Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

Greg Laurie: Scores of Millennials Are Becoming More Religious and Patriotic

Photo by Annie Spratt/Unsplash
Photo by Annie Spratt/Unsplash
Share Tweet
By Greg Laurie
Contributor

September 4, 2019

I thought the subject of this article might grab your attention because it is not what we are generally hearing about millennials and Generation Z these days.

For example, the Wall Street Journal and NBC News recently published the results of a survey on the changing attitudes of these generations. The article says, “The values that Americans say define the national character are changing, as younger generations rate patriotism, religion and having children as less important to them than did young people two decades ago.”

Yet this is not the entire story.

While it may be true some young Americans are rejecting religion and patriotism, there is plenty of evidence to suggest the contrary. As Fox News reported just a few days ago, over 100,000 people filled the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, for a weekend-long crusade our Harvest team has put on for 30 years in a row. Among those in attendance, 63 percent were under 30.

Marriage is a ‘Holy Commitment’: Stephen Baldwin Says God at Center of Daughter Hailey and Justin Bieber’s Wedding

As my mentor and friend, the late Billy Graham, often did at his crusades, I extended an opportunity for people to begin a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. More than 8,000 people responded, and 65 percent of them were either millennials or from Generation Z. Some would describe it “as thousands of young people becoming more religious.”

On the opening night of the crusade, we unfurled a gigantic American flag across the stadium’s field to honor the men and women who serve in our military and sang “God Bless America” to the cheers of thousands in the crowd. Some might call that “patriotism.”

The truth is that every generation has to come of age, but millennials and Gen Z kids are apparently more interested in issues of faith and have more love for our country than is being recognized or generally reported.

When we began these events 30 years ago, the young generation was “Generation X.” Now that generation has entered adulthood, and new generations have followed, as they always will. Believe it or not, there was even a time when we “Baby Boomers” were the young generation. Don’t forget our anthem was Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young!”

A ‘Spiritual Awakening’ in Underwear: Jase Robertson Uses Crazy Dating Story to Explain How to Deal With Temptation

Now, we have traded our acid rock for acid reflux, and instead of our battle-cry being, “Sex, drugs, and rock ’n roll,” it might be, “Nip, tuck, and Botox.” Yet we too became more religious as life led us along.


My point is this: the simple message of the Gospel — that God loves us and desires a relationship with us through Jesus Christ — remains relevant. In fact, it’s as relevant today as it was 30 years ago or even 2,000 years ago. It did not die with Billy Graham or the evangelists who preceded him, such as Billy Sunday, D.L. Moody, or George Whitfield.


The Bible urges us to “know, therefore, that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments” (Deuteronomy 7:9).

Don’t misunderstand me, it is also true that there are some alarming trends among Gen Z and millennials. Experts tell us that millennials are not only the most stressed but also the loneliest and most depressed generation ever. They also have the highest suicide rates of any age group. For these young people, antidepressants are the best-selling pharmaceuticals. 

Some have even described Gen Z as the “Hopeless Generation.” Now, we have gone from the “Greatest Generation” (those coming out of World War II) to the “Hopeless Generation.”

Maybe we will learn later that the technology revolution has contributed to these alarming trends, as more than 4 in 10 Americans surveyed say they cannot live without their smartphones, and 7 in 10 say they sleep with their phones next to their bed. I wonder if it’s a good idea that we now have strollers with built-in compartments for tablets so that children are being conditioned to stare into glowing screens before they learn to meaningfully interact with others. One young woman I read about implanted a chip in her arm so she can open her Tesla with a swipe of her arm. Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the founder of the Tesla electric vehicle company, recently announced that we might see chips implanted in human brains as early as next year.

Worship Pastor’s Personal Suffering, Battle Against Unbelief Births New Music

Each generation thinks it has something the previous generation didn’t, but as the Bible says, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Every generation, from your grandparents to your grandchildren, deals with the same issues. Everyone eventually feels empty, lonely, and afraid to die.

My life message is that God is ultimately the only one who can give real purpose and meaning in this life and hope for the afterlife. Over 100,000 people packed a stadium for the 30th year in a row to hear that message — a message that changed them and that they want to pass on to their children and grandchildren. It’s a message that will eventually resonate with every generation looking for hope.

So, I’m not pessimistic about millennials or Gen Z and those following them. I think they’ll eventually land where the rest of us have, even though their search might look and feel differently. Meanwhile, some of us will be standing in stadiums and on street corners with hope which we believe, and the vast majority of the world still believes, can only come from God.

Greg Laurie is an author, evangelist, pastor and founder of the Harvest churches in California and Hawaii and Harvest Crusades. He is a bestselling author of several books, and his newest book “Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon” is now available at bookstores. Follow him @greglaurie.

Latest

  • News

    ‘Word for Word’: Persecution Watchdog Warns of Striking Similarities Between Communist Persecution, ‘American Leftist Way of Restriction’

  • News

    Calgary Pastor Arrested for Second Time After Protesting Drag Show at Public Library

  • News

    ‘Gateways to the Demonic’: Pastor Breaks Down Possession, Spiritual Healing, and Biblical Truths About Devil’s Most Dangerous Tricks

  • Life

    ‘Nonsense’: Atheist and Biologist Richard Dawkins Hits Back at ‘Bullying’ of J.K. Rowling, Proclaims ‘There are Two Sexes’

  • News

    Christian Wrestler Under Fire After Praising Jesus, Mentioning Muhammad Following Win: ‘Holy Spirit Power — It’s Everything’


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • ‘Word for Word’: Persecution Watchdog Warns of Striking Similarities Between Communist Persecution, ‘American Leftist Way of Restriction’
  • Calgary Pastor Arrested for Second Time After Protesting Drag Show at Public Library
  • ‘Gateways to the Demonic’: Pastor Breaks Down Possession, Spiritual Healing, and Biblical Truths About Devil’s Most Dangerous Tricks
  • ‘Nonsense’: Atheist and Biologist Richard Dawkins Hits Back at ‘Bullying’ of J.K. Rowling, Proclaims ‘There are Two Sexes’
  • Christian Wrestler Under Fire After Praising Jesus, Mentioning Muhammad Following Win: ‘Holy Spirit Power — It’s Everything’

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?