Gen Alpha Wants Something Deeper: How the Church Can Become Their Family

Not long ago I sat down and watched four young believers talk honestly about God, phones, fear and the church. They were not angry. They were not cynical. They were hungry. One of them said church leaders miss how hungry young people are for the Word. Another said adults assume young people don’t love God. And when they were asked what they would tell pastors, the heart of their answer fit into two words: “just listen.”

So let’s listen together. Then let’s ask the Lord how His family can make room at the table for the youngest generation on earth.

Who Is Gen Alpha?

The term Generation Alpha was coined by the Australian research firm McCrindle, which defines Gen Alpha as those born from 2010 to 2024. McCrindle notes that the first of them arrived in 2010, the same year the iPad was launched and Instagram was created, and observes that from their earliest years they have been “screenagers.” They are the first generation fully born in the 21st century, the children of Millennials and often the younger brothers and sisters of Gen Z.

That means today the oldest of Gen Alpha are about 16 and the youngest are still toddlers. They are in our homes, our neighborhoods and, by God’s grace, our churches. And they are growing up connected. In its Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024 report, Pew Research Center found that nearly half of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 say they are online almost constantly.

Behind every one of those numbers is a face, a name and a soul Jesus loves.

What Four Young Believers Told CBN News

On 10-08-2026, CBN News released a conversation titled “Gen Alpha’s Challenge to Church Leaders: ‘We Want Something Deeper’.” Four young Christians, who appear to range from about 11 to their early teens, spoke with remarkable honesty. I encourage every pastor, parent and grandparent to watch it.

Here is some of what they shared. Several of them spend 8 to 12 hours a day on a phone or tablet, much of it on TikTok, along with Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. When they hear the word “church,” they think of commitment, community and a big family. Yet most of them said the church does not really understand their generation. One young man put it plainly: adults understand young people “not as much as y’all think.”

They named their struggles without flinching: a lack of consistency, bad habits that turn into addictions, self-doubt, impatience, and worrying about what others think. They said anxiety and depression are real among their friends, and even thoughts of suicide. One of the most tender things said was that some young people want to get close to God but have no one to lead them.

The Phone as a “Safe Place”

One young lady said her phone is her “safe place,” her comfort when she feels down, and another agreed. Church, please do not hear that with a scolding heart. Hear it with a shepherd’s heart. A child does not run to a screen for comfort because a screen is wonderful. Often it is because the screen is always there, always awake and never too busy.

The answer is not simply to take the phone away. The answer is to give them something better: a people who are present and a God who is near. Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7). A feed cannot guard a heart. The peace of God can.

And because the scroll never stops shaping us, we need the Word working on us even more: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2).

“We Know More Than You Think”

When asked what Jesus would want leaders to understand, the four said they know more than we think, they are hungry for the Word, they want something more creative and deeper, and they need help bridging the generational gap. One young lady said it is hard to be young and Christian, and that she draws strength from Timothy. She was pointing us right to Scripture: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12).

God has never had an age requirement for His Spirit. Through the prophet Joel He promised, “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” (Joel 2:28). If our young people are hungry, we must not feed them crumbs. As we explored in Crisis: The State of Our Young People 29 and Younger, this generation is not beyond reach. They are waiting to be reached.

Family, Not a Production

Their final advice to church leaders was beautifully simple. Show up in their lives, at their games and practices. Build relationships in safe spaces where they can talk about what matters to them. Spend more time together as a church family, because, as one of them said, “the more safe they feel around you, the more they’ll come to you.”

That is exactly the heartbeat of the Vine Fellowship Network (VineFellowshipNetwork.org). VFN believes the church is a family, not a production, and that it is about people, not programs. VFN-related churches gather as families of about 5 to 20 people, usually in homes, for heartfelt worship, prayer, Bible study, communion, baptism and deep friendships. They share meals and care for one another. Following 1 Corinthians 14:26, everyone participates: “When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.” Everyone has a voice, and everyone has something the Spirit wants to use to bless the whole church.

It is the pattern of Acts: “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46-47). In a family-sized gathering, absences are noticed and burdens are carried. A crowd can lose a quiet 13-year-old. A family will not. We explored this further in The Loneliness Epidemic and the Church Jesus Designed.

I’ll never forget how this started for us. I had just bought a big projection television, and while dozing through a football game I saw a twelve-year-old neighbor boy from a fatherless home through my glass storm door. The Lord broke my heart for him and said, “Here you are in your house, watching television, while being divided by thin walls from your neighbors who are suffering.” I took the TV back and bought a pool instead. That boy came to our home in his darkest hour, found God, and was later baptized in that very pool with his mother. Today he is a devoted husband and a loving father. Sometimes the first step in reaching a young person is turning off our own screen.

How the Family Pattern Flexes for Gen Alpha

The beauty of a church in your home is that it can bend toward the people in the room. Here is how that family pattern can make room for Gen Alpha:

• Keep them in the room. Instead of sending children and teens away, let them stay for worship, prayer and the Word. Children learn the life of faith by watching it lived, and discipleship is caught through closeness.
• Make time at the table. VFN-related churches share meals. Let the meal linger. Sit by a young person, ask about their week, and listen to the answer. Their own church’s taco night was a highlight for these young believers. Food and friendship still open hearts.
• Hear them first. They asked us to “just listen.” Before we correct, ask. Before we teach, understand.
• Pair them with spiritual mothers and fathers. VFN teaches that true fruitfulness comes as spiritual mothers and fathers raise disciples. Let an older believer walk one-on-one with a younger one, praying together, opening the Bible together, texting a verse on a hard day. See Why Everyone Needs a Spiritual Father.
• Talk honestly about phones and anxiety. Make the table a place where a teen can admit the doom scrolling, the self-doubt and the dark thoughts without shame, and where the family prays right then and there.
• Give them real roles. If everyone participates, everyone includes them. Let them read the Scripture, lead a song, share what God showed them, serve communion with a parent, or pray for an adult who is hurting.

Turning Hearts Toward the Next Generation

From the beginning, our passion has been to see Malachi’s word come to pass: “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” (Malachi 4:6). Gen Alpha does not need a church that tries harder to entertain them. They need a family that turns its heart toward them.

The psalmist made a promise every generation must keep: “We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.” (Psalm 78:4). They want something deeper. So let’s give them Jesus, the Word, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and a family that shows up.

Come Learn the Pattern Together

If your heart is stirring, I’d love for you to join us for the Spirit-Filled Vine Seminar, 11-12-2026 through 11-15-2026, in Pensacola, Florida. Registration is free, thanks to generous ministry partners, though seating is limited. We will walk through the biblical pattern of a church gathering, how to start a church in your home, discipleship, spiritual gifts and more, with fellowship around meals and time waiting on the Lord. Bring a parent, a grandparent, a youth leader, or a young person who is hungry for more.

Father, turn our hearts toward the next generation. Help us put down our own screens, pull up a chair, and listen. Make our homes safe places where young people meet You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Related Reading

• The Loneliness Epidemic and the Church Jesus Designed: From Isolation Back to Family
• There Is Something Special When the Church Comes Together as Family
• Crisis: The State of Our Young People 29 and Younger
• Why Everyone Needs a Spiritual Father, Brother Ken Sumrall
• Choosing Family Over the Crowd