EMQ » October–December 2022 » Volume 58 Issue 4

Alliances

Gen Z has several positive and negative characteristics that may affect their willingness and motivation to engage in global missions service. How do we help develop them into allies of global missions rather than enemies?

By Ruth Hubbard

When looking to the future of global missions, few things are more important than preparing and mobilizing the next generation to embrace the Great Commission as they meet the challenges and opportunities that face them in a rapidly changing world. Each generation has unique characteristics that equip and challenge them as they engage this world and the changing nature of global missions.

Just as importantly, each generation – surrendered to Christ – will be empowered by the Holy Spirit as witnesses … to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:18). As we mentor and help raise up this next generation of God’s workers – Generation Z (Gen Z), those born between 1997 and 2012) – we can do so only when we understand who they are and how they view the world and God’s mission in it.

Gen Z: Advantages

This generation coming of age, Gen Z, has several unique characteristics that could impact their willingness and motivation to engage in global missions in both positive and negative ways. The qualities of Gen Z that could be advantageous include the following.

• They have a driven, success-oriented mindset. According to Barna Research, Gen Z is a driven generation with a success-oriented mindset.[1] They hope to achieve great things, but at the same time, they tend to be cautious in their hopes for the future.
• They are digitally connected. According to the Pew Research Center, Gen Z is connected digitally like no previous generation, with 95% of teens (aged 13 to 17) owning a smartphone and 45% saying they are online almost constantly.[2] In a world that is increasingly driven by technology, being digital natives gives this generation the advantage of technological fluency and adeptness.
• They are diverse in race and ethnicity. Gen Z represents one of the most racially and ethnically diverse generations in American history. As a result, this generation will see the US become majority non-white by 2026.[3] When engaging global missions, in which the majority world is non-white, this diversity could be an advantage.

Gen Z: Challenges

Gen Z also has certain characteristics that could present challenges to its effective engagement in global missions.

• They are dealing with higher rates of mental health issues like anxiety. Recent research found that Gen Z is reporting higher rates of anxiety, depression, and distress, and lower levels of emotional and social well-being than any other generation.[4]
• They have an increased sense of isolation. For Gen Z, mental and social health issues are compounded by the high level of digital engagement, particularly with social media. Additionally, feelings of isolation often result from this type of engagement, especially in the absence of in-person connection. The lack of in-person social interactions due to the pandemic further exacerbated the sense of loneliness experienced by young people in particular, according to a study by the Harvard Graduate School for Education.[5]
• They have decreased connections to church communities. Although their connections to a church community have diminished due to the pandemic and many have moved to attending online church services, Gen Z hasn’t disconnected simply because of a virus or because of technology.

Those in Gen Z who have disconnected from the church can be grouped into two broad categories: those who have intentionally left and have no desire to be reconnected, and those who have left because of circumstances outside of their control and desire to be reconnected. For those in the former category, I have heard a wide variety of reasons over the years as to why many have left the church – including seeing and experiencing the presence of racism and sexism in the church.

However, a recent Intervarsity Christian Fellowship study revealed encouraging news regarding the latter category, and it’s this: Christian community, in fact, is the top need cited by Christian students in colleges and universities.[6] But the truth is that whether a student is in category one or two, the result of decreased church connections has been the weakening, or complete lack, of support and encouragement for Gen Z and their spiritual development. 

Helping Gen Z-ers Find Their Place in Global Missions

As global missions practitioners, there are several ways we can help Gen Z-ers find their place in the ever-changing world of global missions. We do this by beginning to reframe God’s mission in a way that (1) centers the whole gospel and the whole Church, (2) celebrates a sound theology of work alongside sound missiology, and (3) no longer puts missionaries on pedestals as spiritual superheroes. Almost half of respondents of the recent Intervarsity study strongly agreed that the concept of missions needs a redefinition, in light of current realities.[7]

Perhaps it is time to shift our mobilization rhetoric from “become a missionary and bring the gospel to the darkest parts of the world” to something like “find your place in God’s global Church, learning to live out our shared identity as whole-life, whole-world disciples of Christ with believers around the world.”

Helping Gen Z Develop a Vision for Missions

Many Gen Z-ers are trying to determine the future trajectory of their lives and are asking questions about what a whole-life, whole-world discipleship looks like for them. What does the life of a missionary look like? Can they have a family and pay their student debt while serving in global missions? These are legitimate questions and are best answered by those who have experienced a life in global missions firsthand.

