Gen Z, The Gospel, & Asbury
The Asbury Revival is one of the most important spiritual moments of the 21st Century. No matter how long the initial service lasts, the effects of this phenomena, this move of the Holy Spirit will echo throughout eternity and throughout the globe for a very long time.
When I was in college I did a paper on Gen Z and how the church could communicate better with them. I’ve made that paper into a presentation that I’ve shared with pastors across the country. Yet when I finished writing the paper initially one thing became clear to me. Gen Z is a generation that is built to receive the Gospel, and built to rebuild the church. Every problem that Generation Z faces, Jesus addresses through his Church. A few months after I graduated college, I got connected with a man named Mark Weible, and he told me what would happen in the scenario where a revival broke out at the country’s largest university, the University of Central Florida. The statistics were astounding, the Gospel would go out to the world in a matter of 40 days in the power of revival in such a case. It was then that I was certain that the next “Great Awakening” would not begin in a typical church service, it would begin on a college campus. It’s been a point for me to pray for colleges these last few years. So when I heard about a revival happening at Asbury, I thought, oh? is this it?! It’s gone on for days now and I’m certain this is just the tip of the iceberg.
To further drive home the point of my lack of surprise, two of the most genuine Christians I’ve ever met, Jason and Erin Owens, are graduates of Asbury. I worked with them when they were the Pastors of Hub City Fellowship in Lubbock Texas. The kindness and hospitality they showed me was straight out of the book of Acts, I was a stranger to their land, they welcomed me, and made sure for the 36 hours I was in their church’s care, that I had absolutely no need. When I think back to that time, I am reminded that real christianity, the stuff we see in scripture is possible in our present day, the Asbury Revival, and graduates of Asbury like Jason and Erin Owens are proof of this.
Back to my main point, Generation Z is primed to receive the Gospel, the fact that we are seeing revival happen at Asbury amongst those who know their need for Jesus and the power of the Gospel, is an incredible answer to prayer, yet I believe that what’s happening in Kentucky can happen everywhere, especially amongst Gen Z.
Pastors in this moment need to stop piling on their skepticism and start thanking God that we can debate the legitimacy of a potential revival at all. After all, we’ve been praying for revival, let’s not send it back “to the kitchen” lest we risk to wait another 50 years for the opportunity to come back to us to feast on the goodness of the Lord.
While I can not speak for Generation X or Millennials, as a member of Generation Z I can say with certainty that we are deeply spiritual, and entreprenurial go-getters at a fundamental level as a generation. When we are hungry we are hungry, wether it be for God or for the treasures of this world. Generation Z is not afraid to be authentic… accessible and transparent. In fact, it was a moment of confession that started this revival at Asbury in the first place. However, Generation Z is wired to be desperate for Christ, and I believe the byproduct of a revival starting in our generation is going to be the grace of God to the older generation, this isn’t going to just be a move of God in Gen Z, it will be a move of God through Gen Z to everyone else. It is a revival that originates with the young and will make it’s way to the old.
Let us all not look down on the Gen Z because they are young, let’s observe 1 Timothy 4:12 here.
Who are we to say we are wiser because we are older? Who are we to say that our liturgy is the only way to engage with God? On the flip side, who says that our lights and sound systems and production have brought anyone closer to God either? While many have encountered the Lord through liturgy and lights, let’s not rest on their laurels when it comes to pursuing Christ or setting benchmarks for successful ministry.
To anyone wondering what happens when you offer the Lord a heart that is aware of its need for him and is truly desperate for his nearness. Look no further than Asbury, where the Father has run out to welcome his children, and we look at Asbury from afar, it looks like God has not stopped embracing his children for these last many days now.
