Catching Some Z's

When we see God at work, we can be encouraged in our own faith.  Stories of transformation can be inspiring and help to motivate us to pray and seek Him as to how He would use us for His glory.  Surveys, like I feature on "Survey Thursday," help us to put our finger on the pulse of how God is moving.  In Isaiah 43 (ESV), we find a sweeping description of how God desires to bring people into a saving knowledge of Christ:
5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. ”
8 Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears!

The enigmatic generation of young people, known as Generation Z, or Gen Z, which encompasses those born between 1997 and 2012, making them roughly 14 to 29 years old, has shown reported signs of a deeper religious commitment.  In a blog post from last October, I related this information from an article at The Washington Stand website that cited the Barna Group's State of the Church report:

The research highlighted a notable uptick in spiritual interest, faith activity, and even signs of revival, particularly among younger Christians. “The headline,” as Barna Group stated, is that “Millennials and Gen Z Christians are attending church more frequently than before and much more often than are older generations. The typical Gen Z churchgoer now attends 1.9 weekends per month, while Millennial churchgoers average 1.8 times — a steady upward shift since the lows seen during the pandemic.”

CBN produced a film called The Revival Generation, which according to The Christian Post, "..."Detailing some of the large revivals on college campuses in recent years, the film portrays thousands of Gen Z students filling stadiums as they pursue healing and faith through Christ, which attendees at the red-carpet premiere said hurting young people are desperately seeking."  

But, a recent Pew Research study shows that there is still work to do regarding that generation.  A Lifeway Research article including Pew data concluded: "Based on some specific findings and anecdotal evidence, many have purported that young adults are experiencing a religious revival. While Pew allows that some changes may be taking place that have yet to be captured in national surveys, they say there is 'no clear evidence that this kind of nationwide religious resurgence is underway.'”

But, the Pew reports shows some positive signs, the analysis states that among those under 30: "57% identify with a religion, 32% pray daily, 33% say religion is very important in their lives, and 31% attend religious services at least monthly."  That's way behind those 60+ in terms of identifying with a religion, praying daily, and saying religion is very important to them. But the younger crowd has pulled almost even with those in the 41-60 range, and has surpassed the rate of church attendance of those in their 30's.

But, there is a slight uptick on the young end of Generation Z, Lifeway Research states: "Compared to those born from 1995-2002, those born from 2003-2007 are slightly more likely to identify with a religion (61% v. 55%), pray daily (35% v. 30%), and say religion is very important to their lives (37% v. 32%). They are much more likely to say they attend religious services at least monthly (41% v. 26%)."

When you start digging, you find a pocket within Gen Z that is showing promising signs. Referring to its recent Religious Landscape Study, Pew's report states:

However, today’s youngest adults (people born in 2003 or later) are no less religious than slightly older people born between 1995 and 2002. And in some ways, today’s youngest adults are more religious than today’s second-youngest adults.

In the 2023-24 RLS, for example, 30% of adults born between 2003 and 2006 say they attend religious services at least once a month. That’s somewhat higher than the 24% of people born between 1995 and 2002.

Anecdotally, there are signs that there is a move of God taking place in this younger generation.  Greg Laurie wrote a few months ago: "Today, things are changing in America, and they’re changing for the better. There’s a new wind blowing across the nation, not only for the older generation, but among the young as well."  He added: "The last time I felt such cultural stirring was during the Jesus Movement. And it is my prayer that we are headed toward another great spiritual awakening."

And, statistically, you could point to some of the Barna data that I had commented on earlier and even this new Pew data, which, along with Lifeway Research's analysis, seems to have more of a "grain of salt" mentality.  But, it's a great message to the Church to mobilize to reach the next generation.  That comes in the form of prayer, preaching, and programming.   At Faith Radio, we are in the process of positioning ourselves to reach the generations to come. Each of us can evaluate what we are doing to continue to cultivate the seeds of faith that are being planted in the hearts of the next generations.  We don't need to sleep or "catch some Z's" on this, we need to wake up and sense how God is working among Gen Z.