If global missions practitioners, in cooperation with church leadership, were to talk about their experiences as missionaries and describe what the life of a missionary could look like, this would go a long way to help Gen Z get a vision for their own participation in missions. By offering Gen Z-ers the wisdom, insight, and experience of missionaries working in various contexts, churches can connect this emerging generation to what current missions looks like practically.

Developing a Personal and Community-Centered Vision and Journey

With a tendency toward anxiety, some Gen Z-ers may be hesitant to jump into global missions. This anxiety could be eased, however, by the presence of coaches, mentors, and others who walk alongside this younger generation and provide a community of support and encouragement. The more missions and church communities can invest in Gen Z and provide them with step-by-step direction based on individualized knowledge of each person, the better equipped and enabled this generation will be to respond to God’s call.

This individualized knowledge can only come through spending time and building relationships with Gen Z-ers within their individualized contexts. Because Gen Z is uniquely diverse, cross-cultural perspectives in building relationships with them is essential.

The challenges, barriers, and community needs that a Black Gen Z student would encounter in their journey toward global missions would be markedly different from those of a White Gen Z student. A student-oriented missions conference, such as Urbana, that is designed to engage students in their diversity of contexts and provide direction for them as they engage with God’s call to missions provides a way for churches to partner with the larger Church community in meeting the needs of Gen Z and mobilizing them to global missions.

Being Both Globally and Locally Focused

As Gen Z-ers engage their vision for missions and how they might fit into that vision, questions about the place of the Church in North America in global, cross-cultural missions may arise. Is there still a place for us and what needs should we be filling? Should we be sharing the gospel, running hospitals, and teaching in seminaries, or should these be done by indigenous Christian leaders? 

Missions practitioners must be ready to address these questions. To do so, we need to have some knowledge of the historical context into which North American missionaries are entering global missions. For example, issues surrounding colonization and the inadvertent damage that past missionaries have wrought on those to whom they were sent will need to be addressed. We should help Gen Z learn from the global Church and hold up examples of strong leadership from the global South and East. 

As we see an increased number of missionaries coming to us in North America from Asia, Africa, and South America, we need to be asking, How should we view the urgent spiritual needs within our own culture in relation to global missions? Being aware of urgent spiritual needs both globally and locally will help the next generation have both a local and global focus in missions. By providing Gen Z-ers an understanding of the best contribution of the Church in North America to global and local missions, we can effectively mobilize those who desire to serve God here or elsewhere.

Looking Ahead

As I look to the years ahead, I have many reasons to be hopeful. Our Intervarsity study found that over one-third of the Christian students surveyed have considered pursuing missions as a full-time vocation.[8] If missions practitioners and church leaders can encourage and walk alongside this next generation, and utilize student missions conferences like Urbana, we can be instrumental in mobilizing this group into cross-cultural missions.

However, we must also equip this generation to overcome the challenges that they will face in a rapidly changing world by helping them redefine what it means to engage in missions in order to reflect the current realities of both the local and global Church. Although our understanding of what it means to engage in missions may change, our Great Commission remains the same, and the Holy Spirit will continue to equip the Church to carry out God’s global mission.

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[1] “New Data on Gen Z – Perceptions of Pressure, Anxiety and Empowerment,” Barna Research, January 28, 2021, accessed May 31, 2022, https://www.barna.com/research/gen-z-success.

[2] Monica Anderson and Jingjing Jiang, “Teens, Social Media and Technology 2018,” Pew Research Center, May 31, 2018, accessed May 31, 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018.

[3] Kim Parker and Ruth Igielnik, “On the Cusp of Adulthood and Facing an Uncertain Future: What We Know About Gen Z So Far,” Pew Research Center, May 14, 2020, accessed May 31, 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/05/14/on-the-cusp-of-adulthood-and-facing-an-uncertain-future-what-we-know-about-gen-z-so-far-2.

[4] “Addressing the Unprecedented Behavioral-Health Challenges Facing Generation Z,” McKinsey and Company, January 14, 2022, accessed May 31, 2022, https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/addressing-the-unprecedented-behavioral-health-challenges-facing-generation-z.

[5] Colleen Walsh, “Young Adults Hardest Hit by Loneliness During Pandemic,” The Harvard Gazette, February 17, 2021, accessed May 31, 2022, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/02/young-adults-teens-loneliness-mental-health-coronavirus-covid-pandemic.

[6] “InterVarsity Research Study,” InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (unpublished manuscript, 2022), https://pinkston.co/docs/2022-intervarsity-survey.

[7] “InterVarsity Research Study.”

[8] “InterVarsity Research Study.”

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EMQ, Volume 58, Issue 2. Copyright © 2022 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.