Pivot

#149: Understanding Gen Z and Gen Alpha: A Sacred Listening Approach to Youth Ministry

Dr. Josh Packard explains why institutional trust has shifted to relational trust, and what that means for how churches engage younger people.

Gen Z and Gen Alpha have grown up in a world where institutional trust has deeply eroded—and that changes everything about youth ministry. In this episode, sociologist Dr. Josh Packard explains why the ministry strategies that worked for previous generations are falling flat with today’s young people. It’s not that Gen Z and Gen Alpha hate the church or are rebelling against it. Most simply grew up without any connection to religious institutions at all. Josh shares why the shift from high-trust to low-trust culture means churches must lead with relationships rather than programs, buildings, or pastoral credentials.

Josh, author of “Faithful Futures: Sacred Tools for Engaging Younger Generations,” introduces the concept of “sacred listening”—a three-part framework that helps youth workers build authentic connections at scale. You’ll learn practical tools for managing dozens or even hundreds of relationships, why teenagers’ “thin faith” expressions aren’t the real concern, what COVID did to young people’s social development, and why the critical years between 18-30 determine whether youthful faith deepens or disappears. This conversation offers hope and practical guidance for anyone working with Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

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Featuring

Josh Packard

Dr. Josh Packard is a sociologist, researcher, and co-founder of Future of Faith. With over two decades of experience studying religion and young people, he has authored multiple books including Church Refugees and Faithful Futures. His research focuses on how faith communities can authentically engage emerging generations in an era of declining institutional trust. Josh brings both academic rigor and practical ministry experience to understanding how churches can pivot to meet the spiritual needs of Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

Meet Your Hosts

  • Faith+Lead Headshot of The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile, VP of Innovation, Luther Seminary.

    The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile is professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

    He is the author of Embracing the Mixed Ecology (with Blair Pogue, Seabury Books, 2025), Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress 2023), Participating in God’s Mission: A Theological Missiology for the U.S. (with Craig Van Gelder, Eerdmans 2018), The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age (Morehouse Publishing, 2014), People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity (Morehouse Publishing, 2012) and The Missional Church in Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation (with Craig Van Gelder, Baker Academic 2011), editor of Cultivating Sent Communities: Missional Spiritual Formation (Eerdmans, 2012), and co-editor (with Ed Olsworth-Peter) of The Starter's Way: Leading New Contextual Christian Communities (Church Publishing, 2025).

    A graduate of Stanford University (BA), Yale University (MDiv) and Luther Seminary (PhD, Congregational Mission and Leadership), Dwight previously served congregations in Minnesota, Virginia and Connecticut. Dwight’s experience growing up in a secular home in California has shaped his commitment to helping the church cultivate Christian community with neighbors in today’s changing world.

  • The Rev. Dr. Terri Martinson Elton began teaching at Luther Seminary as an adjunct instructor in 2004 before becoming the director of the Center for Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2008. In addition to her continued work with the Center, Elton accepted the position of associate professor of Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2010 and associate professor of Leadership in 2014.

    Prior to her call to Luther Seminary, Elton served as an associate to the bishop in the Saint Paul Area Synod where her responsibilities included working with congregations, leadership development, First Call theological education and youth and family ministry.

    Before her work in the synod, she served at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minn. for 16 years. While at Prince of Peace she worked in various roles within children, youth and family ministries, as well as served as the director of Changing Church Forum, an outreach ministry of Prince of Peace. She also authored To Know, To Live, To Grow, a confirmation curriculum, and co-authored What Really Matters, a book for congregational leaders, with the Rev. Mike Foss.

    Elton holds a B.A. degree in communications from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. (1986). She earned both her M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2007) degrees in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.

    Elton’s research and teaching interests include: congregational leadership, leading in the midst of change and conflict, helping ministry leaders craft a missional ecclesiology with an eye toward the First Third of Life, awakening a vibrant theology of baptism and vocation and reimagining faith and mission practices for children, youth, young adults and their families.

    Elton is a member of the Academy of Religious Leadership, the Association of Youth Ministry Educators, the ELCA Youth Ministry Network and the American Society of Missiology and is on the board for Real Resources. Elton spends much of her time working with congregations and congregational leaders and seeks out opportunities for enhancing ministry with those in the First Third of Life within the ELCA.