Building Trust with Gen Z with Kara Powell

Dec 13, 2023

Author and Chief of Leadership Formation, Kara Powell, joins Russell Moore to discuss building trust with Generation Z. They explore research on Gen Z's relationship to faith and church, the challenges of regaining trust, and opportunities for church leaders to come alongside young people. They highlight TENx10, which aims to help faith matter more to 10 million young people over the next 10 years. They emphasize the importance of everyday acts of listening and empathizing to rebuild trust with Gen Z.

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Introduction

00:00 • 4min

Rising Levels of Anxiety and Depression Among Teenagers and Young Adults

03:36 • 9min

Building Trust with Gen Z and the Challenge of Regaining Trust

12:15 • 4min

Rebuilding Trust with Generation Z

16:13 • 15min

Evaluating Ministry for Transformation and Practicing Faith Together

31:27 • 4min

Uncovering Deeper Questions

35:10 • 12min

You’ve heard of the nones: the agnostic or atheist-adjacent young people who profess no religious faith. But what about the ums: those who, when asked, “Do you go to church?” are likely to respond with “um” or “not really” or “I kind of drifted during the pandemic.” What can be done to invite them back into connection and community?

On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore welcomes author Kara Powell, Chief of Leadership Formation and Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary. Powell and Moore talk about research on Gen Z’s relationship to faith and church. They explore the reasons that young people are skeptical of Christianity and highlight opportunities for church leaders and older Christians to come alongside young people on their journeys. Moore and Powell discuss TENx10, a collaboration that endeavors to help faith matter more to 10 million young people over the next 10 years and offers faith communities the resources they need to prioritize youth discipleship. And they offer hope for rebuilding trust with members of Gen Z through, as Powell puts it, “everyday acts of listening and empathizing.”

Tune in for a dynamic conversation that will help parents, church leaders, and all who love Gen Z to answer the questions they’re asking about life and faith.

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Faith Beyond Youth Group: Five Ways to Form Character and Cultivate Lifelong Discipleship by Kara Powell, Jen Bradbury, and Brad M. Griffin
Fuller Youth Institute
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt
Skye Jethani
TENx10
“New Findings on Young Americans Two Years Into The Covid-19 Pandemic” from Springtide Research Institute
Orange

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“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today

Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper

Host: Russell Moore

Producer: Ashley Hales

Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill

Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens

Audio engineering by Dan Phelps

Video producer: Abby Egan

Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton

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