Kara Powell, from Fuller Youth Institute, in her Orange Conference 2023 talk, explained how students are wondering if they can trust us — if we will be there for them. Gens Z and Alpha do not trust institutions.
We need what Kara says is a “Faith Beyond Youth Group.”
For most of us, faith is something we do 90 minutes a week, at best. But we need a faith that consumes 100% of our lives. And that’s only going to happen if young people trust adults who trust Jesus.
Kara says, “A ministry superpower for tomorrow is building trust with the next generation who doesn’t yet trust us.” And we need to make it something ordinary rather than a superpower.
“Trust is built one small act at a time,” explains Kara. She goes on, “Trust is gained slow but it’s lost fast […], and trust is often extended more than it’s earned.”
Kara quoted Stephen Covey saying, “We can move at the speed of trust,” and then she wrapped up sharing stories and quotes from a 70 year-old student ministry who truly gets it and is a huge inspiration to all of us, because he spends lots of his time on students’ turf and investing in them, in order to earn their trust.
Steve Cullum 