In the West, the demand for the church to do the work of an apologist compares only with the task of reaching the pagan culture which the church faced in the second and third century AD. Report after report testify to the fact that Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012 according to Pew Research Center) is the most secular generation in history.

In recent findings by Barna, the rates of atheism among Gen Z were double that found in older generations. Anecdotal evidence confirms the statistics and survey results. In a recent conversation with a ministry leader, he relayed to me that his teenage daughter often had to explain what a “pastor” was after sharing her father’s vocation with classmates in a suburban public school. That a young person would have such a lack of familiarity with the Christian faith would have been unthinkable among any previous generation of Americans.

While the effects of secularization on the rising generation should concern the entire church, those who work in student and college ministry face these challenges daily. The Lord has promised to build his church and that will include many from among Gen Z. But as those called to make a defense regarding the hope within us, we must be strategic in meeting the questions of Gen Z with the answers of Scripture in the hope of the gospel.

The conversation related to how best reach the most secular generation in history (so far) is just beginning, but I would like to put forward four recommendations based on the current research, my own experience, and conversations with ministry leaders across the country.

1. Emphasize the goodness of God and the Christian faith. For young men and women catechized by a secular culture, religion—and Christianity in particular—is now seen as not only pointless, but often as dangerous. The blame for oppression, conflict, and strife often gets laid at the feet of Christianity, particularly in its institutional form. Engaging Gen Z with the gospel may require not just making a case for why Christian belief is plausible, but contending against a fear that em- bracing Christianity would be to engage in a religious form of self-harm.

Against such suspicions, apologists to Gen Z must em- phasize that the God revealed in Scripture “abounds in goodness” (Exod. 34:6) and that “the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord” (Ps. 33:5).

The Christian gospel recognizes the brokenness of the world but presents a story of a good God sending his only Son to redeem sinful humanity. We can be honest about the failings of those who have born the name of Christ, recognizing that “there is no one good but God alone” (Mark 10:18) and pointing Gen Z to the spotless Lamb who died for the sins of the world.

2. Distinguish between rational objections and emotional barriers to faith. The discipline of apologetics possesses a long track record of presenting thoughtful and well-reasoned arguments for the plausibility of Christian belief. While an emphasis on the rationality of Christianity will be necessary until Christ returns, the barriers to faith present among Gen Z are often more emotional than rational.

The rising generation often perceives Christianity to be out of touch and in opposition to the expressive individualism of the secular culture. In our efforts to reach the next generation, we must be wise to distinguish when a student has a sincere intellectual objection to some point of Christian doctrine and when a student worries that some belief would require them to maintain a belief that contrasts with their feelings.

3. Present Gen Z with a thick view of Christianity. As we engage with the most secular generation in history, the temptation can be to minimize the points of disagreement between the Christian faith and the secular world. While this reaction is understandable, those apologists who present the most full-throated vision of Christianity will serve Gen Z best.
The Lord Jesus Christ makes comprehensive demands on the life of those who follow him (Luke 9:57–62). While the gospel remains a simple message that calls for a straightforward response of repentance and faith, the Christian faith works itself out as an entire world and life view. Every generation must be presented with the truth that all things were created through and for Christ (Col. 1:16). The comprehensive nature of Christ’s claim over the lives of those who follow him should be a part of the initial apologetic conversations and not an afterthought.
4. Make your case in the context of community. Gen Z is not only the most secular generation but also the loneliest. Recent reports from Pew and the Survey Center on American Life detail how smaller families and broken homes contribute to epidemic levels of loneliness in the emerging generation.
Jean Twenge connects the ubiquitous presence of technology to decreased social behavior among today’s teens and young adults in her book, iGen. With all the sup- posed opportunities and conveniences available to Gen Z from contemporary secular culture, members of this emerging generation are suffering from a lack of meaningful relationships and community. This, of course, rep- resents an opportunity for the church.

Come Together

As we make our appeal to the next generation, we must be clear that the summons to follow Christ includes the commitment and blessing of Christian community. Christ expects his disciples to gather (Matt. 18:20) and “to stir up one another in love and good works” (Heb. 10:24).

Apologetics aimed at Gen Z will be most effective when accompanied by a genuine invitation into a personal relationship and the opportunity to witness Chris- tian community. Secularism ultimately cannot live up to its promises. Christians have an opportunity to engage in an “apologetic of normalcy” as secularism continues to drive society in a direction at odds with creation order and Scripture. The imperfect but rightly ordered lives of Christians will present an attractive alternative to the secular norm and undergird the work of the apologist.

While the apologetic task of reaching the next generation looms large, those of us who work with Gen Z know “the arm of the Lord is not too short to save” (Isa. 59:11). As we make our defense of the faith to the coming generation, we do so confident that many will “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8). The surveys and studies alert us to the challenge of reaching the most secular generation in history; but we rise to meet that challenge in the confidence of the gospel of our Lord Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit.