How We’ve Failed Gen Z/A
‘One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.’ Psalm 145:4
Gen Z and early Gen Alphas have developed a negative reputation among older generations—with words like ‘entitled’, ‘lazy’, ‘narcissistic’, ‘sarcastic’, ‘elitist’, and ‘soft’ consistently being used to describe these younger cohorts. Even the church is guilty of rolling its eyes and resenting these generations that we are called to disciple.
The gospel is for every person, and yet the statistics undeniably demonstrate the lack of guidance and ministry for our youngest two generations. Approximately one third of Gen Z identifies as religiously unaffiliated and only 4% of Gen Z has a biblical worldview, with Gen A projected to be the least religious generation ever.
How are we to share the gospel with all nations and the whole of creation if only 4% of those who will inherit the future know Christ?
On the other hand, the enemy has made strides in his pursuit of our children and their children, with Gen Z being 80% more likely to report struggling with depression than other generations, and more of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ than any other previous generation. Generation Alpha, whose parents are mostly millennials, is the first generation to be born into non-traditional family structures as the norm, with more single parent households or divorced parent households than any previous generation.
Beyond this, Gen Z is known as the ‘loneliest generation’ with 73% reporting they feel alone either sometimes or always. So how is the church failing to reach these young people with the promise of purpose, fulfillment, freedom, and meaningful relationships while they are drowning in depression, anxiety, and isolation? How are toddlers and 27-year-olds alike missing the good news of Jesus?
One thing is clear—we are not speaking to Gen Z in their language, and the enemy is. So what can we do differently for Generation Alpha?
The iPad Generation
‘And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,’ Romans 15:20.
Generation Alpha is the first generation born entirely in the 21st century, and are commonly referred to as ‘digital natives’. They have grown up with devices at their fingertips and a smartphone camera constantly in their faces—so while they may be the most socially inept generation (by the social standards of older generations) so far they are also the most technologically proficient. Because of the accessibility of technology in their developmental years and their apparent addiction to screens, Gen A has euphemistically become known as ‘iPad kids’ or the ‘iPad generation’.
The running online joke is that iPad kids need technology to do anything— whether they are taking a shower, eating a meal, or exercising, they need constant stimulation from a screen. Some of the harsher critics of screen time even accuse parents of using the iPad as a babysitter so they don’t have to interact with their own children.
Still, many argue that the digitization of life is inevitable and unavoidable, with the metaverse slowly becoming less of a buzzword and more of a reality. This means that our biggest problem for the iPad generation is not the iPads themselves but the fact that the Christians who went before them ceded the metaverse almost entirely to the enemy’s content.
Around 94% of Gen Z and Gen A identify themselves as gaming enthusiasts—a staggering statistic compared to the 4% of Gen Z that identifies as Christian. As a result, the gaming industry is larger than any world religion by almost 1 billion people; with about 3.34 billion gamers in the world and only 2.4 billion Christians.
Both Gen Z and Gen A spend billions of hours gaming per year, with 7.5 billion hours played on Roblox alone by users under 13 in the 3rd quarter of 2024. This makes the gaming industry the largest entertainment industry in the world—a $455 billion market.
And yet, despite mind-boggling numbers like these, there are still so few faith-based gaming experiences, and even fewer that kids actually want to play. But if we want to connect with Gen Z and Gen A and bring the Gospel to them—gaming is how we do it. We have to go into all the worlds.
round 94% of Gen Z and Gen A identify themselves as gaming enthusiasts . . . the gaming industry is larger than any world religion by almost 1 billion people; with about 3.34 billion gamers in the world and only 2.4 billion Christians.
Video Games Don’t Have to Rot Your Brain
‘Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” ‘ John 18:36
Despite the incredible potential for evangelism and discipleship, Christians tend to be wary of video games as a source of entertainment for their kids. Video games are associated with a lack of motivation, poor school performance, social disconnection, low self esteem, and an increase in aggression. Recent research demonstrates that the metaverse is increasingly dangerous for kids, with more than 44% of youth surveyed in one study having received hate speech/slurs; 37.6% having experienced bullying; and 35% having faced harassment.
On top of this, there have even been incidents of sexual assault and harassment in the metaverse, with the immersive nature of virtual reality making these traumatic experiences feel more real than other forms of internet harassment.
We can’t be surprised at the depravity of video games and the metaverse when we’ve allowed the investment in that space to be almost entirely by the enemy— but it doesn’t have to be this way. As Christians we are called to be a light to the world and influencers of culture, and the digital world is no exception!
