Not On My Watch

I have been accused of being boisterous and talkative my whole life. Report cards, usually filled with good marks, would always include a small tidbit about my inability to remain silent during class. Teachers would often move me around the classroom hoping to find someone I wouldn’t talk to. Rarely did that work.

Even though I’ve been out of high school for quite a few years and the “talks too much” comments have subsided, I can see how God has been teaching me about using my voice wisely for years. Many times, it is only in the rear-view mirror of life that we can see that God has been preparing us for a future that only He can see clearly and that we are embarking on in faith.

In 2019, I started pursuing my master’s degree in strategic leadership and as a part of my studies, I was required to prepare a project documenting a problem that I was interested in researching and creating a proposal as a way of solving the problem. It was not difficult to begin to research and study what I have given my life to – the next generation. See, in whatever season of life I have been in, I have always cared about the next generation. I was a middle school teacher, a children’s pastor, and a youth pastor, and I began carrying the title of mother in 2009. See, much of life has been given to seeing young people realize their full potential in Christ and grow into all that God has for them.

So, I began an exhaustive study on Gen Z and the upcoming Alpha generation. I dug into the statistics, the problems, the highlights, and all the studies that talk about faith, cell phones, suicide, anxiety, trends, church, and everything attached to the future outlook for the young people of today. I immersed myself in finding out more about the trends and the “why” behind the statistics. I was hooked.

While in the middle of writing my project, which focuses on the transmission of faith in Jesus Christ from previous generations to the current generation, I attended a conference with hundreds of other ministers from my denomination. That day, an hour was allotted for a speaker to share her findings on the next generation and their involvement in church. I was beyond excited! As the statistics and trends were shared, I found myself being engrossed in the data, much of which I had already studied due to my capstone degree project, yet it hit differently hearing the statistics read out loud to a large group of people. It was different than reading in the quietness of my home or the library. The spoken words of dire warnings about the number of young people who were projected to walk away from the church and from the Lord in the next twenty years were like a punch to the gut.

“Just 25% of U.S. Gen Z’ers report attending religious services.”
“Gen Z is the most depressed and anxious generation.”
“The suicide rate has increased 30% in the last twenty years.”
“Gen Z clocks in with the most screen time at an average of 9 hours a day.”
“35-42 million young people raised in Christian households will walk away from faith in Christ by the year 2050.”

As she continued to outline the seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in, I felt a fire rising up in my gut. The flames within me felt out of control, almost like I wasn’t going to be able to hold them in. I began to squirm in my seat. It was like a burning in my bones that I couldn’t control. In the middle of a large room filled with hundreds of eager learners, I could no longer remain silent.

“Not on my watch!” I yelled as if I was finally able to release the steam and the fire from within and she shared the final statistic that 9 out of 10 young people currently in church would no longer be connected to a local church in the next 20 years.

Something amazing happened. The girl who had talked too much opened her mouth and spread the fire that was burning in my soul and it was spread to others within the room. Rarely do we know the full impact of our words in a moment and this shouting of a declarative statement fits that bill. Little did I know that in a moment, or maybe it was in a lifetime in the making, that a movement would be born. Not on my watch!

The room erupted in applause. Faith was transmitted. Hope arose within the seats.

See, we don’t have to sit idly by as we watch the grim statistics become more than just projections and move into reality. We don’t have to just accept that this is our future. We can act, believe, and pray for different results.

A movement was birthed at that moment.

Not On My Watch exists to empower anyone who cares about the future to not only care but to be equipped, resourced, and emboldened to stand for truth and to live the truth.

Jeff and I are believing that parents, grandparents, church leaders, educators, youth leaders, and all those who care about the next generation will become emboldened to reject what we are seeing and the projections regarding Gen Z, the church, Christian marriages, families, and faith. We exist to bring awareness and tools of how to see life transformation in our churches, families, and communities. We believe in stronger families, marriages, and churches and to see a reformation of faith in the years to come!

See, I’m glad that I haven’t learned to be silent yet. God is looking for those who will use their voice to declare – Not On My Watch!