Want to hear some good news about today’s young Christians?

I sure do. It seems like so many of the conversations about the landscape of youth ministry across the US are laced with negativity. Concern about shrinking youth groups (and churches, and denominations). Worry about the culture’s impact on young faith. And nostalgia for the decades when youth ministry conferences and degree programs were in their prime. The picture looks bleak.

But as a pastor and researcher, I also find many reasons to be encouraged. Every Sunday, I see students in our church serving in ministry, leading worship, and participating in all kinds of ways in the life of the church. And in our work at FYI, I hear stories of growing ministries, listen in interviews with teenagers who tell me about their deep faith, and look at data that challenges the doomsday narratives. 

Maybe, like me, you’re also thinking, “I know students who seem different; they’re really into their faith, show up at youth group a lot, and seem to trust us.” We decided to dig into the data to find out more about this group of young, faith-forward teenagers.

Highly committed and engaged Christian teens do exist! 

In our landmark research on Gen Alpha (born 2010 and later), FYI’s research team has been learning a great deal about how this generation is finding identity, belonging, purpose, and faith. We’re hearing their stories about what qualities make adults trustworthy (or not), and how the church might change to reach more people their age. (Download the full first report for free to read more.)

As we dug into survey data from nearly 3,000 13-17-year-olds, we were excited to explore the perspectives of young people across faith backgrounds, including those with no religious affiliation. At the same time, we also wondered: What about young people who identify as Christian and also report high engagement in discipleship practices? 

Do active Christians report that youth leaders and pastors have more influence in their lives? Do they feel a greater sense of belonging at church? What could we learn about this particular group that could help youth ministry leaders disciple them more effectively?

A profile began to emerge as we combined religious importance (How important is faith or religion in shaping how you live your daily life?) with self-reported frequency of the following behaviors: 

• Attend a religious service or gathering
• Pray or meditate
• Read religious or sacred texts
• Talk with someone about faith or spirituality
• Watch, read, or listen to faith-based content
• Do service or volunteer work as part of your faith
• Spend time thinking about your beliefs

By most measures, this profile describes a highly committed and engaged Christian teen. And that’s exactly what we found. 93% of highly committed teens say faith is very important in shaping their daily lives, and 90% think faith will matter to them as they get older. They’re pretty much all-in. (Notably, male and female respondents were roughly equally represented in this highly committed and engaged group.) 

Where and how faith-forward teens grow in faith

Highly committed and engaged Christians say they attend church or some other gathering weekly. Prayer is the most frequent faith practice reported by this highly committed group, while service or volunteer work is the least reported practice. 

Our survey asked teens, “Where do you feel most comfortable practicing or exploring your faith or spirituality?” We were surprised to find in the overall results that “alone (personal reflection)” was the highest response (30%), with “at home with family” second, followed by church (“Traditional religious spaces [church, temple, mosque]”), and then youth group. 

But in the highly engaged group, we saw a different pattern. Church and youth group bumped to the top of the list. Twenty-eight percent chose church, and 24% named youth group. At home with family and alone dropped to third and fourth places, at 19% and 16%.  

The good news for youth leaders is that these spaces feel comfortable for the most engaged young people.

We also asked, “Which of these would help you grow in your faith or beliefs?” Respondents could choose up to three of the following:

• Having a mentor, guide, or elder I can talk to regularly
• Small group study or conversations with people my age
• Casual hangouts where faith might come up naturally
• More opportunities to serve and help others
• Watching or listening to content about faith
• Creative expression (like art, music, journaling)
• Space to ask big questions without judgment
• Connecting faith with everyday life (school, friends, social media)
• Help learning how to pray
• N/A—I’m not interested

Highly engaged students say their faith would grow most through small-group discussions with peers and through having a mentor they can talk with regularly. They’re also much more likely to watch or listen to faith-based content and find ways to connect faith to everyday life. 

Interestingly, “more opportunities to serve” and “help learning how to pray” rarely show up as top choices for this group—or for any group, for that matter.

Related, it’s clear that they want both digital and in-person discipleship. The highly engaged group stands out in their high levels of digital faith engagement: 

• 61% have recently used a Bible or sacred text app.
• 51% have recently watched a worship service or sermon online.
• 39% have followed a faith-based social media account.
• 34% have recently used a meditation, mindfulness, or prayer app.
• 33% have created or listened to a spiritual playlist. 

But this high engagement doesn’t equal high preference for these forms. When we asked directly, they told us they prefer to both learn about and practice faith more in person than online. As one interviewee shared, 

“I try not to get a lot of my theology from the internet. I like to be able to talk to people and, like, have full conversations about faith and all that.”

The ministry takeaway: Putting these findings together, ministry leaders might consider maximizing in-person time for small-group, discussion-based approaches and looking for ways to cultivate a culture of mentoring relationships, either by pairing teens with carefully vetted adults or by setting up small groups.