Below are two powerful examples of gaming projects with a mission—getting people to the foot of the cross.
We can’t be surprised at the depravity of video games and the metaverse when we’ve allowed the investment in that space to be almost entirely by the enemy— but it doesn’t have to be this way.
Land of Promise
Land of Promise is a faith-based Minecraft server that couples the gospel with what kids love most about gaming. Their mission is to help young people develop relationships with God and with each other through playing and learning together in virtual spaces. Kids can explore the massive city together and walk through Biblical scenes like the Tabernacle and the Temple at Jerusalem. They can engage creatively and build their own spaces within the virtual world, play minigames that teach them important Bible stories, or solve puzzles with Bible questions.
Within sessions, kids engage in actual Bible lessons and chapters of Scripture with a leader before achieving specific objectives in the survival zone. Afterwards, kids can use their newfound knowledge to earn special in-server currency by answering Bible questions and collecting Bible verses. It is literally a life group for kids having fun.
Land of Promise aims to create a space that empowers churches, ministry leaders, and mentors to share the gospel with younger generations and equip them with the tools to follow Christ. Kids are actively and excitedly engaging with the Scriptures in totally new ways through this creative method of discipleship, offering the church important insight into the power of a gaming ministry in the digital world.
Related Article
The Digital Harvest: A Vision for Reaching Gamers with the Gospel with Luke and Jennifer Richey
Did you know that 94% of Gen Z identifies as gamers? What if the Church could step into digital spaces and make an impact where the next generation is already gathered?
WarTribe of Binyamin
While Land of Promise offers Christian gameplay with overtly biblical quests, WarTribe of Binyamin is a secular game with subliminal faith-based messaging, developed by Christian founders.
The mobile game is a global gamification of life experience with a real AI villain and digital enemies that invade users’ actual physical surroundings via AR and digitally. The game is focused on fostering meaningful connections among players, offering unique, community-oriented gameplay features like coordinated home bases and shared clan wallets. Players never fight one another, rather they are united in their mission to destroy an evil AI and preserve humanity.
But the mission doesn’t end there. Revenue from in-game purchases will be used to fund the development of the world’s most extensive natural language processing engine (NLP) for untranslated languages—an AI tool that will translate the world’s most under-resourced languages into a trade language. Think ChatGPT or Google Translate, but where these have the capacity for a couple hundred languages, this AI engine will have the capacity for roughly 7,000 languages.
How is this possible? WarTribe of Binyamin offers two modes of gameplay based on a user’s geolocation. While users in developed areas will only have access to the classic in-game purchase mode, users in impoverished areas with an untranslated language will have access to a play-to-earn version.
Play-to-earn players get paid real currency to translate their native languages into a trade language—creating crowd-sourced datasets and circumventing much of the expense associated with developing an NLP.
In this way, the game works to provide a real world method for alleviating global poverty, by offering people in under-resourced areas the opportunity to earn real income without requiring additional labor.
The best part? Gravity Jack is partnered with Wycliffe and SIL to use completed translations to bring Scripture to people who have never been able to access the Word in their heart languages—effectively sharing the gospel with people on an unprecedented scale.
Call to Action
Gaming is a sustainable and even profitable investment in evangelism, and the church needs to invest billions into the space immediately. The enemy is discipling the next generations through gaming and we need to fight back. So we ask: ‘Where is the church?’
The digital age presents both unprecedented challenges and incredible opportunities for the church. While the statistics about Gen Z and Gen Alpha can seem daunting, they also remind us of our mission: to bring the gospel to every person. These generations are not unreachable—they’re just waiting for someone to go where they are. Test the hypothesis, play a video game with a kid for three minutes and they will remember you and that moment forever because adults don’t go there.
Ministries like Land of Promise and game innovations like WarTribe of Binyamin demonstrate that the gospel can thrive in even the most unexpected spaces, but still, both of those projects are massively underfunded, so again we are left asking ‘Where is the church?’.
While the statistics about Gen Z and Gen Alpha can seem daunting, they also remind us of our mission: to bring the gospel to every person. These generations are not unreachable—they’re just waiting for someone to go where they are.
Reaching the next generation requires us to embrace new methods without compromising the timeless message of Christ. The mission is clear: the gospel is for every person, in every nation, and in every generation—including those growing up in the digital age,and it’s time we bring it to them. As we look to the future, let us carry the message of hope, redemption, and love into all the worlds they inhabit, ensuring no one is left behind.