Report stresses urgent need, opportunity with emerging adults

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DALLAS—The Baptist General Convention of Texas has both an urgent need and a tremendous opportunity to involve Gen Z and Millennials in Texas Baptist life, two task force representatives said.

Scotty Swingler, associate pastor of students at Sugar Land Baptist Church near Houston, and Chris McLain, pastor of First Baptist Church in Bandera, presented a report from Texas Baptists’ Gen Z/Millennial Task Force to the BGCT Executive Board at its September meeting in Dallas.

Texas Baptists have a bright future, provided they are intentional about “loving, involving and prioritizing Gen Z and Millennial believers,” Swingler said.

Gen Z adults were born in 1997 or earlier, and Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, he explained.

In a data-driven report, Swingler told the board:

  • According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the average age in Texas is 34.
  • The median age of Protestant ministers in the United States in 2017 was 54 years old, compared to age 44 in 1992. Thirty years ago, one-third of senior pastors were younger than 40. Today, only one-seventh of all senior pastors are younger than 40. There are more senior pastors older than 65 than younger than 40.
  • Slightly more than one-third (36 percent) of Millennials are church members, down 14 percent from the generation that precedes them.
  • Barna Research reports 42 percent of Gen Z are religiously unaffiliated, and 13 percent identify as atheist—double any preceding generation.

However, he reported some encouraging news about Gen Z. Nearly 6 out of 10 (58.2 percent) of Gen Z evangelicals attend church weekly—more than any other generation, according to studies by Public Religion Research Institute and Washington College.

“If there is going to be a revival in the American church, Gen Z will lead it,” Swingler said. “When it comes to church, Gen Z adults are all in or completely out.”

Swingler commended the BGCT Executive Board for electing a Millennial, Bobby Contreras from Alamo Heights Baptist Church in San Antonio, as its next chair.

At the same time, Texas Baptists’ Gen Z/Millennial Task Force included no Gen Z representatives, he lamented.

Key themes of discussion identified

McLain, who introduced the motion at last year’s BGCT annual meeting that led to creation of the task force, reported on its work.


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He identified several themes that emerged during task force discussions:

  • Invite emerging adults to the table. “Learn from them. Equip them. Commit to relevant coaching and mentoring for them.”
  • Share the story. Develop new communications models and strategies, and involve Gen Z in the conversation when they are created. Gen Z values authenticity in story-telling, he noted.
  • Commit to organizational innovation. Make the BGCT as nimble an organization as possible, so that it can respond rapidly to changing needs. Leverage institutional relationships to help keep a widely diverse state connected. Keep in mind small congregations in rural areas or small communities, where most ministers gain their first experiences in church leadership.
  • Value spiritual growth. Avoid the dangers of extremes and seek to maintain unity around core commitments. Avoid rhetoric that immediately will cause Gen Z to turn away. “Build on strengths,” he said.
Chris McLain, pastor of First Baptist Church in Bandera, reports on key themes and possible recommendations emerging from discussions of the Gen Z/Millennials Task Force. (Photo / Ken Camp)

The task force considered a long list of recommendations, both short-term and long-range, McLain said. While the final recommendations to Texas Baptists’ annual meeting have not been finalized, he mentioned a few likely possibilities:

  • Conduct listening sessions around the state.
  • Build out a more robust communications strategy and provide a platform where emerging adults can share their stories.
  • Keep track of how many emerging adults attend the 2022 BGCT annual meeting and set a goal to double that number the following year.
  • Launch an emphasis to engage emerging adults in the intergenerational family life of churches.
  • Consider exploring the viability of Texas Baptists launching a pastoral residency program.


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