We have been exploring over the last number of blogs new research documenting the trends and moral preferences of the Gen Z youth culture (those born from 1998-2015).  We see that a sizable percentage of this new generation views the Christian Faith and absolute Truth (with a capital T) as out-of-date and unimportant.  While that thought alone is alarming, what really strikes close to home in my review of this generation’s trends is the larger percentage of Gen Z males (over females) that see little pertinence and relevance in Christianity, the church, and morality.

Using the good resources from the Barna Group (Barna Trends 2018) and Impact 360 Institute (Gen Z), we learn that Gen Z males demand more factual evidence to support their beliefs (51% vs. 41% Gen Z girls), choosing to see that there are real divisions and disagreements between science and the Bible (47% vs. 34% girls).  Among non-Christian Gen Z teens, males are at a higher percentage (close to 25%) to state that “Christianity is a collection of fairy tales” (as compared to 14% on Gen Z non-Christian females).  In this youth culture, more boys believe that religious folk are too judgmental (20% in the “strongly agree”) as opposed to Gen Z girls (13% “strongly agree”). As to morals, a higher percentage of boys than girls didn’t think lying or cheating on a spouse was necessarily wrong.  In both genders, the orthodox view of God as an “all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today” was only believed by 47% of males and 55% of females” (p. 75, Gen Z).

The authors of Gen Z (Impact 360 Institute) state, “Except for a few notable exceptions, the theological beliefs of teen boys and girls are similar.  But slightly fewer young men than women believe in salvation by faith in Jesus…The Christianity they know as teens is not rigorous enough to bother with as they get older…Many need to discover for themselves that God’s love for them has no limits and that a biblical worldview can stand up to tough scrutiny” (p. 74, 75, Gen Z).

What does this tell us?  As I look at this, it tells me that in many communities across our land, the church has not devised a plan to evangelize, to disciple aggressively, and to engage today’s youth with the realities of the Christian gospel.  The reason many churches don’t have youth in their midst is because they have not made youth ministry a priority in their staffing and in their outreach.  This kind of targeted evangelism and discipleship can be best expressed with a famous saying, “You get what you pay for.”  Many churches don’t even have a youth pastor/director, much less a youth budget that will include aggressive evangelism and discipleship.  This must change if we are going to reach this future generation.  There will have to be some people—maybe just one person—in each local church that passionately sounds the alarm to call the people of God to invest in reaching today’s youth.

This research also tells me that while girls and boys must both be reached, it is likely that more energy and strategy may be needed to reach the boys than the girls.  Churches need to take a look at the youth in their community and see what things interest them.  Perhaps it’s sports, music, drama, or something else.  Here’s an earth-moving thought: why not take the time to talk to some Gen Z youth and ask them what will get them interested in church?  You never know, they may give some astounding ideas!

In any effect, the time for churches to sit on the sidelines is now over.  Action is needed.  A large percentage of a generation, especially the boys, hangs in the balance if something is not done.