{"id":32493,"date":"2022-09-10T16:11:42","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/catching-some-zs\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:11:42","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:11:42","slug":"catching-some-zs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/catching-some-zs\/","title":{"rendered":"Catching Some Z’s"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How Can the Church Reach the Most Connected and Distracted Generation Ever?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By Mark Moring<\/em><\/p>\n

So, you\u2019re a youth pastor, and you\u2019re talking to your teens about a Very Important Topic.<\/p>\n

A few might be making eye contact with you, maybe even taking an occasional glance at that nifty PowerPoint you stayed up all night putting together. But most have their heads bowed\u2014not in prayer, but glued to that little glowing screen in the palms of their hands.<\/p>\n

The good news is that many of them really are paying attention. Many of the kids in Generation Z\u2014those born since the mid-1990\u2014are proficient multitaskers. They can talk on the phone while texting a friend while posting on Instagram while watching TV while doing their homework while \u2026 you get the point. They\u2019re wired in all directions\u2014including into you and your presentation\u2014so they\u2019re engaged and totally getting it.<\/p>\n

The bad news is that for each of those kids, there are likely just as many who aren\u2019t tuned in to your lesson because Z\u2019s are easily distracted by that same little glowing screen in their hands. Few things are calling out to them more loudly than their smartphones with their addicting apps and social media feeds.<\/p>\n

Chart of US population by generation<\/div>\n

But the great news is that while it may be complex to connect with Gen Z, the payoff down the road could really shake up the Church in ways we can\u2019t even imagine. Decades of declining attendance, lost faith, rejection of morals and authority and absolutes and truth\u2014all those things just might make a comeback. Might.<\/p>\n

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In his introduction to Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World (BakerBooks), James Emery White writes that Z\u2019s \u201cwill be the most religious force in the West and the heart of the missional challenge facing the church.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like the baby boomers, Generation X, and millennials before them, Gen Z\u2019s have their own ways of seeing the world\u2014even if it is primarily through that little glowing screen. And, as always, parents and pastors must know their audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be students of the culture,\u201d says Jim Burns, executive director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. \u201cWe have to look at who and what is affecting their generation. And it\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

10 Traits of Z Nation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What do you need to know about the kids in Generation Z? Here are some of the most important things.<\/p>\n

1. They\u2019re everywhere. Gen Z\u2014those born between 1996 and 2014\u2014makes up 24.3 percent of the U.S. population, according to U.S. Census estimates for 2016. That\u2019s more than millennials (22.1 percent), more than Gen X (19 percent), and more than baby boomers (22.9 percent). By 2020, The Washington Post says, Z\u2019s will have about $3 trillion in purchasing power.<\/p>\n

2. They\u2019ve always been wired. They\u2019ve never known a world without the internet or cell phones; younger Z\u2019s have never known a world without smartphones. Google has always existed. They take Wi-Fi for granted.<\/p>\n

They spend between six and nine hours a day absorbing media, according to a survey from Common Sense Media. Among teens, 92 percent go online daily, Pew Research reports.<\/p>\n

Their preferred mode of communication is digital, primarily through social media and texting. Drew Wike, director of student ministries at Greenwood Baptist Church in Florence, South Carolina, recently noticed some of his students sitting together in a restaurant. \u201cThey weren\u2019t talking to each other,\u201d he says. \u201cThey were texting each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. They\u2019ve seen porn. And maybe lots of it. No other generation has had pornography so readily available, literally at their fingertips. A survey of college students in New England found 73 percent had seen porn online before they turned 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cSexting\u201d\u2014sending and receiving sexually explicit text messages\u2014starts early for many Z\u2019s. A survey of middle-school-aged students in Los Angeles found 25 percent said they\u2019d received a sext.<\/p>\n

A smaller study of college students by professors at Drexel University found more than half (54 percent) reported sending a sext before they turned 18, often as a form of flirting.<\/p>\n

4. They\u2019re more accepting of sexual fluidity. Gen Z supports gay marriage and transgender rights. For them, such things are part of everyday life. It would be rare for a Z to not have a friend from the LGBT community.<\/p>\n

Additionally, a 2016 survey of gender and sexuality by J. Walter Thompson Company, a New York-based marketing firm, found only 48 percent of those 13 to 20 years old described themselves as \u201ccompletely heterosexual,\u201d compared to 65 percent of those 21 to 34.<\/p>\n

In his book, White describes the Gen Z attitude as \u201can increasing sexual fluidity that refuses either the homosexual or heterosexual label. The idea is that both labels are repressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. They\u2019re racially diverse . . . and multiracial. Z\u2019s have friends from a variety of ethnicities. About half of kids under 5 in the U.S. are ethnic minorities, according to the U.S. Census. Six of the 15 most common last names in the United States were of Hispanic origin in 2010, compared to none of the top 15 in 1990, the Census Bureau says. If your church\u2019s congregation is not diverse, Z\u2019s will wonder why.<\/p>\n

And when Z\u2019s get married, they\u2019re more likely than their forebears to wed someone of another ethnic group. About 1 in 6 marriages today are of an interracial couple, according to Pew Research. In 1980, the rate was fewer than 1 in 10.<\/p>\n

6. They\u2019re pretty independent. Gen Xers, repeatedly warned about \u201chelicopter parenting,\u201d have reacted by giving their kids\u2014Z\u2019s\u2014plenty of space. This hands-off parenting has yielded both pros and cons.<\/p>\n

