God doesn’t need polished programmes to reach Gen Z. He’s doing his own PR

Two universities, eight thriving student churches and a rich history of prayer all contribute to a fascinating foundation for ministry in Nottingham.

The city has pockets of beauty, creativity, extreme poverty, diversity and wealth together in a melting pot of chaotic community. Ministry in this context means any sense of control or perfection is fleeting, instead we’ve learned to depend on the presence of God speaking for itself.

There are so many ideas and strategies synonymous with ‘student ministry’. Free food, worship nights, games, street outreach or a strong social media presence. All of these are effective and proven to bring people into the church, but they are also seasonal and man-made.

So how can we let go of our human ideas and accept that there is truly only one thing, one strategy, that brings in lost sheep and seals them into the kingdom of God forever? The presence of Jesus.

Connection over curation

An idea has emerged in recent years that Gen Z have grown weary of the facade. The ingenuity of the social media age, influencers and ‘post-truth’ politics hasn’t provided any solace.

They are not searching for something polished, but for something authentic. They want to know the person of Jesus. So, what does this mean for us as we attempt to minister to students in our city? It means we do all we can to facilitate a place for the presence of God.

A key, simple principle we have learned — and been led in by our students – is that invitation works. We step out in faith trusting that God will meet people when we welcome them into his presence.

Invitation isn’t optional if we want to see people enter the house of God. The stories coming out of our student ministry — encountering Jesus, becoming free, and lives being transformed — have so often begun with an invitation from a friend.

Relying on the presence of Jesus is not about sitting back and doing nothing

Second to this, however, we are noticing that in so many of our salvation stories, the Spirit of God is moving in unexpected and miraculous ways without any nudge from us. In other words, as my Vicar stated recently: “God is doing his own PR work”.

The seeds of revival that are being sown in Nottingham and among Gen Z are rooted in this. There are teenage boys meeting God in their bedrooms and leading themselves through the salvation prayer, before even stepping foot in a Church.

There are mothers encountering the love of God while reading The Gruffalo to their child, never having had a faith before. There are lost students knocking on our front door because they walk past every day and just “have a feeling they should come to church”.

As we get to grips with the “quiet revival” that has been making headlines this year, we have to humble ourselves enough to accept that it is not a result of our human efforts. As with any revival in history, it relies on an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and a few faithful, usually unassuming servants.

Our student community has been slowly growing over five years and is a consistent community. However, there has been an undeniable shift in recent months as increasingly out-of-the-ordinary things have happened.

Presence over promotion

A few months ago, we took our students on a weekend away for the first time. Five days before we left, a young student came to our church for the first time. He enjoyed it, but crucially, he was caught by one of our team and invited for a coffee during the week. He was quickly convinced by this person to join us on the weekend - and even miraculously had his ticket fully covered.  

Here, he was exposed to the authentic love of God. A spiritual atmosphere that was not striving for perfection but only the true things of the kingdom — joy, peace, love and so on. Hours of spontaneous worship where students found healing. Young men dancing together and becoming undignified before Jesus.

There is only one strategy that brings in lost sheep and seals them into the kingdom of God forever: The presence of Jesus

Inevitably, this young man found freedom. And his life was changed forever. He now an integral part of our community and leads a student group that brings other lost boys to faith.

We know that faith without deeds is dead. Our acts are incredibly important. Our warm welcome, outreach, events and messages all facilitate the lost being found.

So, relying on the presence of Jesus is not about sitting back and doing nothing. It is a reminder to lean further into his heart for us and for others. And understanding that nothing we do can have the same impact as someone encountering the raw, true, loving presence of the living God for themselves.