Sunday School and Gen Z
Before I fully committed myself to a career in ministry, I floated around a few degree plans in community college. I found the most compelling were Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations. The thought of communicating and relating to a large-scale audience thrilled and terrified me. There is a terminology in mass communication called “The Hypodermic Needle Theory,” “Which asserted, in essence, that everyone in an audience reads and is affected by a given text the same way.”[1] This theory has long since been debunked because we understand that individual people have the power to think for themselves and process information differently. Generation Z is perhaps the greatest generation to challenge the Hypodermic Needle Theory to date due in part to their familiarity with a culture of mass information. Millennials, who preceded Gen Z, were considered digital pioneers, whereas Gen Z is understood to be “Digital Natives.”[2]
Why does all of this matter? As Sunday School teachers, we carry the weight of not just dispensing information but also taking on the responsibility that the information is absorbed. Many of us might feel that that is not our problem, that we’re being faithful to simply communicate the message. There was a prophet in the Bible who held this same viewpoint, and he ended up getting eaten by a fish! In all seriousness, discipleship goes well beyond the Sunday School hour. In Jesus’ time, there was a great deal of terminology around shepherds. Jesus specifically compared Himself to the good shepherd in John 10:11, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He, who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing about the sheep.” We’re not supposed to be hired hands; we’re supposed to be good shepherds like Jesus. I’m thankful that generations before Jesus, there was a young man named David, a faithful shepherd who developed the skills to attack bears and lions, and eventually a blasphemous Philistine named Goliath. The point I’m trying to make is that we are called to be good shepherds, to be faithful in what God has given us today so he can develop and use us to accomplish His will tomorrow and for the rest of our lives.
““The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He, who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing about the sheep.””
Unique Characteristics and Challenges Facing Gen Z
Generation Z is built around “digital natives” born into a world where information is freely accessible. While the information age has ushered in a new era of understanding and capability, this new world has presented unique challenges and opportunities for our youngest generation. Gen Z has a world of information available at its disposal, and with the rise in machine learning and artificial intelligence, this information is only becoming more accessible. Artificial intelligence, or AI, presents the most significant unknown and will ultimately lead to the greatest transformational component of society since the rise of the internet.
A second key difference between Gen Z and previous generations is the motivation behind their decision-making. Generation Z seems to be a purpose-driven age demographic. In his book Generation Z: Born for the Storm, Dr. Billy Wilson, the president of Oral Roberts University, explains the key differences between millennials and Gen Z. “Generation Z is different from millennials in many ways, but one difference I see often is in their motivations and drive. Gen Z is driven to make a positive difference. They seem to carry a generational gifting around purpose.”[3]
Finally, social media is still continually developing in our modern society, and the side effects are yet to be entirely determined. Many current Sunday School teachers have probably thought to themselves at some point, “Boy, I’m glad social media didn’t exist when I was a young person.” Unfortunately, this is the world our young people live in today. Their whole lives are potentially documented and uploaded. Terms like cyberbullying have only grown in relevancy, and damages from this type of hazing can follow people for a lifetime. This is a very real consideration for young people today and can have debilitating impacts on mental health and self-esteem.
Challenges and Opportunities in Teaching Gen Z
Each new generation brings a unique set of challenges in the classroom and Sunday school. As we previously discussed, Gen Z has the internet and all the informational resources that come with it in their pockets and can play real-time fact-checkers in the classroom. Nothing will destroy a Sunday School teacher’s credibility like misinformation. Gen Z is very good at researching and finding their own set of facts. The challenge Christian educators face is the increased pressure to be well-informed in the classroom. On the other hand, Gen Z understands the struggle in the search for truth and appreciates open research and honest dialogue
Another challenge to consider is the rising expectations for high-quality entertainment. In a world dominated by TikTok-style material where a consumer makes millisecond decisions in determining if your content is worth their time and attention, we must be excellent and dedicated when teaching our classes. Over the last two decades, researchers have found that the average attention span has dropped from 12 to 8 seconds.[4] This coincides with the rise of mobile technology, such as early cell phones, modern smartphones, and computers. The same report also indicated that multi-tasking abilities have increased, making Gen Z a highly productive yet increasingly distracted generation. As teachers, we aim to harness their attention and drive to lead them toward a lasting, fulfilling, and informed relationship with Jesus Christ.
While many challenges face our world today, the opportunity to shape and usher in the Gospel to a generation of people who can reach the entire globe for the sake of knowing Jesus Christ is an exciting adventure. As a Sunday School teacher, you play a pivotal role in making this dream a reality.
[1] Arthur Asa Berger, Essentials of Mass Communication Theory (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc, 2013), 111.
[2] “What Are the Core Characteristics of Generation Z?,” The Annie E. Casey Foundation, January 13, 2021, https://www.aecf.org/blog/what-are-the-core-characteristics-of-generation-z.
[3] Billy Wilson, Generation Z: Born for the Storm (Tulsa, OK: Forefront Books, 2021), 35.
[4] https://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/