On the pro side, Z\u2019s are pretty self-directed and confident. On the con side, they\u2019re not necessarily equipped with much real-life wisdom or many boundaries. In an age of cyber-bullying, sexting, internet porn, and hooking up\u2014not to mention hacking, scams, and identity theft\u2014the consequences can be dangerous.<\/p>\n

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See also  8 Ways to Persevere in Ministry<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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7. They\u2019re aware of a troubled planet. Most Z\u2019s have grown up since 9\/11 and have only known a world where terrorist attacks are the norm. Additionally, they\u2019ve lived through the Great Recession, and they\u2019ve seen their parents, or many of their friends\u2019 parents, struggle through job losses, foreclosures, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a hopeful generation, but realistic,\u201d says Josh Branum, family pastor at Faithbridge Church in Jacksonville, Florida. \u201cThey see the world for what it is. They\u2019re not afraid, but they\u2019re going into it with their eyes wide open.\u201d<\/p>\n

8. They\u2019re justice-minded. Partly because of No. 7 above, Z\u2019s want to make a difference in the world. Like millennials before them, they\u2019re keenly aware of justice issues concerning poverty, human trafficking, refugees, racism, and more.<\/p>\n

They want opportunities to have an impact, and they\u2019re likely to become generous givers to charitable organizations as adults.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re kids who volunteer, who have a heart for mission and justice, who sign up for things that previous generations didn\u2019t,\u201d says Burns. \u201cIt\u2019s part of their DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n

9. They\u2019re post-Christian. Almost a quarter (23 percent) of America\u2019s adults\u2014and a third of millennials\u2014are \u201cnones,\u201d claiming no religious identity at all, according to Pew Research. Many Z\u2019s are growing up in homes where there\u2019s no religion whatsoever, and they may have no experience of religion.<\/p>\n

\u201cGen Z is very secularized,\u201d says Rick Eubanks, student minister at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Burleson, Texas. \u201cPrevious generations grew up with some Judeo-Christian values of the past, at least as a reference point. Today\u2019s generation has little to no acquaintance with the gospel.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we have to start with square one: This is a Bible. It has 66 books. It has your story and God\u2019s story. We have to speak in simple terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

10. They\u2019re open to faith. Although only 4 in 10 attend religious services weekly, 78 percent of older Gen Z\u2019s say they believe in God, according to a survey by Northeastern University. They view religious leaders as better role models than celebrities, professional athletes, or political leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re hungry for spiritual things,\u201d says Eubanks. \u201cThey\u2019re seeking something outside of themselves, which can be a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are more characteristics to Z\u2019s, of course, but White sums it up like this:<\/p>\n

First, they are lost. They are not simply living in and being shaped by a post-Christian cultural context. They do not even have a memory of the gospel. The degree of spiritual illiteracy is simply stunning. \u2026 [Second], they are leaderless. Little if any direction is coming from their families, and even less from their attempts to access guidance from the internet. \u2026 So how can they be reached?<\/p>\n

Reaching the Z’s<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As Burns notes, you can\u2019t reach the Z\u2019s unless you understand them and their world. He takes his cue from Paul in Acts 17:22-31, addressing the Greeks at Mars Hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe talked to them in their language,\u201d says Burns. \u201cWe have to do the same with Generation Z. We\u2019ve got to listen to what they listen to, watch what they watch, read what they read.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burns and others recommend that parents and youth leaders get on Snapchat and Instagram, the social media platforms of choice for Z\u2019s. Observe their behavior and posts, but don\u2019t necessarily chime in. \u201cWe should be watching, not stalking,\u201d says Burns.<\/p>\n

Derek Brown, student minister at Logos Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama, adds, \u201cI think it\u2019s helpful for students to know that people do watch them on social media, and not just their peers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eubanks says Z\u2019s \u201cdivulge who they are\u201d online, so he pays attention to their activity. \u201cThrough social media, I can learn a lot about what\u2019s going on in their lives,\u201d Eubanks says.<\/p>\n

If he sees something of concern, he\u2019ll contact that student and ask if he can help. \u201cThey\u2019re not offended, because they know I\u2019m not trying to pry, but that I love them. If you genuinely love them and incarnate into their culture, you earn that right.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Z\u2019s might disagree with the advice that adults should follow them on social media. Read one teen\u2019s words of wisdom in \u201cFrom a Z\u2019s perspective.\u201d)<\/p>\n

And like teens of all generations before them, Z\u2019s struggle with self-image and doubt. But unlike previous generations, Z\u2019s actually attempt to measure their worth through such counterfeit indicators as the number of \u201cfriends\u201d and \u201clikes\u201d on social media. So it\u2019s vital to remind them they\u2019re made in God\u2019s image, fearfully and wonderfully so.<\/p>\n

Even today\u2019s youth group meetings should look different from those of a decade ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs pastors, we have to connect with them in mediums they\u2019re going to use,\u201d says Branum. Presentations should \u201cbe a little more creative because these kids are used to being entertained. We have to be engaging. And if they prefer to learn things visually, we have to accommodate that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eubanks adds, \u201cTheir attention span is shorter. They think in terms of small sound bites, quick quips and quotes, memes, videos, images, and emojis. A 35-minute lecture probably isn\u2019t the best way to reach students these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stresses keeping the floor open for discussion because Z\u2019s are curious and inquisitive.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow comfortable are we in allowing them to interrupt?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to create a culture where asking questions is OK. If we don\u2019t, we\u2019re missing a valuable opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mark Moring<\/h2>\n

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Mark is a freelance writer in Atlanta with a heart for teens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n