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The US and Europe have been world leaders in global evangelism for a long time and proceed to send 53% of cross-cultural missionaries today. The United States alone is estimated to send two million short-term missionaries a yr. However, repeated studies have shown that American Christianity, and its interest in evangelism, is in decline, especially amongst younger generations.
A 2021 Gallup poll found that church membership has now dropped below 50%, and the Pew Research Centre has repeatedly found that Gen Z is the nation’s least religious generation, with about a 3rd having no religion in any respect. In addition, 47% of practicing Christian Millennials consider evangelism in today’s society is mistaken, and 51% of US churchgoers say they do not know the term “the Great Commission.”
If nothing is finished to handle this, we are going to lose our place as the worldwide leader in Christian evangelism and our claim to being the world’s most Christian nation. It is that easy. How can we evangelize to the world if we cannot even evangelize at home? We cannot expect to export what we do not live out locally.
The Bible itself is pretty clear on this, originating the term ‘get your own home so as’ (Isaiah 38:1-5). Replicating past generations of American missionaries would require recent generations of missionaries, and meaning evangelizing to the longer term of our churches — Gen Z.
However, evangelizing to Gen Z is simpler said than done, and sometimes the concept itself can feel daunting even to those of us who frequently evangelize to them like I do. We know that we will be met with hostility, treated as irrelevant, and even be made out to be immoral in our beliefs. But Romans 1:16Â tells us to not be ashamed of the Gospel. If we truly love someone, we won’t help but tell them about Jesus, and the way He has transformed our lives.
Many of us may avoid evangelizing to younger generations out of fear that it would only further alienate them from God. But I think that it is not evangelism that alienates younger generations, but politics. When we prioritize talking and strategizing about politics in our preaching as a substitute of sharing the Gospel, it could actually alienate the lost and young, and distract from the true message of Jesus. It is from the Gospel that our politics should flow, not the opposite way around.
The desire that younger generations feel to disassociate themselves from Christianity, I think, can be a product of not having taught them a biblical worldview. If we aren’t sharing the Gospel with them, then they will not know their Bible, the source of truth, and young people will as a substitute gravitate to what sounds good moderately than what is good and true.
Sometimes the reality hurts. Sometimes the reality is not what we wish to listen to. Don’t have sex until marriage. God created us female and male. God instituted marriage between one man and one woman. These truths are truth whether we wish them to be or not. God’s truth keeps us secure. His truth results in healthy homes. His truth results in a productive and fulfilling life. We must preach, teach and disciple young people within the Truth of the Word of God so that they can filter out the lies of culture and society today.
Because of this, we mustn’t abandon the preaching of the Gospel simply because it is not culturally or societally accepted. When speaking concerning the Gospel to young people I often use humor, as I find that it breaks down their defenses and opens their hearts to receive. I also speak into current issues they face and relate them to biblical truths that can assist them. For me, my personal testimony is a giant way I connect with young people, and that goes for all of us. It is tough to argue with a private story of transformation through Christ. Gen Z can spot disingenuous Christians. They will not be considering hype; they’re in search of an actual God with real answers. We should be authentic.
As my story is so visual, having no arms or legs, Gen Z can see my brokenness visually. It helps me as I connect with them and their internal brokenness. It helps them trust that I can sympathize with and understand what they’re going through. And I’m not the just one. Hope for the Heart — whose Hope Together Conference I can be speaking at this September — have created a Keys for Living library with short, helpful books speaking into over 100 real-life issues that we face, providing clear answers from God’s Word to assist those that feel broken.
Though our culture has modified dramatically within the last 50 years and grow to be way more digital, preaching the Gospel to large groups of individuals will at all times be effective. Jesus ministered to people each one-on-one in addition to to crowds. That being said, we do have to concentrate on generational, cultural and communication issues and adjust our approach appropriately after we preach to crowds. At NickV Ministries we now have leaned into digital evangelism, each directly through our ministry and with evangelism partners. We are finding many individuals coming to Christ and being encouraged through different media platforms. But we also have not stopped preaching to crowds.
This is definitely essentially the most fruitful season we now have ever experienced in preaching each to live audiences and broadcasting the Gospel to entire nations. Since December 2023, 45 million people have heard the Gospel and 47,000 have given their lives to Christ in person.
Sharing our faith with others ought to be a joy not a burden. Certainly, we want to coach Christians to defend their faith, refute false religions, understand the pure Gospel, memorize key Scripture verses, and to arrange to share their personal testimony. But in the long run, the best thing we are able to do to spur on the Church in evangelism is to fall more in love with Jesus.
Jesus got here to earth as a person, to be with us, relate to us, and die as one in every of us — each fully God and fully human. If we live our lives as authentic followers of Christ and are daring in preaching the Gospel and sharing our story, we are going to see Gen Z within the US and the world come running to Jesus. The Gospel, Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection, is essentially the most powerful message ever told — we just must keep telling it.
If you’re in search of biblical training and resources to assist and equip you for evangelism, join for September’s Hope Together Conference, and visit www.hopefortheheart.org.
Originally published at The Christian Post
