Ministry to the emerging generation often feels heavier than it used to. The questions are deeper. The culture is louder. And in many churches, the seats are emptier. But the real crisis isn’t rebellion, it’s unfamiliarity. Jean Twenge’s research shows nearly a third of Gen Z has no religious affiliation. For many, Jesus isn’t someone they’ve rejected. He’s someone they’ve never truly met.
That should move us, not to panic, but to presence. This generation is spiritually curious, hungry for purpose, justice, and belonging. The Church still has what they’re searching for, if we’re willing to lead differently. Discipleship today must be slower, more relational, and rooted in trust. It’s not about doing more, it’s about showing up in real, consistent ways.
The future of the Church is not doomed. It’s demanding, yes, but full of possibility. When we trade performance for presence and programs for relationships, young people don’t just attend. They come alive. And that’s where real renewal begins.
Understanding the Emerging Generation: Listening Before Leading
We can’t disciple the emerging generation without first understanding their world. They’ve grown up digitally connected but emotionally burdened by anxiety, loneliness, and global unrest.
They’re emotionally aware but often isolated. They care deeply about justice and purpose but feel stuck, unsure how to make an impact. Spiritually curious but biblically unfamiliar, they’re sceptical, not because they’re hardened, but because they’ve seen Christianity misrepresented or mishandled.
Young people say things like, “I believe in something bigger. I just don’t know what to call it,” or “I don’t hate the Church... I just don’t feel like I belong there.” The messages they receive from media, school, and sometimes home are complex and contradictory, and many perceive the Church as judgmental or indifferent.
The data confirms this crisis. The 2023 Surgeon General’s report calls loneliness a health crisis. Gen Z reports the highest social disconnection, which deeply affects their mental and spiritual health. COVID compounded this isolation with grief and disorientation. As the Fuller Youth Institute puts it, many youth carry “losses and unresolved questions… like rocks in their backpacks.”
And yet, there is hope.
What the Emerging Generation Is Looking For
Here’s the beautiful truth: when we truly listen, the emerging generation tells us what they need. Barna’s Open Generation study found nearly 80% of teens say faith conversations work best with people they trust. They don’t want lecturesthey want relationships. They want to explore faith alongside someone, not be talked at.
This is a profound opportunity for the Church.
Instead of asking, “Why aren’t young people showing up anymore?” maybe we should ask, “Do young people see themselves reflected here? Do they feel like they matter?” Are they valued?
Practising Revival: What’s Working and Why
Revival among the emerging generation won’t come from louder worship or flashier events, but from quiet conversations, deep relationships, and patient, intentional discipleship. The practices that spark lasting spiritual transformation are often simple, relational, and grounded in everyday faithfulness.
David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock, in Faith for Exiles, describe "resilient disciples" as those who pursue Jesus in community, through cultural discernment, spiritual practices, meaningful relationships, and vocational discipleship. These five anchors echo and reinforce what I have discovered to be effective in next gen ministry.
First, we must trade performance for presence. Sit with young people in their doubts instead of rushing to fix them. Be safe spaces where they wrestle with identity, faith, and purpose. This aligns with Kinnaman and Matlock’s emphasis on spiritual disciplines—unscripted, personal encounters with Jesus through prayer, reflection, and vulnerability. Discipleship is less about giving answers and more about making space for questions to be asked and then walking with young people through their questions.
Second, discipleship must be relational. Long-term investment and real mentorship—one life at a time—is where transformation happens. Resilient faith doesn’t grow in isolation. It is formed in meaningful intergenerational relationships that reflect trust, humility, and consistency. When a young person knows someone will show up for them week after week, it changes everything. Chap Clark speaks to the need for every young person to have 5 adults outside of their parents who are supporting them, praying for them, and present in their lives.
Third, help youth engage with culture rather than retreat from it. They are already immersed in media, technology, and a pluralistic world. Kinnaman and Matlock highlight the need for cultural discernment—not shielding young people but teaching them to see through a biblical lens. Help them hear God’s voice amid the noise, to ask good questions, and to embody truth with grace in digital and in-person spaces.
