Date

5-1-2025

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

Eric S. Maze

Keywords

Apologetics, Theology, Discipleship, Parenting, Next-Gen, Gen Z, Millennials, Postmodern, Worldviews

Disciplines

Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

The church exodus of Gen MZ is one of the most significant issues affecting the health of churches in the West. Recent research has indicated that many in Gen MZ have left the church not for lack of knowledge but because of a lack of understanding of the why. It has also indicated that Gen MZ has not been trained to respond to why they are holding on to the hope of the Gospel. So, when presented with opposing views, they struggle to maintain their faith in today’s postmodern society. It is an age in which a war on ideas is being waged constantly. This study aims to examine how effective in growing the confidence of Gen MZ believers would be if they are trained to find the answers to their questions.

This work did so by training participants in ten specific skills through an intense training regimen. It also examined this training regimen’s effectiveness through interviews and several surveys that examined the confidence and spiritual maturity of the participants. This analysis demonstrated that the training regimen effectively developed participants' confidence in faith and spiritual maturity. It also indicated that their desire to spread the Gospel grows exponentially when Gen MZ undergoes this training. This has proven that if they are trained in understanding why they believe, the effects of the church exodus will be curved. However, one must understand that not all people groups were represented in this research due to the limitations of the participant pool.

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