Recently, I had the joy of speaking to more than 60 gen-Z staff at The Salvation Army’s Newport Adventure Camp in Muskoka, Ont. When I told the group that, for the first time, studies show that gen-Z men are leading the numbers of those coming to faith in Jesus, the whole room spontaneously broke into applause, as the young men high-fived each other. 

Later, during a time of worship, I was moved to see a group of them form a circle and sit together on the floor in prayer. After the closing, it was the young men who gathered to continue in prayer.

This doesn’t mean we aren’t seeing the same spiritual zeal among gen-Z women; it simply means that more gen-Z men are now joining them. A recent Barna study, based on interviews with more than 25,000 gen Zs, suggests this generation be referred to as the “open generation,” since many—far more than millennials— are curious about exploring the Bible and the Christian faith. 

In the final article of this series, we will consider the spiritual formation of gen-Z Christians. For it is these young men and women—with their digitally saturated mindsets, cause-oriented determination and collective anxiety when facing the world’s brokenness—who are now at the forefront of God’s great plan to rescue humanity. 

Purpose and Belonging

As discussed in the previous article, we must be intentional in walking with gen Z as they navigate what it means to follow Jesus, according to what we read in Scripture. The Bible speaks of both a great harvest and a great falling away as we get closer to his return. The harvest will see the unsaved and unchurched coming to Jesus, and a great number of people inside the church falling away (see Matthew 24:10-14)—which means the importance of sound teaching and disciple formation cannot be overstated.

Our daughter, Hannah, a 26-year-old gen Z, recently shared with me about a friend of hers who, raised in a non-practising Catholic home, has converted to Islam. When Hannah probed, her friend admitted that she knew very little about her Catholic faith since her family rarely, if ever, talked about it. In contrast, she spoke of the sense of belonging she now feels. She described the ritual of ceremonial washing before prayer and how much comfort there is in the clear boundaries of her new faith. She also spoke of the camaraderie she enjoys when kneeling on her prayer mat at specific times each day, knowing she is part of something universal as other Muslims kneel at those precise times. What enticed her about the Islamic faith is the insistence that followers commit to shaping everyday life around something bigger than ordinary existence.

It is these young men and women—with their digitally saturated mindsets, cause-oriented determination and collective anxiety when facing the world’s brokenness—who are now at the forefront of God’s great plan to rescue humanity.

Did you catch that part about “shaping everyday life around something bigger than ordinary existence”? Gen-Zers are hungry for this kind of organized purpose and belonging. Just as Hannah’s young friend enjoys shaping her everyday life around something bigger, how might we invite gen-Zers to organize their (and our) lives around God’s big picture? Studies consistently show that gen Z is drawn into communities where faith is openly talked about and clearly practised. It is my firm conviction that a vibrant Christian community that intentionally arranges its days around following Jesus is the antidote to the chaos and confusion we are facing, both within the church and in society at large. We have 2,000 years of these rich Christian practices— we call them spiritual disciplines—to help us navigate life as followers of Jesus. Formation such as this is the only way to get off the roller-coaster of our modern, secular, digitalized world.

Practising the Way

Spiritual disciplines are meant to be rhythms of life that soften our hearts, slow us down and open us up to the inner transformation that God the Holy Spirit intends for us as followers of Jesus. While some practices are individual (e.g., certain kinds of prayer, fasting, meditation, silence and solitude), others are clearly communal (other types of prayer, worship, hospitality and generosity).

Yet, because of their increasing popularity, we must resist the possibility of spiritual disciplines becoming another checkmark in our daily devotional time. In a September 2022 Christianity Today article, James Bryan Smith writes of Christian philosopher Dallas Willard’s fears about spiritual formation becoming simply another “program” in our churches, rather than being transformative and led by the Holy Spirit. We are inviting gen Z into a way of life, something ancient, mysterious and life-giving. 

Spiritual disciplines are in evidence throughout the Bible, in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. Jesus modelled them, demonstrating ways for his followers to imitate him. Consider, for example, Luke’s reference to Jesus often withdrawing “to lonely places” for prayer (Luke 5:16). These disciplines continued to be practised and developed after the first century, perhaps most beautifully organized in the sixth century in the Rule of St. Benedict. As we, along with our gen-Zers, experiment with various spiritual disciplines, we can build our own rule of life, or set of practices and rhythms, that help keep us anchored in a world determined to undermine our faith.

Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). His disciples would have recognized the reference to Israel and her relationship with God, a metaphor used often in the Hebrew Scriptures (e.g., Psalm 80:8-11). Jesus is reinterpreting this imagery, saying that he is fulfilling the role Israel was meant to play—but in him, they need no longer be uprooted due to unfaithfulness. Rest in him. Cling to him. Learn from him. And only then will his followers produce the fruit of righteousness God’s people are always meant to produce.

I love looking at grapevines organized in neat rows, with the trellis clearly protecting the integrity of the branches from wandering and being less fruitful. Organizing our lives around ancient church practices becomes a kind of trellis, pulling us back when we’re tempted to watch yet another mind-numbing movie, soothing our exhaustion when we’re tempted by an overly busy schedule or gently reorienting us when we’re confused by new teaching. We don’t have time to unpack this here, but I encourage you to begin this exploration with John Mark Comer’s book, Practicing the Way.

Daring Discipleship

Perhaps a lesson from Nazi Germany is helpful in concluding this series on gen Z and discipleship, especially as we consider our daily, intentional formation as followers of Jesus, to counteract our otherwise inevitable formation by the world.

History tells us the story of the resistance movement among Protestants and Catholics against the evils of the Nazi regime. In 1935, pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was asked to organize and lead an underground seminary in Finkenwalde. This was a community where young men could unlearn the lies of the current culture and relearn the truth of the gospel. Bonhoeffer wrote to theologian Karl Barth describing the three priorities of the community: first, to learn how to read the Bible; second, to know what the church of Jesus believes, and how to defend it; and third, to practise the priority of prayer.

Bonhoeffer writes of the occasion when one of his friends visited him, challenging him to dampen his zeal and lessen the intensity of his sermons. His friend was concerned that Bonhoeffer was attracting the wrong kind of attention, which of course he was. Bonhoeffer walked with his friend to a hill where they had a good view of the surrounding area. Across the river, they could clearly see a runway for fighter planes, as well as young soldiers in formation. With the Finkenwalde seminary in their peripheral vision, they looked at the other tightly knit and powerful community. Bonhoeffer explained to his friend that disciples of Jesus must be stronger and better formed than those of the other community. Discipleship is key. Discipleship has always been key. 

Pastor Jon Tyson’s book, Beautiful Resistance: The Joy of Conviction in a Culture of Compromise, helps me imagine Bonhoeffer standing there with his friend, looking at the seminary on one side of the river and the warplanes on the other. I can imagine him pointing first to his school, then to the soldiers, saying, “This must be stronger than that.” Our formation in the way of Jesus must be stronger than the way of the world—for gen Z, and all of us.

Major April McNeilly is the corps officer at Burlington Community Church, Ont.

See all the articles in this series:

1. Generation Z and Jesus 
Are we witnessing the decline of faith or something new? 

2. The World of Generation Z 
What is shaping young adults today? 

3. Generation Z in the Church 
Our young adults are watching us. What do they see? 

4. The Open Generation 
Inviting gen Z into the practice of spiritual disciplines. 

Photo: Prixel Creative/Lightstock.com