Fourth, build bridges of trust—not just between young people and the church, but across generations. Young people need adults who remember their name, show up consistently, and believe in them before they believe in themselves. Relationships must extend beyond programming into life-sharing. As Faith for Exiles emphasises, intergenerational connections are a primary way faith becomes resilient, when young people see faith lived out with honesty, kindness and hope.
Fifth, care for the mentors leading young people. Healthy ministry flows from healthy leaders. Adults who model a deep, lived faith—who are practising their spiritual disciplines, engaging their vocation as mission, and finding identity in Christ—can offer a rooted and credible witness. This reflects the vocational discipleship emphasis from Faith for Exiles: connecting faith with every area of life, not just ministry settings.
Across the country, I believe quieter, intentional, rooted approaches are showing promise. When youth experience discipleship that’s honest, relational, and culturally engaged, their faith doesn't just survive—it deepens.
This generation doesn’t need another program—they need mentors who show up consistently, friends who engage tough questions, and adults who genuinely care. And they need a mission, not hype or slogans, but a real sense that their life matters now, not “later.”
Seeing Young People as Leaders, Today
Leadership development is key. Trusting young people with real responsibility—handing them the microphone, literally or figuratively, transforms engagement. Mistakes happen, but youth seek journey companions, not perfection.
One major shift is seeing young people not as the future Church, but the Church now.
Leadership development is about helping youth discover the extraordinary gifts God placed in them. It’s not about filling positions or passing knowledge but about seeing who they are in Christ and what they can do walking with Him. When we give them space to discover and use their gifts in service, faith shifts from attendance to purpose.
Leadership doesn’t need to be flashy. It starts with relationships, trust, and small steps.
Invite young people into mentorship and coaching that challenge and support them. Give low-barrier serving opportunities—helping with tech, leading prayer, welcoming guests, organising events with ownership, not just participation.
Hudson Knox shares his experience as a young person in his church and how being trusted with leadership impacted him: “Because they put me in a leadership position at such a young age, I felt like they trusted me.” That trust kept him engaged.
Youth don’t need entertainment—they need empowerment. Connect leadership to real life: faith shaping school, work, friendships, and failures. Instead of handing out titles, give them problems to solve and space to make a real impact.
Celebrate growth, not just results. Leadership is messy, but in that mess, discipleship takes root.
Tony Morgan said, “Healthy churches mobilise people to do ministry. Stuck churches talk about it in meetings.” Let’s stop talking about youth leadership as a future goal and start creating space now.
When trusted with real responsibility in relational environments, youth don’t just show up, they rise.
Full Of Hope
Discipling the Emerging Generation isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing differently. It’s about presence, trust, and creating space for young people to encounter Jesus authentically.
When we create relational, honest, empowering spaces, young people don’t just show up—they come alive. And that’s when revival happens—not through programs, but through people choosing to pursue Jesus in an honest relationship with one another.
References
Alpha Canada. (2024). Open Generation Report. https://alphacanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Open-Gen-Report.pdf
Barna. Gen Z Vol. 2. Common Sense Media. (2019). Report on media use.
Fuller Youth Institute. (2023). Help a lonely generation find belonging. https://fulleryouthinstitute.org/blog/help-a-lonely-generation-find-belonging
Hill, D. (2018). Alongside. New Growth Press.
Hunt, C. (2023). The Longer Haul. https://thelongerhaul.com/student-leaders-in-youth-ministry/
Kinnaman, D., & Matlock, M. (2019). Faith for Exiles. Baker Books.
Morgan, T. (2022). #UnstuckChurch, Episode 257. https://tonymorganlive.com
Oestreicher, M. (2020). Youth Ministry in a Season of Disruption.
PLNU Viewpoint. (2024). Why is Gen Z disconnecting from the church? https://viewpoint.pointloma.edu/why-is-gen-z-disconnecting-from-the-church/
Powell, K., Mulder, J., & Griffin, B. (2016). Growing Young. Baker Books.
Tilley, J. (2024). A Creative Exercise to Rethink Student Ministry. https://ministryaccelerator.org/a-creative-exercise-to-rethink-student-ministry-2bb79bc417b7
Twenge, J. (2017). iGen. Atria Books.
White, J. (2017). Meet Generation Z. Baker Books.
