Understanding GenNEXT
 
GenNEXT: Who Are We?

The next generation of Nazarenes can be summed up in one word: Passion.
 
As young Christians, we live in an entirely different age than 100 years ago. In a world where instant and constant communication between people on different continents is possible, we, as young Nazarenes, have the potential to greatly influence lives around the world. Recognize the magnitude of our potential and don’t dismiss the value of our participation in the universal Church’s mission.  We are a vast and untapped resource waiting to be used.
 
At first glance we can seem apathetic, uncaring, listless and disrespectful.  But this is a facade, emotional armor protecting us from those who don’t truly care for us. 
 
To understand youth today, first understand our social environment – the messages we get from the media, and the worldview we absorb through contact with other cultures forces us to grow up too fast.
 
In some parts of the world, our parents spend more time on their careers than they do trying to understand and nurture us; the media assaults us constantly with sex, violence, and alcohol, and then wonders, “What is wrong with today’s youth?” in the same breath. Others of us suffer poverty, illness and abandonment. The Church many times does not see or understand the environment in which we live, and only wonders, “What is wrong with today’s youth?”  Few try to see the world through our eyes.
 
The hardships of growing up in today’s world drive us to find solace in each other. We separate ourselves from mainstream society because we do not expect most adults to “be there” for us.  So instead, we turn to one another – friends become family, and we watch adults with untrusting eyes. 
 
Too many people are put off by the way we act within our own sub-culture without attempting to understand why we live the way we do.  You cannot push us away and then fault us for being distant.
 
But if one thing can be said of us, we are passionate. We don’t do anything halfway.  We often commit utterly to everything we do.  So the question our church needs to ask itself is not, “How can we make youth passionate?” but, “How can we provide a Christ-like foundation for the passion that already exists?” 
 
The first step towards igniting this passion is to “be there.”  “Being there” is essential to any relationship with us. We need you to be someone we can count on, someone who cares about us, who shows an interest in our lives, who means what you say.  We need you to make your face familiar and trusted.
 
Second, if you want us to be passionate about something, you have to be passionate about it, too. We demand authenticity.  If you want to lead us anywhere, you must go first, and be as transparently passionate about it as you want us to be.
 
Third, we long for community – to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.  Ask one of us what makes youth gatherings or camps such amazing spiritual experiences and most will tell you that it is being among many other Christian brothers and sisters from different places, which helps us understand we are part of a bigger story.  Being with other Christians gives us a sense of belonging.
 
 

 
For more information, please consult the following works.
 
Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church
by Kenda Creasy Dean
 
Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers
by Chap Clark