Why are Young People Drawn to Pentecostalism?
The Spirit-filled movement and the next generation
Several weeks ago, Ed Stetzer published a great piece on Churchleaders.com entitled “Pentecostals: How do They Keep Growing While Other Groups are Declining?” In the piece he outlined several features of Pentecostalism that have contributed to its growth, especially on a global scale: Namely, 1) the intensely personal nature of our faith, 2) the missional nature of our faith, 3) and the “bottom-up” nature of our faith.
I might summarize these three by saying Pentecostals emphasize a personal encounter with the presence of God, we emphasize the personal mandate each of us possess to participate in the mission of God, and we believe that participation is the urgent call as the release of the Spirit has come upon all flesh––women and men, regardless of age, socio-economic class, ethnicity, and more. Embedded deep within the Pentecostal ethos is that the Spirit’s abiding presence, manifested in power to draw people to Christ is, “for you, your children, and for all who are far away—as many as the Lord our God invites” (Acts 2:39, CEB).
But in addition to the Charismatic/Pentecostal’s growth globally (a growth which on its current trajectory will top 1 billion by 2050), there is a uniquely pronounced appeal of Spirit-filled expressions of faith, specifically among Millennials (a cohort of whom I am, as they say, an “elder”) and Gen Z.
A 2020 study by Barna reported that out of the four generational cohorts studied (Gen Z was not studied), Millennials reported the highest preference for Charismatic styles of worship—a percentage that was nearly equal to the combined total of Boomers and “Elders” (i.e. Silent Generation). It is worth noting for the purpose of the point I will make later that, for Millennials, the top four descriptive choices were: Traditional (38%), Lively (30%), Hymns (19%), and Charismatic (18%). This contradicts the prevailing assumption that a church’s growth depends on being “relevant” through new, felt-need music but with a vibe that’s toned down of the “hyper-spiritual” stuff. In fact, the opposite may in fact be true—a reality that churches like Jesus Image Church in Orlando, FL may be hitting on target—a church whose worship sets tap into the millennial penchant for nostalgia by singing music almost exclusively from the deep tracks of 90s and 00s worship.
What’s more, the same Barna study reported that it was Millennials who identified speaking in tongues as a necessary component to weekly worship at a rate of 36%, 16 points higher than Gen Xers and a whopping 30 points higher than the Silent Generation.
Another study reported by PRRI, showed that Gen Z and Millennials scored significantly higher on markers identified with Charismatic/Penteocstal worship (see the orange and red blocks in the graph below).
The same study showed that, “around half of Gen Z and millennial churchgoers report attending charismatic services, compared with only 24% of older respondents.”
But why? Why does it appear that the younger two generational cohorts are drawn to what the Spirit-filled movement has to offer at a higher rate than the older three generational cohorts? The answer, I believe, lies in two words upon which I will elaborate and then offer a word of caution.
Participatory Transcendence
The Spirit-filled movement offers a unique concoction of experience that may explain its appeal to Millennials and Gen Z.
In his book The Next Evangelicalism, Soong-Chan Rah identifies three shifts present within Millennials and Gen Z, who possess a post-modern outlook on culture and life than their older counterparts:
The demise of cultural meta narratives yielding a hunger for localized community
The rise of deconstructionism to experiential spirituality
The rise of the virtual and digital reality giving priority to authenticity (pp. 113-16)
There is a very real sense in which the “participatory transcendence” offered by Pentecostalism (that is, in its truest and most authentic self) touches on these felt needs within the younger generational cohorts (which, I would be remiss as a Millennial myself if I did not remind us all that the oldest Millennials are now approaching their mid-40s!).
By participatory transcendence, I mean that the Pentecostal experience offers something experiential and profoundly glocal—it is simultaneously bigger than ourselves but immediately personal at the same time. As a fourth generation Pentecostal myself, I recognize that I participate in something global and that has transcended time and geography—something alive and on the move, but something that reaches both to the ends of the earth as well as to the innermost parts of my soul. That is, of course, the way the Holy Spirit works.
Pentecostalism’s appeal is that it not only is a fire that has spread throughout the earth in a little more than a century but I am able to personally and locally participate in it––at the altar, at my family table, in the marketplace. There is an immediacy to the ongoing work of the Spirit in something as simple, yet holy and profound, as praying in the Spirit. A Pentecostal recognizes that she has a missional mandate to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth, but that such a mandate is worked out in praying over a sick co-worker and seeing them healed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
It is a transcendence in which young people, who long simultaneously to be rid of binding cultural meta narratives and yet long for deeply personal connection, can find their unique and authentic place to contribute. It is not something to observe. It is alive. Pentecostalism offers a Spirit-bonded community, an experiential spirituality, and—when healthy—an authenticity of encounter that appeals to an age demographic that has shed much of the sterility of modernity’s logic and rationalism and sought to reintegrate the miraculous into our faith.
A Word of Caution
The future draw of Millennials and Gen Z to Pentecostalism rests largely on Pentecostalism’s ability to return to itself—to semper reformanda (always be reforming). According to Pew, Pentecostal Millennials and Gen Z are the least likely to be Republican and most likely to be politically independent. Among those ages 18-29 surveyed by Pew, respondents were half as likely to identify themselves as “conservative” when compared to those 65+ (31% vs. 62%). They’re more likely to support bigger government with more services, government aid to the poor, and environmental regulation. They’re considerably more diverse, both ethnically and politically. In some ways, they more closely resemble the more justice-oriented Pentecostals of the early 20th century.
I perceive this as an opportunity rather than the existential threat others may see. While Pentecostalism in the United States has been more closely aligned with right-winged political interests, the diversity of Gen Z and Millennials provide a welcomed challenge to norms that have only recently evolved. We cannot simply accept Gen Z and Millennial bodies to warm our pews. We must allow their perspectives to reform our movement. In doing so, we better live out the diverse tapestry that is global Pentecostalism, we better hold in tension our call to be a peculiar people sojourning in a land not our own, and we better hold our allegiance as being to Christ and Christ alone, through the power of the Spirit.
One final thought: the authenticity piece cited by Rah has stirred in my spirit as I’ve written these words. Authentic Pentecostalism isn’t a parody of itself. It isn’t emotional hype and chandelier swinging. Authentic Pentecostalism also isn’t a knock off of the consumer-driven church industrial complex so popular today. It isn’t “three steps to a better you…plus tongues (but only in small groups).” Authentic Pentecostalism is a return to a way of living out the Spirit-filled life that has undeniable power, transformational encounters with the presence of God, but utilizes the full faculties God has given us (reason, experience, communal discernment, the Great Tradition, etc.) to walk in the Spirit. Authentic Pentecostalism sheds godless hierarchies that oppress women, young people, and ethnic minorities. It promotes a Spirit-driven health and flourishing, upholding the dignity of all. This is the authentic Pentecostalism that is the Spirit-filled movement we see in Acts. It’s what our mothers and fathers experienced at Azusa. And it’s what the next generation is longing for.