GEN Z COMING TO CHRIST NOT WALKING AWAY

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A few weeks ago, 45,000 people packed Angel Stadium for our Harvest Crusade. So many came that the fire marshal locked the doors. One guy climbed a fence to get in. Why? Not for a concert. Not for a celebrity. For the Gospel. By the end of the night, 5,500 people had made professions of faith in person — and another 1,000 online.

Now, I’ve done these crusades for 35 years. But this year? This felt different.

Gen Z is not supposed to be doing this

The data told us Gen Z was walking away from Christianity. Instead, they’re walking toward it.

  • Bible sales are up 22%. And it’s not grandma buying them — it’s Gen Z and young adults.
  • Young men are converting to Christ at higher rates than young women — for the first time ever.
  • And as Charlie Kirk says, “They don’t want fluff. They want the unfiltered Gospel of Christ crucified and the power of the resurrection.”

This isn’t just church talk. It’s showing up in pop culture:

  • Two Christian songs (Brandon Lake & Forrest Frank) are on the Billboard Hot 100.
  • “The Chosen” and “House of David” are topping streaming platforms.
  • In Southern California, 30,000 people have been baptized in just two years with a direct connection to the Jesus Revolution film that inspired them to do this in the spot where the Jesus movement did it 50 years ago.

If you think that’s a coincidence, you’re not paying attention.

Meet the hopeless generation

Why does this matter? Because Gen Z has been labeled “the hopeless generation.”

  • 42% of high school students report “constant sadness.”
  • 22% have contemplated suicide.
  • 72% use AI “companions” instead of talking to real people.

They have everything technology can offer — and nothing their souls actually need. And then they hear the Gospel — clear, bold, uncompromised — and realize there’s hope. There’s truth. There’s Jesus.

We’ve been here before

This isn’t the first time revival saved us. In 1740, George Whitefield preached to crowds so large Benjamin Franklin guessed his voice carried to 30,000 people. In two years, up to 50,000 colonists came to Christ — out of a population of only 300,000.

That spiritual fire forged the moral DNA of America: rights come from God, not kings.

In 1857, a single businessman, Jeremiah Lanphier, started a prayer meeting in New York City. After the stock market crashed, that prayer meeting exploded — and over a million people came to Christ in two years.

And in the Jesus Movement, I watched it happen with my own eyes. Long-haired kids, broken and searching, found Jesus — and changed the world.

America was born in revival. And if we’re going to survive, we need another one.

What revival really is

We overcomplicate the word “revival.” It’s simple: revival is coming back to life. It’s the worn-out believer rediscovering his first love. It’s the dead church coming alive with Gospel fire. It’s not emotional hype. It’s spiritual reality. Billy Sunday said it best: “They tell me a revival is only temporary. So is a bath. But it does you good.”

But here’s the thing: revival doesn’t end in the pew. When the Spirit fell at Pentecost, the disciples didn’t stay in the upper room — they hit the streets. When Whitefield preached, Benjamin Franklin noted the streets of Philadelphia buzzed with people talking about eternity. Chuck Swindoll said: “Revival does not end in the pew. It moves God’s people into the streets, into the workplace, and into the world with the message of Christ.”

That’s how you know it’s real: it spreads.

Desperate enough?

The roadmap hasn’t changed:

“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)Notice — it starts with us. Not Washington. Not Hollywood. Not “them.” Us.

Pray. Repent. Move

So, what do we do?

  • Pray like Elijah. Fervent, desperate, unrelenting.
  • Confess sin. Agree with God about where we’ve fallen short.
  • Get in the Word. Saturate your mind with Scripture.
  • Move, become disciples making disciples. Revival doesn’t stay inside the church — it changes the culture.

As David Jeremiah says: “Revival is the rekindling of a flame. And when the fire is lit, it doesn’t just warm the church — it lights up the world.”

The raindrops are falling. Let’s pray for the downpour.

Article by Greg Laurie. He is the pastor and founder of the Harvest churches in California and Hawaii and Harvest Crusades. He is an evangelist, best-selling author and movie producer. “Jesus Revolution,” a feature film about Laurie’s life from Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company, released in theatres February 24, 2023.

SPIRITUAL COLLAPSE OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE U.S.A.

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George Barna, director of research at Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center, released new data earlier this month that “reveals the limitations of Christian evangelicalism in American society.” The events from recent years have caused “millions of Americans to realize just how depraved American society has become,” the report stated. “Corrupt politicians, dishonest journalists and media outlets, broken social institutions, immoral religious leaders, unconstitutional government programs and policies, and more, have generated non-stop headlines highlighting the decadence of American society and the demise of the United States.”

It went on to contend that “The depth of the depravity is shocking” and that it’s “indisputable” that the “decline is a direct result of the spiritual collapse of Christianity in the nation” ­— particularly how the evangelical community has changed over time. According to Barna, not only are there fewer evangelicals than some reports have claimed there to be, but many of them “are far less biblical in their thinking … and tend to vote in far fewer numbers than expected.”

Even when you define them theologically as evangelicals, they’re not buying into what the Bible teaches and they’re not living it out.” Barna contended that this comes in conflict with the heart of what evangelicalism is supposed to do.

We should not be surprised as Jesus told us that many Christians would fall away in the time before He returns to restore righteousness and usher in His much prophesied Millennial Kingdom. The next 1000 years when Jesus will rule the nations from a newly constructed Jerusalem. Israel the nation God established for His purposes will finally fulfill its destiny. Go to http://www.millennialkingdom.net to prepare for what is next on God’s agenda for planet Earth.

“And then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:10-12

GOD AT WORK IN OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

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A huge move of God broke out at The Ohio State University last weekend with hundreds of college students showing deep hunger for God as the new school year kicked off. A team of student reporters from The Lantern newspaper reports the event was led by the school’s football team members who preached the gospel before 800-1,000 people. Some campus ministries and churches helped to organize it. Throughout the evening, football players shared their testimonies as the crowd grew larger and larger. “I was just doing my thing because it was fun, and I’ll tell you this: I was on High Street, and I enjoyed it,” former Buckeyes wide receiver Kamryn Babb said, according to The Lantern. “I had fun. But at the same time, I didn’t recognize my condition. I was spiritually dead. I was spiritually dead. I could go out there, and I could smile and laugh. I can return to the {Woody Hayes Athletic Centre}, smile, and laugh. But on the inside, I was broken. I was broken.” By the night’s end, an estimated 60 students chose to get baptized into the Christian faith in four tubs of water near the stage.

Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka shared his excitement for what God is doing. “We were praying for years and years for an event like this, and we were praying with expectation — we serve a miracle-working God,” he said. “So, we definitely had an expectation when it came out, but God did increasingly and abundantly more than what we thought. So, we’re just so blessed and thankful.”   Ohio State offensive lineman Luke Montgomery also recently used his platform to tell reporters about Jesus. “I never didn’t trust the Lord’s will and His path for me, if that makes any sense,” the sophomore athlete told reporters during a press conference “When I got here, I was blessed with the opportunity to have Scripture-based Bible studies with … guys that are moving on to the next part of their journey.” As he steps into this new season, Montgomery said the responsibility of making faith central to what he and his teammates do has fallen to him and his other Christian peers. “It’s the Lord’s way; it’s not mine,” he said. “Things go His way, and you’ve just got to trust in His plan.”

Source: CBNNews