Do you have a TikTok account? If you have a teenager living in your home or young adults attending your church, they are likely familiar with this video-based social media platform. Most marketing experts agree that TikTok is “the next big thing,” and it’s where Generation Z lives online.
Read MoreThe ultimate goal of the Church is discipleship, to guide people into modeling their lives and behaviors after Christ. After all, Jesus commanded his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), not to simply get people in the doors of a church building.
Read MoreIn a recent conversation with this Gen Z Pastor, we discussed what she would like other church leaders to know about reaching members of her generation, along with her own hopes as new pastor.
Read MoreMany of us fear the unknown, that which is “other” or foreign to us. However, in our present information age, there is little that is actually unknown. Through Google, nearly every question can be answered with a few clicks, and information is available at our fingertips. This is the world that Generation Z was born into and grew up in.
Read MoreAs society went into lock-down during the early stages of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, for many of us in church leadership—youth pastors, in particular—we were nervously waiting for a mental health fall-out as our students lost their in-person communities and connections. We got online youth group and Zoom small groups going as quickly as possible. We made sure to over-communicate the ways students and parents could contact us. We planned virtual social hangouts and coffee hours in case any student needed to talk or see our faces. We expected our students to be knocking down our digital doors with care needs, prayer requests, and other crisis concerns.
Read MoreIn their book Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church, authors Kara Powell, Brad Griffin, and Jake Mulder studied churches that were highly successful in engaging emerging generations. They define keychain leaders as “pastoral and congregational leaders who are acutely aware of the keys on their keychain; and intentional about entrusting and empowering all generations, including teenagers and emerging adults, with their own set of keys” (53).
Read MoreMany church leaders have great intentions about involving Generation Z college students and teenagers in leadership roles within their churches. However, practically speaking, what does this look like?
Read MoreIt is well-documented that Generation Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation to be born. They are also a generation that is passionate about social justice and have a deep concern for marginalized and oppressed people.
Read MoreMembers of generation Z care about a lot of the same topics as previous generations, and they are often seen as having the potential to be more rounded socially and educationally than members of previous generations, including millennials, who are currently considered the best-educated generation to have lived.
Read MoreThe Thanksgiving holiday has once again passed us by, and I hope that you enjoyed time with friends and loved ones over a lovely, delectable feast.
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