“Youth were never more sawcie, yea never more savagely saucie . . . the ancient are scorned, the honourable are contemned, the magistrate is not dreaded.” (The Wise-Man’s Forecast against the Evill Time, Thomas Barnes, 1624)
Forget about the inconsistent spelling, every age shares Barnes’ concern about the next generation. In his recent article on TGCA Joash Arnold posits that Gen Z is so worried about the future—housing costs, job security and so on—that it risks taking its eye off the ball of Christian growth and ministry opportunities. He cites an increase in part-time work, and less commitment to full-time studies and campus life, that limit the likelihood of meeting non-Christians at university that they might be able to evangelise. Arnold notes that Gen Z has tightened the belt too, spending less money on Christian camps, taking less holidays, and leaning into internships and away from valuable ministry training opportunities
I’m not sure that Gen Z Christians are unique in anxiety levels. And I’m not convinced that they are required to replicate a previous generation’s ministry models, models may no longer be fit for purpose.
“Yeah, Nah”
I read the article to my newly married Gen Z relatives. They saw the point, but were “yeah, nah” about it. Sure, they would love a house, but they’re not hankering for it, and nor are their friends. Indeed, research data from Dunham and Company shows that Gen Z actually gives more per household than my generation (Generation X). Hardly the sound of wallets being snapped shut through fear.
Gen Z Christians don’t stay on campus full-time because nobody does. Everyone’s doing a side hustle. Chances are they will have just as many evangelistic opportunities doing an internship as they will at the lunchtime campus meeting. Christian camps may be less effective for ministry training purposes in 2026 than in 1996 in the same way a 1963 Billy Graham rally is less fit for evangelism purposes in 2026. New cats get skinned in different ways.
I say, let’s give Gen Z believers the benefit of the doubt. They inherited a post-Christian setting from the Boomers, many of whom had oodles of money and time, along with a good dose of cultural favour. Yet those same Boomers also oversaw the collapse of faith in Australia. Gen Z Christians run a tighter ship. They explore ways to do housing and work in an unstable environment. They navigate culturally hostile workplaces in which they could lose their position—and their friendships—for holding ethical positions that were once societal norms. And buy a house? Gen Z is lining up with a hundred others on a Saturday morning merely to secure an overpriced and short-term rental. Ministry stability and Christian relationships are hard to sustain when you’re moving suburbs every eighteen months.
A Word to the Boomers and Older Xers
I wonder how many of those rentals are owned by Christian Boomers and older Gen Xers funding a nice retirement made possible by great economic conditions through the nineties and early noughties? Here’s an idea Boomers: sell! And then give to a Gen Z ministry that might look different to yours. Better still, rent out some of your properties at an affordable rate (or a loss!) to Gen Z Christians who can then form a visibly different community into which their non-Christian friends can be invited and experience the gospel in word and deed.
The world has changed. But what hasn’t changed is the manner in which major Australian Christian donors mete out funds for ministry. Some Australians who did live the good life are not as philanthropically generous, or visionary, as their US counterparts.
From my experience, there’s little sense of curiosity about what the issues are that need funding today. There is plenty of box-ticking required that feels like it was generated by the evangelical vision circa 1995. There’s money there if you play that game. The danger is that if you are in your fifties and sixties and have been successful enough in business and wish to serve the church through giving, there’s also a chance your experience of the cultural landscape facing younger people looking to do ministry stopped off thirty years ago.
Sure, philanthropists want to see a return for their money (which is why questions such as “how many converts?” or “how is this evangelistic?” are often asked one application forms). Sure, you can game that system and say “five each year”, but perhaps some monies need to be directed towards start-ups that simply wish to help younger Christians set up ministries that have a more apologetical approach to the culture.
And what about the public square? To be frank, many churches do not do a great job of equipping their people for the public square. There is a whole raft of training required for Christians who will be involved in public life. It’s not necessarily as evangelistic or results-driven as many philanthropists may like, but just re-engaging the public square with Christianity in each generation is vital.
I’d like to see ministry funding bodies sit down with discussion groups of younger entrepreneurial Christians and ask them what the lie of the land is, where the pressures are for younger Christians, and what sorts of start-ups they think might gain traction in this vastly changed world.
Another good funding option for philanthropists might be to support forms of collective housing for young Christians that frees them up to be embedded in communities that need to be reached for the gospel.
Those are just some initial thoughts. And I know I’m being a bit sawcie/saucie/saucy. But maybe that’s just my youth speaking!
