We have been exploring in a series of blogs what our new youth culture, Gen Z (born 1999 to 2015) thinks about life, God, the world, gender identity, and truth.  Today we take a few moments to see what they think about the Church.  There are positive things that Gen Z’ers see in the Church, but there are also deeply disturbing issues within them about the Church that should sound the alarm for any church leader seeking to reach and to disciple them in the gospel.

I’m grateful for the resources from the Barna Group (their book Barna Trends 2018) and Impact 360 Institute (their book Gen Z) that have stimulated my thought and the thoughts of many who are reading this regular blog.  Their “think-tank” research has shown the following positive things that Gen Z’ers see in the Church:

• Those that do go to Church (more don’t go than do) find their local congregation a place to get answers to some of the issues they are facing (77%).
• Those that go to Church believe that “the church is relevant” for living today (79%).
• Those that go to Church feel that they don’t have to hide behind a masque.  They feel accepted for who they really are (71%).

While this appears initially promising, there are some negative things expressed about the Church that are, in my opinion, alarming and indicative of the kind of post-Christian culture that we’re in today:

• Over half (53%) deeply struggle with the church’s doctrines in opposition to the science that they learn daily in the classroom.
• Largely due to the moral failure of pastors, the sex abuse cases seen in the Roman Catholic Church (and other churches too), plus other high profile cases involving key church leaders, 42% of Gen Z’ers see the Church as hypocritical.  Let this sink in if you love the Church like I do.  Close to 1 out of every 2 teenagers see a lack of credibility, authenticity, and legitimacy in their local church.  And in many locales and places, given what has happened, I can’t blame them.
• Of those Gen Z youth that profess faith in Christ, only 4% of them claim to have a “biblical worldview.”  Alarming!
• When asked about some of the things that they struggle with in the Faith, here’s some of the most common replies:

1. How can such a good God allow so much evil and suffering in the world?
2. Why do so many professing Christians look so “godly” on Sunday, yet live like “hypocrites” the other 6 days of the week?
3. Science and the Bible are in conflict with each other, making me question the Bible’s reliability (This is probably the biggest one).
4. In the history of Christianity (both in the Bible and in Church history), there are too many injustices seen.
5. Some of the miracles and wonders seen in the Bible are hard for me to believe.  Related to this is the idea that there is “no such thing as “Truth,” but there are “facts.”  In their world, moral relativism abounds (“what may be true for you may not be true for me”).

What does this tell us?  As stated in previous blogs, we must sound the alarm and start doing something about the evangelism and discipleship of our youth.  Praise God for some churches that I know that are taking this seriously, but there are many who are weak and ill-equipped, struggling simply to keep the doors open each Sunday for the older generations (Boomers, Elders) to come and to “escape” from the rapid changing culture that we live in.  Please see this view not as a “pass judgment” statement, but as a hard-knocks-of-life truth, seen from my own experience and travels.

We must make the evangelism of our youth and their discipleship an intentional commitment.  As one person I heard on a podcast from Impact 360 Institute say, “there must be less bubble wrap, and more challenge.  There must be less entertainment, and more training.”  We must talk to our teens about the tough issues with a spirit of authenticity and vulnerability.  We must go after them with a passion for their souls and with honesty in our character.  We must sharpen our own intellects over the issues involving science and the Bible (from good Christian scholars in the science world, and there are many), and then intentionally disciple our youth in these matters, loving them all the way until they see the beauty of the Faith, and the Truth of our God.

Yes, the stakes are very high right now, but the rewards are waiting for those who commit to make this kind of investment.  And so also are the consequences for those who look the other way……..