Kerby Anderson

Tanita Maddox is the national director for generational impact for Young Life and author of the book, What Gen Z Really Wants to Know About God. She was on my radio program recently to share her research and insights.

Her investigation began when she began to ask if she was being effective in ministry anymore. She saw panic attacks at events, students filled with anxiety, and open hostility to faith she had never seen. Ministry she had done in the past was not effective, and she was concerned that her ministry had become irrelevant.

Most people in ministry do not realize how disconnected this generation is from the church and any religious perspective. Those that did grow up in a Christian environment are (according to the Survey Center on American Life) leaving their faith at younger ages than previous generations.

We might even wonder what faith they are leaving. The Jesus Survey discovered that most Gen Z Christians agree Jesus, Mohammed, and Buddha, and other belief systems or religions all have equal value. And many studies show that Gen Z isn’t so much hostile to religion as they simply aren’t interested in religion.

The core of her book is her attempt at answering the seven questions Gen Z asks. They are: Is God good? Am I enough? Will you accept me? Do all people matter to God? Can I trust you? What is true? and Am I safe? She devotes a chapter to each question with her answers.

We have heard it said on many occasions that Christians and the church are often answering questions a generation isn’t asking and ignoring questions that should be answered. That is true for Gen Z and one of the reasons I recommend the book. We need to learn how to reach this generation.