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Not your grandma's church...
Jacob Hayward
September 05, 2025
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Not your grandma’s church…
One of the pushbacks I have received when speaking to people about church is that it is primarily for the older generation.
That can no longer be used as an excuse.
According to the latest data from Barna, the most regular church attendee is not your grandma, it is the young adults of Gen Z.
That’s right. That generation you thought was stuck in the godless brain rot of TikTok is actually the most faithful church attendee.
"Millennials and Gen Z Christians are attending church more frequently than before and much more often than are older generations. The typical Gen Z churchgoer now attends 1.9 weekends per month, while Millennial churchgoers average 1.8 times."
barna.com/research/young…— Dr. Derwin L. Gray (@DerwinLGray)
12:37 AM • Sep 4, 2025
This matters because it changes the perception of what church currently is, and how church should function. If the most faithful attendees are from Gen Z, Gen Z should have a growing voice on how the church should function going forward.
It also speaks to how church leadership should look. Church leadership often heavily leans gray-haired, and it may be time to rethink who takes space on stage or on boards. Gen Z is hardly a group of kids anymore and are finding their home in our churches. We need to make sure that they are represented not only in the pews but in leadership.
I am especially excited to see how the form of our worship spaces as well as the outward functions of church ministry change as this new leadership takes over. We are in for a complete reimagining of what church can be, one that is more suited to capitalize on radical shifts in culture and technology.
Certainly, the next 10 years will be a reimagining of what community is and will be, with the church taking center stage on a radical shift back towards human togetherness.
Gen Z is not content with consuming sermons and bible studies. They want in the game. And they want to know and be known. This generation is hungry for intimacy with God and with one another. Social media, the mental health crisis, and things like COVID have made clear that we are more lonely and separated than ever before. It is the Gen Z church that will place this need at the forefront of church mission and reshape how the people of the world interact with one another.
Church is about to reshape culture again, for the better. It will be a light for what it looks like to live in communion with the divine and one another.
Your grandma is still an important member of the church, but the church of tomorrow is not one of programming or superb sermons to consume. It is about communion.
When I look back at my life, I will not regret missing out on golf, or not hiking every trail, or feel as though I was short-changed on any accomplishment.
My only regrets will be the times I did not value my relationships.
— Jacob Hayward (@thejacobhayward)
10:13 AM • Sep 5, 2025
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