The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
We're all about helping create a healthy, positive, and spiritually positive environment for church staff members and leadership teams.
The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
Engaging Generation Alpha: Rethinking Ministry for a New Generation
Ready to uncover the secrets of engaging with Generation Alpha in your church? Tune in to this episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, where we promise you'll gain valuable insights into how this emerging generation's worldview is reshaping ministry approaches. From their unexpectedly positive outlook on the pandemic to their firm views on cancel culture, Generation Alpha is challenging us to rethink how we connect and communicate with them.
Host Todd Rhoades takes you on an exploration of this digitally native cohort, born after 2010, highlighting their unique perspectives and needs within the church context. Discover why creating a judgment-free space is essential for them to explore their faith and why authenticity and transparency have never been more critical. As we explore these themes, we aim to equip you with the tools to make your ministry relevant and impactful for the future, ensuring that the church remains a place of genuine connection and meaningful dialogue for Generation Alpha.
Have questions or comments? Send to podcast@chemistrystaffing.com
Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.
- - - - -
Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.
Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.
Hi there, welcome to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. My name is Todd Rhodes, I'm your host and one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom, and welcome to this new week here on the podcast. If you are not a subscriber, hit subscribe wherever you're listening, and we're here every Monday through Friday with some hopefully encouraging words for you as a church staff member. Today, we're going to be talking about the youngest generation in airing our churches, and this is a new generation. I've not really seen much research or heard much about it, but what we're calling it is Generation Alpha. Generation Alpha Now.
Speaker 1:These are people that were born after 2010,. 13, 14-year-olds. These kids are growing up in a world that's vastly different than the one that I grew up with. For sure, and there's a recent Newsweek article that mentioned some really, I think, fascinating insights from a poll of these Gen Alpha teens. And let me tell you, these findings really do have some big implications on how we do ministry, not just for future ministry, but also, I think, how we do ministry children's ministry, kids' ministry, student ministry, family ministry. This I found it actually rather shocking, because these young people have different views than definitely those in my generation, probably even the generation before me and their parents.
Speaker 1:Okay, so a couple of things, three things that they found in this recent survey of Gen Alpha, and again, these are people born after 2010. The first was really interesting. I thought on the pandemic and how the pandemic shaped their worldview. Now, believe it or not, more Gen Alpha teens reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had a positive impact on their lives not a negative one, but a positive one. Now this might seem surprising, but it really does, I think, probably speak to their youth and their resilience and their adaptability. They've learned to navigate uncertainty and find connection in new ways. They had to. So they look at the pandemic as there's more of them looking at it as a positive thing, at a positive impact, than a negative impact. It's really interesting.
Speaker 1:Secondly, let's talk about cancel culture. The poll found that a majority of Gen Alpha teens again, those born after 2010, the majority of Gen Alpha teens actually support canceling public figures who say offensive things. This may highlight their strong sense of justice and accountability, which is a good thing, but it also raises some questions about how they view grace and forgiveness and redemption things that hopefully we're teaching and modeling inside the church. So that's the second thing. And then, third, they are truly digital natives. Gen Alpha has never, ever think about this. They've never, ever known a world without smartphones. They've never spent a day of their lives that didn't have social media, and while this can present challenges and opportunities for them in their lives that didn't have social media, and while this can present challenges and opportunities for them in their lives, it also represents challenges and opportunities for us in the church. We need to find ways to connect with them differently than we have with other generations. We have to connect with them in their digital world, while also helping them navigate all those potential pitfalls of technology, and there's a lot of them.
Speaker 1:How can we, what does this all mean? How can we effectively minister to this emerging generation? Again, we're talking about Generation Alpha. First, in our churches, we have to and this is without saying we have to create a safe and a welcoming place right.
Speaker 1:Gen Alpha needs a place where they can be themselves and ask questions and wrestle with their faith without any fear of judgment. And just remember and that's why this is important they're looking at their faith through a different lens than you or I do. They're looking at their faith through a different life lens than their parents, so we need to learn from that. It doesn't mean we change any of our theology or anything I'm not advocating for any of that but we do need to realize they're asking questions, different questions, and we need to be able to answer those questions and stop answering questions that they're not asking. They're asking different questions. Second, I think we just need to be authentic and transparent, right. This doesn't change just because it's Gen Alpha, but because of how they're being raised and the culture they're being raised in. They can spot a fake a mile away and they really do crave genuine connection and they do crave honest conversations.
Speaker 1:Third, you know, just embrace technology. Don't be afraid and hopefully you're not in your ministry, but don't be afraid to use social media and online platforms and other digital tools in different ways, and it means that you're going to use you know, a lot of us are using digital tools and online platforms and social media and streaming and all of that good stuff to reach their parents. But, man, we're going to have to step it up and we're going to have to see how they're using technology differently than their parents and embrace that and reach them through that. Fourth thing two more things here and then we'll close for today, teach them how to think critically. They are being absolutely bombarded with information from all sides, and we need to equip them with the skills to discern them the truth from the falsehood that's in their world and help them navigate the complexities of the world. And then, lastly, we need to empower them to be agents of change.
Speaker 1:Gen Alpha has a strong desire to make a difference in the world. Even at that young age, even in their early teens, they want to make a difference. There's a lot of great things to admire about Gen Alpha. From what I can tell, there's some things that are very concerning as well, but let's provide opportunities for them to serve in the church, to lead and to use their gifts to impact their communities and their church, because they will lean into that. They will. They want to make a change.
Speaker 1:So here's today's bottom line. Maybe you've never heard of Gen Alpha. Now you have Gen Alpha Anybody that's been born since 2010 or after 2010,. Actually, it's a generation full of potential and, as church leaders, we need to start looking at that in our churches and in our family ministries. So let's rise to that challenge. We need to reach them with the love of Christ, just like we have reached every generation before and we need to equip them to be world changers.
Speaker 1:If you're looking for more resources or guidance on ministering to Gen Alpha man, we'd love to have a conversation with you. We don't have all the answers, but we can talk together and help guide you through that and learn together. You can reach out to me anytime. Just pop me an email at podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. And my specialty is helping churches and staff members with searches and healthy staff resources, coaching any of that kind of thing that you need for your church. Reach out to me anytime. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. Okay, thanks so much. We will be back here tomorrow for another edition of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Until then, have a great day.
