Antwuan Malone is a young-adult pastor and the founder and Executive Director of ELEVATE.YA. In an insightful piece posted on the ministry news service Faith On View, Malone explores the underlying reasons young adults have abandoned the church, and offers insightful onramps for reaching them, then inviting them back into community…
First, why have those in the Millennial Generation, the precursors to Gen Z, soured on the church? It’s important to contrast the hard-wiring of both generations, since a ministry mindset geared for Millenials will miss the mark with Gen Z. Malone points to these church-flight catalysts among Millennials:
- They’ve been “appalled by the hypocrisy of the church.” They heard the church say that they believe in Jesus and His message of love for all people, but then experienced the church excluding, judging, and marginalizing whole people groups.
- They trust their own agency to live out the message and mission of Jesus, rather than an institution’s agency. “At heart,” says Malone, “they were rebels of the system, untrusting of traditional institutions to really help the world.”
- They are driven by innovation and activism, making them impatient with the slow-moving cogs of the institutional church. Malone says, “They would change the system, reinvent it, and in so doing they would leave their mark and change the world.”
In contrast, Gen Z is much more pragmatic and less idealistic than the Millennials. Malone says these characteristics mark the unique “life force” of young adults:
- They have a post-Christian mindset, which means they’re not invested enough in the church to be appalled by its hypocrisy. “They don’t have enough stake in the church’s messaging for a “hypocrite” charge,” says Malone.
- They’re more of an open book when it comes to Jesus. They don’t really harbor established expectations of Jesus, because they know much less about Him than previous generations.
- They are all about results, driven by pragmatism. They are interest in what works, more than what feels good. “Unlike the generation before them,” says Malone, “Gen Z will seek to master the institutions, not rebel against, or rebuild them. They will interrogate the past and present institutions, seek to stabilize them, and then find new, innovative ways to exploit them for their pragmatic, long term purposes.”
- They approach the perceived failings of the church with a thoughtful, deeper explorations of its claims to truth. “They will form old and new arguments against the Bible and the Christian religion altogether,” says Malone, “through deeper study and research than the generations before them.”
- They are commitment-oriented, but only when they’ve thoroughly vetted the people, institutions, and organizations that are inviting their commitment. Malone says, “They will be a generation willing to sacrifice for what they deem is worth sacrificing for: a pragmatic, moral cause.”
Malone suggests a set of questions today’s church must be ready to answer if it hopes to invite Gen Z back into community. They include:
- Is God good or is He not?
- What practical good is Christianity?
- Why is faith so important in the face of fragile material evidence?
- Is Christianity a viable pathway for a successful society?
- Why is the Bible something I should listen to?
- What is the practical outworking of this “Holy Spirit” in the lives of people?
- What does God and the Bible say about the proper use of systems and social power?
- Can we really trust Christianity?
The opportunity in front of us is rich with possibility—these “blank slate” Gen Z young adults, and their younger brothers and sisters in Gen Alpha, can experience a beautiful reset in their experience of Jesus and His church. But only if our posture is authentic, bold, thoughtful, and centered on Jesus. They are an intellectually and pragmatically vigorous generation, and they’re drawn to institutions and organizations that are likewise. The late Timothy Keller’s book The Reason for God is not only a profoundly attractive thematic hook for Gen Z, the book itself is crafted for its particular makeup.
Just for You!
My new book Editing Jesus is out. Just click on this link and you can download a pdf of a long excerpt from the book.
Help Is Here!
As we lean into a new year, with new ministry possibilities, check out our innovative, practical resources for help infusing your ministry environment with “rich soil” for transformation. Lent is just around the corner, so check out our simple, relational, resource Lenten TalkCards. And our newest resource is The Sacred Stories Project. This multi-media resource offers your people a simple, safe, and “normal” way to share aspects of their story in natural, genuine ways. And you get a more connected, honest, and “known” congregation. It’s four guided sessions with accompanying video segments from Adam Young, trauma counselor and host of the podcast The Place We Find Ourselves.
And check out our new resource Listening to Jesus Together. It’s a set of six carefully crafted “listening encounters” designed for three people to experience together—online or in-person. The goal is to give people in your congregation a weekly “reminder habit” to help them listen to Jesus in the context of a short-term small-community experience.
Next, Following Jesus is a curriculum resource you can use with both adults and teenagers in your church this fall—help them explore what an ABIDING/REMAINING relationship with Jesus is like. It’s an experiential, highly interactive, co-discovery way to invite people into deeper intimacy with Jesus.
And The Life of Jesus TalkCards is a simple, devotional way to invite small groups into the heart of Jesus.
Rick Lawrence is Executive Director of Vibrant Faith—he created the new curriculum Following Jesus. He’s editor of the Jesus-Centered Bible and author of 40 books, including his new release Editing Jesus: Confronting the Distorted Faith of the American Church, The Suicide Solution, The Jesus-Centered Life and Jesus-Centered Daily. He hosts the podcast Paying Ridiculous Attention to Jesus.