Waking Up

God is certainly concerned with perpetuating the message of the gospel to generations to come.  The Bible tells us that following the Israelites' entrance into the Promised Land, there came a generation that did not know God, according to Judges chapter 2.  Those who have been around on this earth for a while are called to build a foundation for those who will come behind.  Psalm 78 (ESV) states:
3 things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
5 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,
6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments...

Next week, the Great American Prayer Revival, GAP 26, will be covering America in prayer - in all 50 states, with a livestream each evening at 7:00, available through gap-event.org. Monday will be devoted to Youth and Gen Z, and guests that night will include Lucas Miles of Turning Point USA Faith and Tonya Prewett of Unite US.  

Now, the co-host of CBN's podcast, Into the Supernatural, Jen Lilley, has launched a new ministry designed to energize college students in the Lord.  CBN.com reports that it is called, "Wake Up Your Campus," and a 4-week campus tour will begin in late March.  So far, the building blocks and resources are being put into place, and 33 campuses have expressed interest.  The article relates: "Lilley’s upcoming campus events center on her recently released book, a 365-day devotional, 'Wake Up Your Faith.'” and she "said she is sending kits to the campus ministry coordinators ahead of time."   There's even a scavenger hunt that leads to ministry leaders.  The article relates:

She compared members of Generation Z to the teenagers and 20-somethings of the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of whom were captivated by the hippie and free-love culture that dominated the age. 

Lilley says: "I find that there’s a lot in common with the ‘Jesus People’ and the hippies in the 70s with the modern-day Gen Zs, kids who are in college right now,” adding, “What the similarity is is they’re seeking truth in a lot of the wrong places, but they’re done with gimmicks, they’re done with sales pitches. They just — they don’t like division — they really just want truth.”

Her desire is to foster discipleship in the hearts of young people. Lilley relates, based on the parable of the sower in Matthew 13: “The enemy will come and he will try to take that seed right out of their hearts...So getting them plugged in [to a local church] is definitely a strategic key and that’s definitely how God’s Kingdom works.”

By the way, Jen Lilley's co-host on Into the Supernatural, Billy Hallowell, will be a guest on The Meeting House on Faith Radio coming up soon, from the 2026 National Religious Broadcasters Convention, in advance of the release of the documentary, Investigating the Supernatural: Angels & Demons.

There is certainly an interest in spiritual things - and keep in mind, all that is "spiritual" is not Christian or even godly.  It's important that the supernatural hunger is being channeled in the right direction.  David Kinnaman of the Barna Group, in that CBN article, said among young people, "Engagement is outpacing conviction."  

While the expression of our Christian faith can, and I would dare say, should have an emotional component, our faith cannot be based solely on experience.  We have to have truth - that must be the foundation.  So, a person who comes to faith in Jesus should be directed to become a true disciple through careful study and application of the Word. Spiritual awakening should not be a one-time event; ideally, it is a process.  We have to be careful to recognize what God wants to do in our lives and be committed to spiritual growth in the Lord.