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What to make of the not at all surprising but still fascinating Barna results on Millennials and evangelism/faith-sharing? A few thoughts: 
Millennials are not totally against being a Christian “witness.” I’m seeing a lot of people misconstrue the data to mean that. Millennial respondents overwhelmingly embrace the idea of “being a witness” (96%) and delight in people being saved (94%).
Rather, here’s what we need to notice: They simultaneously feel confident that they're “gifted at sharing my faith with other people” (73%) AND confident that it’s “wrong to share one’s personal beliefs” with someone in hopes that they’ll be converted (47%).
I wonder if the explanation for this seeming contradiction lies in their definition of “witness” and “sharing my faith.” Based on my ministry experience, my sense is Millennials may define those terms primarily as:
1) friendship with non-Christians, 2) being publicly identified as a Christian, and 3) “deeds” of mercy and justice (i.e., “preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words”).
Regarding friendship, Millennials have far relational contact with far more non-Christians than other generations. Regarding public identity, Millennials are comfortable in their own skin, which our culture of tolerance allows so long as one embraces acceptable beliefs (below).
Regarding their witness through deeds, Millennials are famously and passionately invested in social justice vocations and ministries. They should be commended for these 3 characteristics. But they should also be instructed that those are not all that a biblical “witness” entails.
More to the point, “sharing your faith” verbally (i.e., evangelism) entails communicating beliefs that are often at odds with one’s neighbor—the sort of encounter that Millenial respondents said they disapprove of.
40% agreed with the statement that “if someone disagrees with you, it means that they’re judging you.” Of course it’d be wrong to share one’s faith in hopes of someone’s conversion IF sharing disagreeable beliefs is moral judgment! Evangelizing, goes the logic, is judging.
So, what should we do? The answer is NOT to force all the Millennials in your church to take a how-to-share-your-faith seminar. Rather, the answer is deeper discipleship, walking with them into a fuller understanding of the meaning of belief, truth, pluralism, tolerance, etc.
@TheAlanNoble’s fantastic book seems relevant here. Same with @JohnInazu’s work on pluralism. Of course, @timkellernyc’s Making Sense of God, too.
Final thought: In the survey, of all generations, Millennials showed the least confidence in their ability to respond well “when someone raises questions about faith.” So here’s a call for compassion towards are “younger” brothers and sisters:
They’ve grown up amidst significant cultural shifts away from historic Christian beliefs and ethical norms. Evangelism has always been hard, but it’s legitimately getting harder. Don’t scorn. Handle this data with care.
