Wait, What Percentage of Teens Wants to Learn About Jesus?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Barna’s latest research found that over 50% of U.S. teens are “very motivated” to learn about Jesus.
According to the research, “Over three in four U.S. teens (77%) say they are at least somewhat motivated (52% very, 25% somewhat) to continue learning about Jesus throughout the rest of their lives. Less than one in five are unmotivated (6% somewhat unmotivated, 10% not at all motivated), while another 7 percent are unsure.”
In 2023, Billy Christol, an associate pastor of students at Burning Bush Baptist Church in Ringgold, GA, told the Baptist Press, “It is a unique generation in that students have the world’s most powerful search engine in their pocket during their teen years. At the same time, they are seeing heightened cultural and political unrest mixed with the lowest morals in marketing and advertising ever. As a result, they’re desperate to find truth.”
READ MORE: ASTONISHING PERCENTAGE OF TEENS ‘VERY MOTIVATED’ TO KNOW JESUS
One thing that Cristol stood by is the fact that teens are “more savvy than given credit for.”
“Teens are more curious than ever and have the tools to satisfy that curiosity,” Christol explained. “They know that almost nothing is true at face value and almost everyone and everything that influences them is lying. As a result, they will research anything they find interesting.”
So, why should churches and pastors focus on teenagers? Here’s three reasons presented by Dare 2 Share ministries.
- Teenagers come to Christ quicker than adults. According to Shane Pruitt, Director of Next Generation Evangelism for the North American Mission Board, 77% of those who trust in Jesus do so before the age of 18, while only 5% of those who become Christians do so after the age of 30. In the words of my grandpa, “We got to get the gettin’ while the gettin’s good!”
- Teenagers can spread the Gospel farther and faster than adults. The average teenager has well over 400 online and face-to-face friends. Because teenagers have huge influence over their peers they can use this social media channels to advance the message of Jesus in ways we adults never even dreamed of.
- Every major spiritual awakening in US history has had teenagers on the leading edge of that awakening. From the 1st Great Awakening in the 1700’s when Jonathan Edwards wrote, “The revival has been chiefly amongst the young” to the Jesus Movement of the 1970’s where a teen and twentysomething movement swept California and, then, the nation, young people have led the way for the spiritual revitalization of the church and the advancement of the Gospel.
For the “most anxious generation in history,” Gen Z’s interest in Jesus is encouraging as He is the only true source of peace and comfort.
“Anxiety and loneliness, depression are at historic highs, but the need is still the same. The problem is that we’re just so overwhelmed these days that it’s hard to find belonging in our own communities,” Daniel Copeland, the senior lead researcher at Barna, explained. “We need to belong. And that looks like being heard. So the good news is that a lot of young people are interested in the person of Jesus.”
READ MORE: REPORT: TEENS WHO SPEND MORE TIME READING BIBLE HAVE BETTER SCREEN-TIME DISCERNMENT
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