounds and forming one great family. They notice if our church or organization is all-white and led by men only. If so, they will reject us. They may be the pacesetters for the church in helping us to understand what the “new humanity” of Ephesians 2:14-19 really looks like.

3. RELATIONAL. They are looking for community. One of the great moments for me at Urbana 2003 occurred at the New Year’s Eve communion service. After an impassioned sermon on the transformation of Peter’s worldview in Acts 10, which told us what it means to be part of the diverse, multicultural family of God, a hip-hop trio got up to lead us in some rap worship.

Wearing unlaced sneakers, saggy-baggy pants, basketball jerseys and headbands, and holding microphones pointed to the ceiling, they responded to the sermon. Their leader shouted, “Where my family at?” The students cheered wildly, and so did I. At that moment, I grasped the students’ excitement of belonging to God’s new family. No matter how different we are from one another, we are together as the family created by the Lord Jesus Christ.

This love of community prepares this younger generation for ministry, especially into cultures where deep investment in relationships and long-term friendships will be the key to effectiveness. We’ve long complained about the difficulties task-oriented Westerners have in adapting to relationally-driven cultures. This younger generation may be the best equipped in ways we’ve never imagined.

2. SERVANTS. Flowing from things like cross-cultural experience, desire for diversity, and a commitment to relationships, young people can teach us something about servanthood. They’re willing to go without having to be in control of everything. They’ll take the undesirable job. They want to live with the poor because they really want to imitate the incarnational example of Jesus. This generation fully expects to work for indigenous leaders in places where the church is already planted.

1. THE FUTURE IS THEIRS. Perhaps the most exciting and sobering reminder to me at Urbana, or any place I go where the emerging generation dominates, is that the future belongs to students. I get excited because of the energy and excitement (and sometimes passionate naiveté) they bring to the God’s global mission. I’m sobered when I see the flaws in the mission enterprise that my generation hands over to them.

I pray that I can be a part of, a contributor to, and a faithful mentor to those intent on serving God in the future. I pray with the psalmist, “Even when I am old and gray [or in my case, bald], do not forsake me O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come” (Ps 71:18).

Paul Borthwick trains leaders with Development Associates International and mobilizes others toward global ministry through Urbana and Gordon College.