Who is influencing their faith

We asked about spiritual influences, specifically, “Who or what has influenced your spiritual beliefs the most?” and gave teens 13 response options representing a diverse range of influences. As we shared in our report, we were intrigued to see family members ranked so prominently, claiming 3 out of the top 5 spots across the overall sample. 

For highly engaged Christians, parents still ranked on top, but the order shifted slightly from there. 

1. Parents or caregivers (71%)
2. Pastor, priest, or religious leader (32%)
3. Grandparents (22%) / Friends (22%)
4. Youth leader (13%)
5. Siblings (11%)

Faith leaders’ influence rises significantly for this group, but parent/caregiver influence is even stronger than in the overall sample (71% vs. 65%).

Where do these teens learn the most about faith or spirituality? The highly engaged group is consistent with the general Christian sample in their top 3: 

1. Church (87%)
2. Home (77%)
3. Social media (48%)

However, in every other measure of identity and belonging, family and home still come out on top, with friends also ranking above pastors or youth leaders. 

For example, when we asked, “When you’ve had questions or doubts about your faith, who has helped you the most?” pastors and youth leaders rise in support, but parents are still first, and grandparents show up prominently:

1. Parents/caregivers (56%)
2. Pastor, priest, or religious leader (28%)
3. Friends (22%)
4. Grandparents (21%)
5. Youth leader (18%) 

The ministry takeaway: We see a very clear pattern emerging across these findings: Family is not peripheral to faith formation. It’s central. This does not mean church is unimportant or youth group is irrelevant. It means that when youth ministries sideline or ignore families in their ministry strategy and practice, they may be missing the most important part of the picture. 

Church is a place for finding purpose

One clear opportunity that jumps out from this data is for youth leaders to help teens cultivate purpose at church and in youth ministry. In our study, engaged teens named this overtly.  

When we asked, “Where do you most often find purpose?” the engaged group chose church most often, and youth group showed up in the top five—ranked higher than sports and extracurricular activities or online (which landed higher in the overall sample): 

1. Church (38%)
2. Home (25%)
3. School (20%)
4. Friend group (15%)
5. Youth group (13%)

This stands out because committed teens find church both meaningful and purposeful. They see church and youth group as avenues for contribution, service, and working out their calling. But as noted earlier, volunteering as part of faith is the lowest-reported practice, so there is a gap when it comes to putting this into action. 

The ministry takeaway: The students who are showing up most regularly and engaging fully are looking for more than games and social connection, and they’re also looking for more than good teaching. They want to participate, to be needed, to serve in load-bearing roles (as we learned in Growing Young), and to explore vocation. Ministry leaders can be attentive to these longings and make space for teenagers to lead.
 

They’re finding adult support at church—but maybe also pressure 

We were surprised and encouraged when we explored the nature of teens’ interactions with adults at church. We learned that highly engaged young people rate adults in their churches very positively overall. In fact, over 2/3 of committed teens marked each of these statements mostly or totally true:

• I feel like adults there really get what I’m going through
• Adults there talk about the stuff I care about
• Adults there ask questions instead of just giving answers
• We talk regularly about real-life topics

The picture is of a highly supportive community of adults surrounding young people. In deeper ongoing analyses, we’re seeing even more evidence (which we’ll share in a future report) that churches are key sources of access to supportive adults, and more access means more opportunities for genuine relationships. 

Alongside this data, we also found one caveat with highly engaged teens. When we asked, “What would make it easier to talk to adults?” we found that this group is most likely to say that it would be easier if they felt less pressure to have the “right” answer. For every other group, the biggest barrier to conversations is the fear of being judged. So the good news is that committed Christian teens don’t worry as much about judgment in these conversations. But perhaps there’s a “good Christian kid” dynamic (or even “youth group superstar”) that creates expectations that these teens always say the right things and know the right answers. 

This kind of pigeonholing can ultimately stymie growth. Young people might keep questions or struggles to themselves for fear of being seen as less faithful, or even fear of rejection. Decades of research affirm that doubt isn’t what’s toxic to faith. Silence is. We do well to remember that this applies not just to the students who lead with their questions, but also to those who seem all-in.

The ministry takeaway: Consider checking in with a committed teen and asking questions like:

• Has there been a time you held back what you really thought at church? What made you hesitate?
• When does church feel like a place where you can be yourself? When does it feel like you can’t be totally real?

Discover new findings for real ministry impact with today’s Gen Alpha teens

We’ve launched a brand-new research report designed specifically to help ministry leaders like you disciple faith effectively with today’s teens.

The FYI on Gen Alpha goes beyond trends and theory, equipping you with practical, ministry-ready insights you can apply today. Inside the report, you’ll discover:

• How Gen Alpha teens are thinking about faith and spirituality
• Why family matters more than ever
• What helps faith stick—and what pushes teens away
• Practical guidance for ministry that keeps conversations open and trust strong

Fill out the form and download the full report today and equip your ministry with insights to disciple today's teens for lasting faith.