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Reaching Generation Z
The Youth Ministry Institute at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has created an infographic to help introduce youth leaders to today’s teenagers. Generation Z, students born between 1996-2010, comprise the largest segment of the U.S. population (25%). According to research, today’s students are also highly relational and collaborative. Today’s teens use between 3 to 5 different screens on a daily basis. These screens include smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and televisions. They have a preference for “snackable” content found on apps like Snapchat and Instagram. Although Gen Z teens are digital natives, they still prefer face-to-face communication. Forty-one percent of today’s students attend weekly religious services (that’s higher than Millennials). However,…
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How to Have Life-long Faith
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV) According to some statistics, 70% of students give up on their faith after high school. So how do we encourage students to have a life-long faith? I want to address this issue in two parts. First to the student and then to the youth leader. I encourage young people (or any believer) to pursue spiritual growth, cultivate a vital faith, and…
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Spiritual Formation and Vocational Choice
1 SAMUEL 17:34-37 “But David persisted. ‘I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,’ he said. ‘When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from…
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Getting to Know Generation Z
Recent research into today’s teenagers is shedding some light on some overarching generational themes. Today’s students are known as Generation Z (born between 1996-2010). They are digital and mobile natives also known as the Net Generation or iGeneration. Generation Z make up a quarter of the U.S. population today and will become a third of the population by 2020. This generation of young people is turning out to be quite different from the Millennials before them. A new book, Generation Z Goes to College, shares the results of research studies aimed at learning more about today’s students. When asked about religious participation, Generation Z students report higher weekly religious service…
