Each volume of Gen Z research, conducted in partnership with Barna and Impact 360 Institute, has peeled back another layer of this rising generation, revealing their connectedness, social consciousness and spiritual openness alongside their anxiety, skepticism and drive. Building on insights from previous volumes, Gen Z Volume 3 focuses on this crucial transition from teenage years to young adulthood. The data reveals notable differences during this shift, affecting how they view and engage in the world.
On September 12, 2024, Impact 360 Institute, in partnership with Barna, will host a one-day conference at Dogwood Church, in Tyrone, Georgia titled Leading Gen Z.
The event will specifically focus on discipling Gen Z in a post-Christian culture, as speakers share some of the insights documented in the latest edition of Gen Z Volume 3. Conference Passes will be $39 or Buy 3 Get-One-Free. We encourage you to share about this event with your church, community, and pastors.
Gen Z is grappling with big questions of identity, morality, sexuality, and technology (including AI). Here’s a glimpse of what this newest data reveals:
- A plurality of Gen Z (40%) strongly agree “people should have the freedom to identify however feels most true to them.”
- Gen Z is unwilling to take a firm stance on whether there are moral absolutes. Over three in five (63%) agree “what is morally right or wrong depends on what an individual believes.”
- Nearly half of Gen Z (46%) personally experience doubts about their religious faith.
- A strong majority of Gen Z (85%) agree their generation spends too much time online (49% strongly, 39% somewhat). Over half (54%) also strongly agree that “in-person relationships are more valuable than digital relationships.”
- Overall, Gen Z has strong and often competing emotions surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), with 35 percent saying they find AI exciting and 34 percent saying they find AI scary. Half of Gen Z (51%) has used Chat GPT or a similar AI tool.
This newest data, alongside insights from experts, youth pastors and Gen Z themselves, helps provide better understanding of a generation coming of age—teens and young adults grappling with big questions of identity, morality, sexuality, technology (including AI) and more. There’s a pressing need to help Gen Z discover meaningful faith in a world of endless options.
How will you respond? Register for our Leading Gen-Z Conference here.
Speakers
David Kinnaman is the author of the bestselling books Faith For Exiles, Good Faith, You Lost Me, and unChristian. He is CEO of Barna Group, a leading research and communications company that works with churches, nonprofits, and businesses ranging from film studios to financial services. Since 1995, David has directed interviews with more than two million individuals and overseen thousands of U.S. and global research studies. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas and has three children.
Dr. Jonathan Morrow has been equipping students and parents in biblical worldview, apologetics and culture for over 17 years and is passionate about seeing a new generation build a lasting faith. He is the director of cultural engagement and student discipleship at Impact 360 Institute and an adjunct professor of apologetics at Biola University. He is author of several books, including Welcome to College, Questioning the Bible, and Is God Just a Human Invention? He contributed to the Apologetics Study Bible for Students and is the creator of the 5 Things Every Teenager Needs to Build a Lasting Faith course for parents. Jonathan and his wife have been married for 23 years and live with their three children near Atlanta.
Dr. Kathy Koch (pronounced “cook”) is the Founder and President of Celebrate Kids, Inc., based in Fort Worth, TX. She has influenced thousands of parents, teachers, and children in over 25 countries through keynote messages, seminars, chapels, and other events. Dr. Kathy offers practical, relevant, and spiritual-centered insights and strategies for parents and educators, so they increase hope in God, celebrate kids as Jesus did, and guide children to develop biblical character and healthy relationships so they flourish in life. She is proud to be represented by the Premiere Speakers Bureau.
Dr. Kathy speaks in Christian schools, churches, pregnancy resource centers, and for various organizations including Care Net, Summit Ministries, the Colson Center, and Teach Them Diligently. Kirk Cameron chose her as an expert in two recent documentaries and she is also a popular guest on Focus on the Family radio and other radio talk shows and podcasts. She is the author of seven books published by Moody Publishers: 8 Great Smarts, Screens and Teens, Resilient Kids, Start with the Heart, No More Perfect Kids (with Jill Savage), Five to Thrive, and her most recent book, Parent Differently: Raise Kids with Biblical Character that Changes Culture.
Dr. Kathy earned a PhD in reading and educational psychology from Purdue University. She was tenured as an associate professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, served as a teacher of second graders, a middle school coach, and a school board member before founding Celebrate Kids in 1991. She has loved Jesus for years, and her faith and desire to serve and glorify God is the foundation of her ministry.
Dr. Christopher Yuan has taught the Bible at Moody Bible Institute for over ten years, and his speaking ministry on faith and sexuality has reached five continents. He speaks at conferences, on college campuses, and in churches. He has co-authored, with his mother, their memoir (now in seven languages), Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son’s Journey to God, A Broken Mother’s Search for Hope, and he is also the author of Giving a Voice to the Voiceless. Christopher graduated from Moody Bible Institute, Wheaton College Graduate School, and received his doctorate of ministry from Bethel Seminary. His most recent book is Holy Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God’s Grand Story.
Jerrod Gunter has always had a heart for the youth, especially in the area of development and equipping students to be successful in every phase of life. He has developed several ministry programs, and consults and trains with youth ministries to encourage students to be empowered through leadership, discipleship and their creative God-given gifts. He has shared his passion and perception of youth ministry with leaders at organizations such as Google, Stuff You Can Use, Dare 2Share Ministries and Center for Youth Ministry Training.
Jerrod Gunter is the Next Generation Pastor at New Direction Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee. At New Direction, Jerrod initiated a youth movement called “Riot Starters” which equips students to take prayer and evangelism to their schools and communities. As a result of “Riot Starters,” Jerrod’s teens have become devoted Christ-followers and hundreds of unsaved students have put their faith in Jesus.
Download our Media Kit to share about the Conference with your church and community.