The future of the Church isn’t dying — it’s rising. Look at Gen Z and millennial males
Behind the noise of a divided culture, something powerful is happening.
Behind the noise, a revival is stirring.
Headlines shout that faith is fading. Churches are closing. Trust in institutions is crumbling. Many predict a future without God. Yet beneath the surface, a quiet revival is stirring.
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Belief in Jesus is not fading — it’s surging — and the next generation is leading the way.
A new study from Barna’s State of the Church 2025 initiative reveals something remarkable: two-thirds of American adults — 66% — now say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that remains important in their lives. That’s a 12-point surge since 2021, when commitment levels reached a 30-year low.
In just four years, approximately 30 million more Americans have chosen to follow Jesus.
Even more striking, it’s Gen Z and millennials — the very generations often accused of abandoning faith — who are fueling this resurgence. Gen Z men have experienced a 15-point increase in commitment since 2019, while Millennial men have surged by 19 points. For the first time in modern history, young men are outpacing young women in spiritual commitment, flipping a trend that held firm for decades.
This is not a fad. It’s a profound awakening.
But it is also a fragile one.
Belief is rising — but will it last?
Spiritual hunger is growing, but belief alone isn’t enough. This generation needs spiritual guides who will walk with them beyond decision into lifelong devotion.
Consider Alex. Alex decided to follow Christ during a season of overwhelming isolation. She sat alone most days, scrolling endlessly, searching for something real. She was full of hope — but after that moment, there was no one to walk with her. No mentor. No guide.
Excitement soon gave way to confusion. Hunger faded into frustration.
It wasn’t until a spiritual guide stepped into Alex’s life — meeting consistently, opening Scripture and modeling real faith — that her belief became anchored and lasting.
A new generation isn’t rejecting faith. They’re reaching for it.
But they cannot walk alone.
Every Alex you know is one conversation away from flourishing — or fading.
During the pandemic, we all learned that absence didn’t cause people to abandon connection — it made them hunger for it. Isolation peeled back our distractions and exposed a deeper longing for something real. Today’s young adults aren’t wandering because they are apathetic. Many are waiting and longing for someone to step into the quiet ache of their hearts.
And this emotional pressure is real.
During the pandemic, my teenage daughter Sarah described her own experience as feeling like a “shaken-up soda can” — pressurized, isolated, and overwhelmed. Even joyful moments were shadowed by the weight of everything unspoken.
If we don’t guide this generation now, we risk leaving them trapped in silent pressure, searching for relief that only a real connection with Christ can bring.
What happens if we do nothing?
Today, only 6% of self-identifying Christians have a biblical worldview, and only 51% of pastors do. Meanwhile, fewer than 5% of churches in America have a reproducing disciple-making culture. Retention among evangelicals has dropped below 70%, and many churches are producing attenders but not disciple-makers.
Not all Christians are disciples. A disciple is a follower of Jesus, committed to learning and living out His teachings. Discipleship is the process of guiding others to follow Christ.
A disciple-maker is one who intentionally equips others to do the same. If we fail to recognize this difference, we risk mistaking moments of spiritual excitement for movements of genuine transformation.
The most effective way to defend our faith today is by multiplying disciple-makers and expanding our reach exponentially.
We are witnessing a renewed hunger for meaning, belonging and purpose — but hunger alone doesn’t nourish. Belief must be formed into conviction. Conviction must be shaped into character. Character must be anchored in truth.
Disciple-makers wanted: a call to spiritual guides
And here’s the uncomfortable truth: Many believe in Jesus for relief from life's immediate pains but resist the deeper healing He demands.
As C.S. Lewis once observed, inviting Christ into our lives is like asking for relief from a toothache — but finding He insists on pulling every rotten tooth, repairing the entire house, and remaking us completely. Jesus didn’t come merely to soothe us. He came to transform us.
This is why reclaiming biblical discipleship matters more now than ever.
True disciple-making must be intentional, relational and centered on truth — not just content delivery or event participation. Younger believers crave authentic relationships over polished presentations. They seek clarity, not complexity. Substance, not spectacle.
Teaching alone will not suffice. We must train. We must move from “telling how” to “showing how.” We must move from content-driven spaces to life-on-life transformation.
We were never called to simply collect information. We are called to be conduits of truth — living it, multiplying it, passing it on. True discipleship is Christ replicating His life in us, just as He did in Paul. Disciples don't merely believe — they multiply Christ’s life through others.
Water flows. Wind blows. Their power is in their movement, not in their stillness.
Likewise, the life of Christ is most powerful in us when it moves through us — when we surrender control so that His character and mission become ours.
This awakening needs workers, not watchers
The pandemic served as a catalyst for spiritual searching. It disrupted the noise of everyday life and exposed deep questions about mortality, meaning and hope. In the silence that followed, many heard the whisper of God’s Spirit.
Leonard Ravenhill once warned, “A sinning man will stop praying, and a praying man will stop sinning.” He also said, “No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. The pulpit can be a shop window to display one’s talents; the prayer closet allows no showing off.” And perhaps most powerfully, Ravenhill wrote, “The ministry of preaching is open to few; the ministry of prayer — the highest ministry of all human offices — is open to all.”
Disciple-making is not sustained by programs or personalities — it is born in prayer, forged in surrender and fueled by the Spirit.
When Sarah reflected on her journey back to God, she said, “The relief and the joy I found when I realized God was there the entire time overwhelmed me in the best way.”
Young hearts aren’t unreachable. They aren’t disinterested. They are waiting — often silently — for someone to walk with them until they see the God who has never left them.
The choice before us
A functional Great Commission of assimilation — making worship attenders — is outpacing the biblical Great Commission of multiplication — making disciple-makers.
We were never called to create crowds; we were commanded to make disciples.
As the Apostle Paul declared, “I die daily.” Discipleship demands this same daily surrender — a steady death to self and a daily resurrection into the life of Christ. If we are silent now, we risk losing a generation not because they aren't hungry, but because no one fed them.
Now is not the time to retreat in fear.
It’s time to lean in with hope. To listen. To engage.
And rebuild a culture of discipleship where faith isn’t just professed — it’s practiced.
The future of the church isn’t dying — it’s rising. But it will not rise by accident. It will rise because ordinary believers chose to build, to guide and to give their lives away.
Will you be one of them?
Dr. Stephen Cutchins has over 20 years of leadership experience in education and ministry across four states. He has been actively involved with Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES) for more than 17 years and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Innovative Training, Truth That Matters. In addition to his role at SES, Dr. Cutchins is a Teaching Pastor and Multi-Site Specialist at Upstate Church in South Carolina, recognized by Outreach Magazine as one of the top 10 fastest-growing churches in the nation. Dr. Cutchins has coached leaders nationwide through the North American Mission Board and is a sought-after speaker for churches, conferences, and events across the country. As the founder of The Cutchins Institute, LLC, he leads a team specializing in executive coaching, consulting, and counseling services. An accomplished author, Dr. Cutchins has written and contributed to several books, including works published by Thomas Nelson Publishing.
