The Overlooked Generation That Could Help Bridge the Stewardship Gap

Many churches are asking the same important question: How do we help younger generations grow as faithful stewards and generous givers?

What if part of the answer is already sitting in our congregations?

There is a financially influential but often overlooked group known as Generation Jones. Generally born between 1954 and 1965, its members fall between older Baby Boomers and Generation X. They grew up with the Beatles, Mary Poppins and Scooby-Doo. They came of age alongside Pink Floyd, Saturday Night Fever and the Sony Walkman. They are old enough to remember the optimism of postwar America but young enough to have been shaped by economic uncertainty and rapid technological change.

Many have never felt entirely at home with the Baby Boomer label. Yet even if the term Generation Jones is unfamiliar, this generation is already deeply represented in our churches—and its generosity is helping fuel ministry across the country.

In my work with church giving data, I recently reviewed giving patterns across five of my church clients. In four of those churches, people between the ages of 60 and 69 had the highest average giving of any age group. In the fifth, they missed the top position by only $14.

That is not a comprehensive national study, but it points to something church leaders should examine within their own congregations. Generation Jones is often strongly represented among a church’s core and top givers.

But their giving capacity may not be the greatest opportunity they represent.

Who Will Teach the Next Generation

Over the past year, I have noticed more conference sessions and church resources addressing the challenge of forming younger generations in stewardship and generosity. I have seen creative ideas such as children’s giving Bibles, generosity incorporated into child dedications, stewardship apps and age-specific financial resources.

These are encouraging developments. Yet I am still not sure we are making noticeable progress in mentoring younger generations toward biblical stewardship and generous living.

Churches have created excellent age-specific environments for children, students and young adults. One unintended consequence, however, is that some young people may not regularly participate in an adult worship service until after graduating from college. They can miss years of observational discipleship—watching adults give, hearing church leaders teach about stewardship during offering moments, and listening to people share stories of God’s faithfulness throughout their generosity journeys.

We demonstrate greater intentionality with younger generations in other spiritual disciplines. Consider prayer. Most children’s and student ministries include corporate prayer, small-group prayer, opportunities to submit requests and chances for young people to lead others in prayer.

Outside of receiving an offering, do we create the same kinds of formative experiences around stewardship, generosity and giving?

Think about the children, students and young adults in your life. They may be your children or grandchildren, relatives, or simply younger people you know through your church.

How are they learning what the Bible teaches about stewardship? Who is showing them how generosity develops trust in God? Where will they encounter someone willing to walk alongside them as they learn to put those beliefs into practice?

This is where Generation Jones may represent a remarkable opportunity.

Paul Timothy and the Transfer of Stewardship

In 1 Timothy 6:17–19, Paul equips his younger protégé, Timothy, to pastor people with financial resources:

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God … Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”

Paul’s instructions give Timothy a framework for helping others develop a healthy and biblical relationship with wealth:

• Trust: Do not place your hope in wealth.
• Gratitude: Recognize God as the source of everything you enjoy.
• Generosity: Use your resources to do good and help others.
• Legacy: Build a foundation that reaches beyond the present.

But there is something else happening in this passage that we should not overlook. Paul is not only intentionally teaching biblical stewardship to someone younger; he is teaching Timothy how to teach it to others.

Paul pastors Timothy. Timothy learns to pastor others. Stewardship is passed from one generation to another through an intentional discipleship relationship.

Could Generation Jones follow Paul’s example? Could some of the church’s most experienced and faithful givers become stewardship mentors for younger generations?

Moving From Generous Givers to Stewardship Mentors

As year-end approaches, churches across the country are setting goals, gathering stories of life change and inviting people to invest in God’s mission. Generation Jones should be on our radar—but not merely because of its financial capacity.

What if year-end became an opportunity to invite experienced givers into a larger assignment? What if we asked them not only to make a gift, but also to help form the next generation of generous disciples?

Here are three practical ways to begin.

1. Identify and Invite Mature Stewards

Begin by identifying people who demonstrate more than financial capacity. Look for spiritual maturity, humility, faithfulness and a healthy understanding of biblical stewardship.

Then personally invite them into the opportunity. Do not assume they will see themselves as mentors simply because they have practiced generosity. Help them recognize that their experiences—including their mistakes, sacrifices and lessons in trusting God—could benefit someone coming behind them.

The invitation might be as simple as:

“God has taught you a great deal about stewardship and generosity. Would you be willing to help someone younger learn what He has taught you?”

2. Equip Them to Share Their Stories

Mature givers may possess valuable wisdom without knowing how to communicate it. Give them questions that help turn experience into discipleship:

• How did you first learn to give?
• When did generosity require you to trust God?
• What financial mistake taught you an important lesson?
• How have your views of ownership and stewardship changed?
• Where have you seen God use your generosity to change someone’s life?
• What do you wish someone had taught you about money when you were younger?

These conversations can happen in small groups, mentoring relationships, financial coaching environments, video testimonies or family discussions. The objective is not to present Generation Jones as having all the answers. It is to create honest relationships in which biblical truth and lived experience can be passed forward.

3. Create Intergenerational Generosity Moments

Invite members of Generation Jones to make year-end giving more than a private financial transaction. Encourage them to involve someone younger in an age-appropriate way:

• Share the story of why they give.
• Discuss how they decide where and how much to give.
• Invite children or grandchildren to help select a church ministry to support.
• Serve together in a ministry connected to their gift.
• Bring a younger believer into a conversation about stewardship.
• Share a generosity story with the entire church.
• Serve as a financial coach or stewardship mentor.

Churches could issue one simple year-end challenge:

Make a year-end gift—and have one meaningful conversation about generosity with someone from a younger generation.

More Than a Year End Gift

The larger idea is not simply to transfer financial resources to the next generation. It is to form faithful stewards within the next generation.

As you prepare your church’s year-end giving strategy, make the opportunity clear. Tell compelling stories. Demonstrate impact. Practice transparency. Explain the different ways people can participate.

But do not stop with the gift.

Invite Generation Jones to examine where they place their trust, consider the Kingdom impact of their resources and share what they have learned with those coming behind them.

Their year-end gifts can help fund ministry in the coming year. Their examples could shape generous disciples for generations.

The greatest opportunity Generation Jones presents may not be what the church can receive from them, but what God can pass through them.

About the Author

Danny Stokes is a pastor and generosity coach with more than 30 years of ministry experience. Through leadership roles at Cross Timbers Church and partnerships with churches across the country, he has helped leaders interpret giving trends, strengthen financial discipleship, and develop practical, sustainable stewardship strategies. Danny is known for his relational approach and his ability to make complex financial concepts accessible and meaningful for church teams.