Spiritually Interested Syncretists
Holly attended an evangelism conference at Wheaton College, Billy Graham Center, where missionaries and pastors met to discuss how to reach people with the gospel. Barna research expert David Kinnaman shared that people are more spiritually open than we realize, especially since COVID. When talking about Gen Z (high school and college age), they identify as quite spiritual, as the chart shows above.
During the week, Holly and her teammates went to the University of Illinois Chicago and met a 19-year-old woman, Ciera. She had no friends and lived alone. She “believed in Jesus” and prayed to him. Yet, she said she also believes in reincarnation. We asked if she’d like to hear how to have a personal relationship with Jesus, and she said yes. When we asked her if she wanted to invite Jesus into her life, she answered, “I’m too young to make such a big decision. I still need to explore other religions.” She was open to us praying for her and her future before we left. Interestingly, she embraced Jesus as the person she prayed to but didn’t want to “commit” to Christianity.
We are seeing more and more young people engaging in syncretism. They want to add things to “Jesus,” be it psychic readings or other faith practices. This generation is spiritual but isn’t looking for “truth.” They are looking for an “experience.” We also learned that if young people pray and see prayer answered, they are more likely to commit to Jesus. One of our new strategies for reaching this next generation should be to invite them to prayer meetings! This just might be where they are open to finally committing to Jesus. Let us all think about how to bring a spiritually-minded younger generation into spaces where they can experience God and turn to Him!
Melton Family Update
Matt has been dealing with high stress and burnout lately. He started having chest pains, tingling down the left arm and numbness in the face. He went to the ER and was cleared by the hospital and has been getting more outpatient tests. Please pray for answers/results from these tests and that he comes out of burnout.
