If Gen Z is coming back to church, the real work is just beginning

(RNS) — As many in America look for signs of spiritual revival among our young people, they count the people in the room, the hours spent in prayer, the views and shares online. They are looking for evidence that something significant is happening. And sometimes it is.

As a pastor, I’m among those encouraged by Gen Z’s apparent interest in faith — the crowds, viral videos and headlines. But I believe the question we’re overlooking in our optimism about these trends is, what happens next?

Recent Lifeway research affirms what we’ve seen from others like Barna and Gallup over the past year: Gen Z is showing up to church. They’re reading the Bible. They’re curious and engaged and grappling with the hard questions. That’s worth paying attention to.

And while some analysts argue it’s not a revival yet, in my own church, I’ve seen and heard clarity and depth among those in our Gen Z and Alpha generations. We have seen both church attending and non-attending college and high school students communicating their dissatisfaction with the cultural emptiness reflected in their digital and physical interactions. They are keenly aware of their generation’s challenges with mental health,…