Why Gen Z Is Coming Back to Jesus, and How to Invite Them

Key takeaways

• Young people are open. Barna's research shows Gen Z and millennials answering more affirmatively than older adults when asked if they are more open to God than before the pandemic.
• Identity is the deeper question. Sanaz believes much of the return to church comes from a search for who we are, and from the discovery that endless freedom does not satisfy.
• Boldness needs roots. The panel worried about faith that follows trends, and pointed to discipleship as the answer.
• Young people want mentors. Many have no spiritual father or mother at home, and the church can open its doors and its homes.
• An invitation is the simplest step. The panel cited figures that about eight in ten unchurched people say they would come if personally invited.

A game, then a trend worth talking about

This conversation on the Beyond the Letter podcast opened with a round of "scripture or cap," where Pastor Samuel Rodriguez read out sayings and the pastors had to decide if they were in the Bible. "God helps those who help themselves," "Everything happens for a reason" and "This too shall pass" were all called cap. "Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" was recognized as Proverbs 4:23.

Then Rodriguez turned to the subject he wanted to explore. With Holy Week behind them by the time the episode aired, he pointed to a hunger for faith among young people and played a clip from Barna. In it, Barna's CEO describes a 2022 study that asked people whether they were more open to God than before the pandemic. Young people, Gen Z and millennials, answered yes more often than older adults, and the surprise was enough that he asked his head of research to double check the numbers.

What the kids are doing

One of the pastors at the table, who works with children and students at Patriot, said his experience matches the research. Kids in third through fifth grade are opening their Bibles, not only carrying them. Middle schoolers take notes during sermons and ask questions, and some want to lead small groups.

He also described parents who joined the volunteer team because a child pushed them to. One daughter kept asking whether her mom had finished her background check yet. Nine-year-olds, Rodriguez added, do not need a junior version of the faith: "They get the full Holy Spirit just like you, just like me."

Identity, freedom and structure

Sanaz, who holds a degree in sociology, said she always asks why a trend exists. Her answer is that "the end root of what everybody is trying to figure out while they're on this planet is who they are." She described a generation told it could build any identity it wanted, and she believes that much freedom became overwhelming and left people without fruit.

She compared it to a teenager with a strict parent who envies the friend with no rules, only to find that the friend simply wants a parent who loves them. People are now asking for guidelines, she said, and are finding that "freedom actually comes through boundaries." Church, in her telling, answers the question of who we are, where we belong and why we are here.

She added that men in particular have lost a clear identity in society, and that many are returning because the church values them and invites them to lead and provide. Rodriguez noted another report that young men are among the largest groups starting to attend.

From deconstructing to reconstructing

Rodriguez, a millennial, said his generation went through a wave of deconstruction, and that some of it celebrated confusion. Gen Z and Gen Alpha, he observed, seem to be reconstructing. He also remembered a conversation years ago with a leader who explained that the church has always seen cycles of decline and renewal, and that what looks like decline in one season is followed by a new surge.

Pastor Joseph tied this to a moment in his own life. When he considered planting a church in a rough part of Aurora, Colorado, his father reminded him that where sin abounds, God's grace abounds all the more. Whatever a generation is struggling with, Joseph said, God has an answer that meets people where they are.

Will the boldness last?

Sanaz raised a concern. This generation is used to being on camera and to following trends, and she does not want its faith to rise and fall like one. She worried about what happens when a structure stops serving someone and "we can just up and leave anything at any time," with something new one scroll away. She wants to sustain the hunger in an age when little holds anyone's attention.

The panel's answer was discipleship. Another pastor reminded the group that Paul in Acts 14 went back to the cities that had thrown him out, strengthening the believers so they would continue in the faith. Joseph pointed to Paul's words in Galatians:

I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”,

(Galatians 1:6, WEB)

The panel also noted that many young believers come from homes where nobody models what a godly husband, wife or parent looks like. One pastor spoke of a family member who is about to marry and is looking for a mentor for exactly that reason. Rodriguez said that spiritual fathers and mothers are what many young people long for, and that empty nesters could open their homes and get involved in a church's youth and young adult ministries. Jesus said "follow me," he observed, and he did not say "watch me."

One pastor described a gathering the night before, where forty to forty-five young people under twenty-eight sat in small groups with an older mentor at each. He was impressed by their maturity, and a mentor later showed him a group text from young women excited about being mentored.

Inviting people in

Rodriguez shared figures he had looked up: eighty to eighty-two percent of unchurched people say they would attend if personally invited, and about one in four people invited actually come. Yet many churchgoers have never invited anyone. He connected this to the Great Commission, noting that Matthew 28 says some of the disciples doubted at the moment Jesus sent them.

Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

(Matthew 28:19-20, WEB)

Several people at the table admitted that fear of rejection holds them back. One pastor said that for years he did not invite people because of insecurity. Sanaz said she can be bolder with a stranger at Starbucks than with her own mother, whose family background makes the conversation painful. A third voice recalled that a coworker invited him to church every Friday for years. He said no each time, and when he finally gave his life to Christ, she was the first person he called.

Gabriel offered a way to carry the pressure. "There's something liberating and freeing about the fact that you don't have any power," he said, since the work belongs to the Holy Spirit and the messenger is only the messenger.

The thirty-day challenge

Rodriguez closed with a challenge. Over the next thirty days, invite someone you know to church, or to read the Bible together, and also encourage or pray for someone you do not know. He told of inviting a store clerk in Miami to a church, and of a conversation in a coffee shop that ended with a photo and a surprise: the barista's own church had been praying for that very place.

He offered one sentence to hold on to: "Ten seconds of awkwardness could mean eternity shifting for a human being." He asked listeners to share with the team, on Instagram, whether they were accepted or turned down, because God celebrates the stepping out and not only the fruit.

What this means for you

If you are a believer, you may be closer to an open door than you think. Think of one person you have been praying for, and ask them to come with you, whether to a service or to read the Word together. The panel's point is that you do not need the perfect words, and the results are God's.

If you are older in the faith, consider who in your church or neighborhood might need a place at your table. Many young people are not looking for answers delivered from a distance. They are looking for someone who will say "come follow me" and then walk beside them.