People Say Younger Generations Are Different—Here's Where They Are Wrong

Do you know what else will never change in this fallen world? Well, we all know God’s Word will never change because it stands forever:

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

And God’s Word makes it clear that the devil’s attack will always be focused on God’s Word:

“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)

God, through the Apostle Paul, tells us that the devil will use the same method on all of us as he did on Eve to attempt to get us away from the truth. And that method is to attack God’s Word.

This is why I’ve always positioned the Answers in Genesis ministry as an evangelistic biblical authority ministry. Our main emphasis is on proclaiming the authority of the Word of God and the saving gospel.

Now because of the focused attacks on Genesis 1–11 in the era we live in (from the 1800s to the present), we also have an emphasis on teaching apologetics to equip people to defend the Christian faith against the attacks on God’s Word in our day.

The name of our ministry is Answers in Genesis. And you know what? The answers will always be in Genesis because Genesis 1–11 is the foundation for everything! And if this is true, then there will always have been and always will be attacks that manifest in different ways on Genesis 1–11. And this is exactly the situation.

For instance, for the past 2,000 years, there have always been leaders in the church who have not believed Genesis 1–11 as they should by questioning the length of the days of creation or the literal account of a global flood, etc.

It doesn’t matter what generation it is, there will always be questions about God’s Word, as that’s the nature of the devil’s attack.

It doesn’t matter what generation it is, there will always be questions about God’s Word, as that’s the nature of the devil’s attack.

I say all this because I’ve had people and various Christian leaders tell me that to reach the younger generations we have to do things very differently. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some things we have to change such as use of technology and communication. To reach many in the younger generations today, one needs to understand social media, etc.

We all have a sin nature. We all have the same basic human characteristics. And despite the generational differences, I do warn us not to go to extremes for changes we think are needed to reach them all.

Let me explain with some examples:

1. I’ve had people tell me the younger generations don’t read much, and we need to provide everything digitally for them. Actually, I find that’s not true. I have spoken to many thousands of young people, including Generation Z and millennials. I find that if you know how to communicate a powerful message that answers many of their questions, makes the Bible real, and connects to the world they live in, they yearn for copies of the books I recommend. In fact, we have found that sales of printed books are going up and sales of digital versions have waned some. People love the tangible nature of books.

   

   We have found that also holds true with Generation Alpha at Answers Academy, our Christian school. We have worked hard to provide a great library of books, and children love to hold and read them.

2. Many younger pastors have told me the newer generations have a short attention span, so they need more of an entertainment approach. I have found that’s not true. When I give presentations to young people and use lots of illustrations, dealing with relevant questions I know they have about the Bible, moral issues, etc., I have no problem keeping their attention for an hour and a half. Now you do have to have a gift of teaching and know how to reach the ages in the audience, but if you do this the right way and it’s relevant to them, I find they lap it up and want more.

   Sadly, many churches have changed to an emphasis on entertainment and with that comes watered-down teaching. But I find people are hungry for answers and good teaching.

3. I’ve had people tell me that the younger generations aren’t interested in answers to questions like, “Where did Cain get his wife,” the age of the earth, etc., because they want to hear answers dealing with gender, identity, social justice, woke culture, etc.

   Now it is true we have to deal with those issues today, but I have found the younger generations still need and want answers to questions like the one on Cain’s wife.

   A few months ago, I gave a presentation at a conference at the Ark run by a ministry that organizes after-school groups so public school students can be reached with the Christian message. I gave this group a talk on apologetics and taught them how I answer a lot of the basic questions like, “How do we know God exists?,” “How can one reconcile death, suffering, and disease with a loving God?,” and “Where did Cain’s wife come from?”

   At the end of my talk, I heard from a number of people that the most-asked question they receive from these young students concerns Cain’s wife. The students may ask it in a different way like, “If there were only two people to start with where did all the other people come from?,” but it’s still the same basic question.

   Because the history in Genesis 1–11 is the foundation for everything and a totally different account of origins than what they hear at school and nearly everywhere else, they have that question about the Bible’s history. And it’s important to answer it so they know that the Bible’s history is trustworthy. And this is true of so many other basic questions about Genesis. We will always need the basic answers for the history in Genesis 1–11 because the devil wants to cause people to doubt and not believe this history. After all, this history is foundational to all doctrine, to marriage, to gender, to deal with racism and abortion, to deal with the environment, and it’s foundational to the saving gospel message.

4. It’s been said to me by many church leaders that young people today only like contemporary music, so they’ve abandoned the great old hymns in their churches. My philosophy of music is “the best of the old and the best of the new.” I’ve found that using a mixture of the best of the old and new is appreciated by all generations. And in many instances, people of all ages seem to sing louder with the great old hymns.

I could give many other examples. What I want to communicate to you is that at Answers in Genesis, we will always continue to provide the basic answers to questions about God’s Word because every generation needs them, but we will also add in new answers and use the latest technology and modern communication styles because of how the culture changes. We always need such a balance. It sounds contradictory, but we don’t change and we must change. It’s both.

When we first began Answers in Genesis, there were no websites, YouTube, X, or TikTok—and I used an overhead projector, 16 mm movie projector, and 35 mm slide projector. Now I use a computer that projects on LED screens! We move with the times, but we never give up the basics of what we do. We upgrade exhibits at the attractions to fit in with the quality and technology of this age, but our basic message stays the same, even as we add new answers!

You know what else will never, ever change? The message of the saving gospel that begins in Genesis and is revealed through the rest of Scripture.

And you know what else will never, ever change? The message of the saving gospel that begins in Genesis and is revealed through the rest of Scripture. I tell people that the middle of the Bible is Genesis 3. This is because the first three chapters give the account of where we came from and what our problem is—sin. The rest of the Bible is God dealing with sin. We will always be emphatic on presenting the truth of God’s Word and the gospel in all we do because that has always been the solution for man!

Thank you for being a part of our family as we endeavor to do the very best we can, to reach as many as we can, as powerfully as we can, through all we do so lives will be impacted for the kingdom.

Your support, both now and in the future, is invaluable. You can make a gift at AnswersDonate.com. And for the future, you can designate a planned/legacy gift today that will also result in a current gift to AiG from a generous family foundation.

To that end, I am pleased to let you know that AiG has been blessed to start this year with a $1 million Legacy Match Challenge. This means that any future legacy gift designated through your will, trust, beneficiary designation, charitable gift annuity, etc., will be matched up to 10% of the value today by the foundation up to $1 million! So your legacy gift designation today will also generate a cash gift to AiG today!

Before I sign off, I thought you would like to read these three testimony comments that were left on my Facebook post the day I wrote this letter. I get comments like these daily, plus many more testimonies by email, letter, personal contact, and phone calls. It’s amazing to experience the impact of this ministry on people’s lives day after day:

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.