Don’t Just Reach the Next Generation, Mobilize Them

Church leaders spend a lot of time asking an important question: How do we reach the next generation?

How do we keep young people connected to the Church? How do we communicate the gospel in a rapidly changing culture? How do we help them develop a faith that lasts?

But as we work to fulfill the Great Commission, there may be another question we need to ask:

How do we mobilize the next generation to reach their generation?

A recent issue of Lausanne Global Analysis explores the relationship between generations and the Great Commission. While cautioning against stereotypes and reminding us that labels like “Gen Z” do not describe young people equally across every culture, the report identifies important opportunities for the Church.

Across many contexts, younger generations are expressing a desire for authenticity, meaningful community, mentorship, spiritual depth, and purpose.

Those desires matter for how we reach young people. But they may also tell us something about how we invite them into the mission of Jesus.

From Spectators to Participators

It can be easy to think about the next generation primarily as people the Church needs to reach, but Jesus gave us a much bigger vision.

The Great Commission calls us to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). A disciple isn’t simply someone who hears the Good News. A disciple follows Jesus and learns to help others follow him too.

That means our goal isn’t simply to keep the next generation in church. We want to help them become disciples who make disciples.

In the Lausanne report, Billy McMahan argues that many young adults may be more ready for this kind of invitation than we realize. He describes encountering young people who aren’t simply looking to be entertained by or attracted to a church program. They are asking to be discipled. They want someone to walk with them as they become the people God is calling them to be.

That kind of discipleship can have implications far beyond one generation.

Young people who are discipled today can become the witnesses, disciple-makers, church planters, pastors, missionaries, and everyday followers of Jesus who carry the Good News into places previous generations could never reach.

The Great Commission Has Always Been Generational

We often think about the Great Commission geographically.

Jesus tells his followers to make disciples of all nations. In Acts, he sends us to be his witnesses “to the ends of the earth.”

But the Great Commission also stretches across time.

Jesus ends his command in Matthew 28 with a promise: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Christian mission has always depended on one generation faithfully passing the Good News to the next.

Paul invested in Timothy. Elijah prepared Elisha. Throughout Scripture, God’s people are repeatedly called to tell the next generation what God has done.

Psalm 145:4 echoes: “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.”

Every generation receives the gospel from someone, and every generation has the opportunity to carry it forward.

A Generation Ready to Be Sent

The Great Commission has always moved forward as believers receive the Good News and then carry it to others. The next generation has the same opportunity.

For pastors and church leaders, that means thinking beyond how to attract or retain young people. We can ask a bigger question: How are we preparing them to take their place in fulfilling the Great Commission?

That starts with discipleship, but it doesn’t end there. Young believers need opportunities to practice sharing their faith, serve alongside more experienced leaders, build relationships with people who don’t know Jesus, and discover how their gifts can contribute to God’s mission.

And those opportunities don’t have to begin somewhere far away. Their mission field is already around them—in their schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, friendships, and digital communities.

Every generation has a role to play in helping everyone, everywhere hear the Good News. As today’s leaders invest in those coming behind them, we can help raise up a generation that doesn’t simply inherit the mission, they carry it forward.

 

For some simple first steps you can lead someone in to help fulfill the Great Commission, visit https://finishingthetask.com/take-your-next-step/