Truth & Trust
Last week, I (Rebecca) was given the opportunity to attend the TenX10 Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. TenX10 is an organization whose mission is to Make Faith Matter More to 10 million young people over the next 10 years in the spirit of John 10:10. They do this through ecumenical research and resources provided free to leaders, pastors, and mentors. This year’s summit was focused on relational discipleship radically focused on Jesus.
As I read over my copious notes to synthesize not only the amazing speakers at the summit but also the countless conversations I had over the three days, two words kept floating to the forefront:
truth and trust.
Gen Z (16-26 or so) and Gen Alpha (15 and under) are more connected online than ever before, they easily find opinions, they constantly drift in their algorithms, and yet, they cannot find truth. But the truth is not something you can find online; truth is not an opinion, truth is a person. Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In order for us to make faith matter more we have to wade through all the algorithms, we have to get past all the trends, and we have to bring truth to the young people in our lives. The way to do that is through relational discipleship, meaning we have to connect with them before we try to teach them.
Time → trust → truth.
The more time we spend with them, the more trust is built – and the more it lays the foundation for the truth to matter. What makes truth relevant is relationships. Imagine a generation that doesn’t just hear about Jesus but sees Him through your consistency, your presence, and your love.
There is an old saying: trust builds at the speed of relationship. We the church need to promote a space of asking questions and walking alongside rather than giving them all the answers. Gen Alpha research says that they want adults who lead with listening, leave out judgement, and live out truth.
In interviewing Gen Alpha they found the top 5 things of what makes an adult trustworthy are:
- They listen without judging me
- They follow through on what they say
- They respect my views even if they disagree
- Their actions match their values
- They share their own life honestly
But young people see, as do so many people in the world, that what Christians say does not match what we do. We need to, and have the power to, change the narrative of what a Christian means – reclaiming it not just in name but in action. Because Jesus doesn’t just give us information, he gives us transformation. Jesus says “you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
Let us be a church that is willing to listen, that builds trust over time, that takes Jesus’ call to discipleship seriously because this next generation doesn’t need to be impressed, they need to be included in the transformational truth of Jesus.
I’ll leave you with this one last thought from Dr. Bernice King. In prayer, the Holy Spirit prompted her to remember, and calls us to as well:
“Your job is to connect. My job is to convert.”
Looking forward to leaning into relational discipleship, sharing truth as we build trust, together and making faith matter more.