Introduction
Each of us wants to grow a healthy church culture with leaders of all ages — learning, growing, and passing along our love of Jesus to the next generation. But the reality is that very few of us know how to create multi-generational structures of leadership that give young leaders the freedom to lead in their unique calling.
This month, we’re featuring Russ Ewell, pastor at Bay Area Christian Church in California, as he shares powerful insights on empowering the next generation of leaders in the local church.
Read his article below, originally published by Relevant Magazine on May 29, 2025.
Why So Many Young Men Are Suddenly All In on Faith
“For the first time, Gen Z men are now more religious than Gen Z women, challenging the longstanding pattern of women being more religiously engaged than men.
This is true no matter how you measure religious engagement. Last year, the Survey Center on American Life showed that “54% of Gen Z adults who left their formative religion are women; 46% are men.” Recent research from Barna Group reveals that Americans’ stated commitment to Jesus has steadily grown in recent years, and that younger men are more likely to follow Jesus than younger women. Among Gen Z men, commitment to Jesus jumped from 52% in 2019 to 67% in 2025.
New data from the American Bible Society shows men saw a 19% increase in Bible use from 2024 to 2025, closing the gender gap in Bible engagement. Young men are also attending church more, with recent Barna data showing that since 2022, men have consistently reported higher weekly attendance rates than women.
Young men becoming more interested in Christianity and attending church is exciting because anyone growing more interested in God — or church — is worth celebrating, if you believe, like I do, that He and His church are essential to real, deep human flourishing, healing and growth.
But is this current trend sustainable? More and more young men — and fewer young women — in our churches is both a challenge and an opportunity for the church locally and globally.
The reasons for these young men turning to Christianity and church are deeply personal, multifaceted and difficult to generalize meaningfully. But we do know quite a bit about their social milieu, which is likely to influence their faith experience.
Young men in America aren’t necessarily more lonely than young women, but they are less connected. They’re increasingly likely to struggle with dating and relationships. They often report feeling devoid of purpose or meaning.
They’re also not likely to stick around if there aren’t women their age to befriend, date and potentially marry…”
