‘…[W]e your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise.’
Psalms 79:13 NIV

Christians of every generation have seen revival spread across their demographic. We look at Billy Graham’s Crusades in the 1940s, the Jesus Movement that occurred in the 1960s, the Asbury College revival in 1970 and then in 2023, the Gather25 movement that has been happening for the past few years, and then the Gen Z Christianity revival that has been slowly moving recently as well.

These are all American (aside from Gather25, which is a worldwide movement) revivals and have only happened in the past eighty-something years.

And I think that it goes to show that the generations, as we grow closer to our phones and further from our in-person relationships, are really crying out for Jesus. There’s a hole of some sort in the hearts of those who turn to drugs, porn, social media, alcohol, and adrenaline to fill the gap between them and a relationship with Christ.

Now as we look at these generations and their various stories of faith—whether it’s as a generation as a whole or a particular person and his or her story—we see one thing: they were lost, and now they are found.

Maybe they were lost for only a few years or maybe it was almost their entire life. Maybe they came to Christ in a way that gives you shivers, like a near death experience, or maybe it was because their parents brought them to church every Sunday.

We think there’s such a big gap between us and the “Boomers’” or “Millennials’” faith journey—but we’re all here for the same reason. Now it’s time we act like it.

I’ve participated in classes at church that included young adults, teens, middle-aged adults, and those who were in their seventies. We were all there for one reason: to learn and talk about Jesus. The adults mentioned how they enjoyed learning with the youth, and the youth enjoyed learning from their elders.

All generations struggle with accepting who is a ‘good fit’ to accept into their Bible study—and while it’s good to be in groups like that with your peers, we forget that the Church as a whole is made of all generations, the young and the old, male and female, those from all background.

Millennials and Boomers (with all due respect) look at Gen Z as ‘immature,’ ‘too loose,’ ‘unexperienced’ or ‘too young’ to do God’s work.

Gen Z (and Gen Alpha likely will too) look at their elders saying they are ‘too outdated,’ ‘uptight,’ ‘old-fashioned’, or ‘traditional’ to participate in sharing the Gospel.

And the funny thing is that all of these things might be true if we keep looking at the ‘opposing’ generations with the labels we give them.

If I were to say that my elders are ‘too outdated’ to share the love of God, then those elders who call me ‘immature’ would be right.

If those elders were to say I’m ‘too young’ to proclaim my faith, then by calling them ‘uptight,’ I would be right.

We can’t disqualify each others’ faith because our acts of sharing the Gospel have different approaches.

There’s a man I really admire named Father Gregory Boyle—he founded a nonprofit called Homeboy Industries and it’s the largest gang intervention center in the world.

There’s a content creator and modern-day evangelist who I also really admire, named Bryce Crawford—he shares the Gospel on the streets with intentionality and kindness, but isn’t afraid to be honest, and now he has a podcast and goes on tours around the world.

These two men are different in pretty much every way—I’m not even sure if they know who each other are. But they both do what they do for one reason: the love of God.

And what I admire is this: Father Boyle takes an approach by interacting with the youth and the ‘homeboys’ (as he calls them) and welcoming them with the affirmation they need—and while the way they live out their faith looks different, he doesn’t disqualify it.

Bryce Crawford does the same thing—when he encounters an older person on the street, he interacts with them in a way that’s respectful and yet clear by indicating, “Our faith might appear differently because of our age, but we love Jesus and that’s awesome.” He’ll give them a fist bump and pray with them, and neither of their faith journeys are disqualified.

None of this is to say that your faith is better than the other or that it’s okay if you live a life of sin but it’s okay because the love of God covers that. That’s not the point of this post. The point is this:

Age does not disqualify your faith.

We can look at a ten-year old boy who loves Jesus and we can look at a ninety-year old man who make it their goal to life for Christ in a way that glorifies Him and shines His light for others.

We see all over the Bible that Jesus healed and cared for the elderly, the young, and all ages in between.

Each generation has something to teach the other generations:

Gen Z might show Boomers how to use whatever resources you have to share the Gospel.

Boomers (again, with all due respect) might show Gen Z and Millennials how to grow your faith and remembering the respect and reverence that our God deserves. We can all teach each other things worth knowing—as generations and as individuals.

In closing, I want to say this:

Don’t look down on Christians because of their age, and don’t look down on older Christians because of their traditional ways. We’re all working for one goal, and we can’t do that as one Church if we are separate from each other.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post!
~Willow