Comfort, narcissism, doubt: Ministry experts list biggest challenges to reaching new generation

Apr 2, 2019 by Jill

by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post:

A panel of experts on evangelizing the rising generation and the millennial generation believe that issues like “comfort,” “narcissism” and “doubt” are the biggest challenges in reaching young people.

“The dangers of narcissism are just huge, especially in a social media age and especially for younger people,” said Glen Scrivener, an Australian evangelist and director of the ministry Speak Life who works in the United Kingdom. He pointed out that in the original Narcissus myth, the main character was in love not just with himself but also the image of himself.

“Something very interesting in an Instagram age, that we fall in love not even with ourselves, but we fall in love with the curated image of ourselves that we project out into the world. And yet, it’s so empty, it’s so hollow.”

Scrivener was part of a panel titled “Youth Are Not the Future: The Urgent Task of Evangelism Today” at The Gospel Coalition conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Monday. He was responding to a question posed by Cameron Cole, director of children, youth, and family at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, and moderator for the panel, on “some of the most common idols” that prevent young people from becoming Christian.

“As we talk about trying to lead kids to Christ, we often see that there are idols that they cling to that they don’t want to let go of in order to surrender themselves to the Lordship of Jesus,” said Cole.

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