This book explores church and its practices and why they would benefit Gen Z. This is all really good, but if you're in church and see the value of church then none of this will be particularly new. The book also explores the different generations and their defining features, it does in a very clear and succinct manner. If you're interested in Gen Z and have read The Anxious Generation then you'll find there's a lot of repetition - however, I think this is all helpful information and means you can read the book without any prior knowledge.

The book also explores things like the excuses people give for not going to church and then lays out a New Testament perspective on church. This is all very good but again, if you're picking this book up because you're a church leader this (probably) won't be new, and you're likely to have heard all the excuses listed from people in real life.

As an aside - there's a story of a 3 year old given time out in a separate room because they need "time alone to think about their attitude" and I personally didn't feel this was a brilliant example of how we oursleves need to assess our attitude. Often we need help in talking through our attitude - conversation together is often better than isolation on our own. I found this a poor example to demonstrate our need to assess our own attitude, I would rather a story of "I sat down with my son and we took time out together to talk about why his behaviour/attitude wasn't ok".
In my experience, as a parent, as a wife, as a church leader, we need to lovingly and in truth hold up mirrors and journey alongside people.

Overall, this book is an easy read. I agree with what it is conveying and I agree with the importance of church community - I didn't find I learnt as much I expected but maybe this is due to not being the intended target audience, or rather because it's a topic I've already read and researched? I would still recommend it to others though, but with the caveat of "it depends on how much you've read around Gen Z" and you might find it just reiterates what you already believe about church.

I feel like the title is misleading. It’s suggesting that the Anxious Generation are indeed already going to Church when rather this is the hope of a Pastor who worries about dwindling congregations and thinks this will kill two birds with one stone.

Rainer builds on the idea of Jonathan Haidt and the anxious generation. This is Generation X and Generation Alpha who have reverted to online, have lost a sense of community and don’t see church going as a priority.
I requested this book in the hope that it would actually explore this idea of the anxious generation indeed going to church and how it helped, but rather it was a bashing of the anxious generation, hailing his family as the perfect example. It was an endorsement of his ideals.

When he looked at the reasons why people have said they don’t go to church. He belittled some of the excuses and personally I found problem when he said it was due to church abuses. As someone from Ireland who has a conflicted relationship with the church, I feel this reasoning should be respected and not ridiculed and maybe if he did have that level of understanding this book may been more digestible.

First sentence: I was well on my way to completing the research on a different book when I hit a wall.

The book I thought I was 'getting' was not the book I got. That's on me, mostly. I didn't see or pay enough attention to the subtitle. Perhaps. I have thoughts. I do. I'll try to share them when appropriate.

So what IS the book about? The book addresses from a statistical, sociological, analytical, research-oriented viewpoint how the two youngest generations--Gen Z and Gen Alpha--could benefit from the structure of the church and the church community. Gen Z refers to those born between 1997 and 2012. Gen Alpha refers to those born between 2013 and the present.

His inspiration for writing is DIRECTLY connected to his reading a secular book called The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. Much of his book is spent summarizing and analyzing Haidt's book and spinning or tilting it perhaps to see it from a Christian perspective. The concerns are roughly the same, I believe, but Rainer focuses on a possible solution to the 'problem.'

Rainer defines and describes each generation from The Silent Generation on through Gen Alpha. Each generation is defined in GENERALIZED terms--very wide brush strokes, if you will. It starts from a place that these sociological terms and generalizations are essentially true. He does not question these foundational blocks. [I'm not saying that is in and of itself a bad thing. It's just that almost all of the building blocks in this book, the foundation, the walls, the supports, etc., are all sociological and not in any way drawing from Scripture.] All people from a generation are lumped together despite unique, personal, individual differences. A very one-size-fits-all cookie-cutter approach to viewing humanity.

The Anxious Generations--Gen Z and Gen Alpha--are being shaped, rewired essentially by "the big four" : high speed internet, smartphones, social media, and polarization. Rainer spends time explaining the evils of the big four. Though high-speed internet, smartphones, social media, and polarization are so closely connected and intertwined, so knotted and tangled together that I'm not sure it makes sense to separate them from each other. You can probably guess what makes the big four evil without further explanation. Polarization is the only one that might perhaps need a little help. Essentially the polarization of society on every subject--mostly online but in person as well perhaps. (For example, how EVERYTHING is one baby step away from being a political issue.)

He spends the most time on describing, defining, illustrating, etc., the 'special' problems facing the Anxious Generation. He then begins with a big picture, distant approach to how the church may be able to help. Again, his technique is more on statistics, research, polls, surveys, etc. He spends a chapter introducing readers to a series of atheists--yes, atheists--sharing quotes from them that allegedly show how even atheists admit that church can be stabilizing and morally good for society. How they may reject all religions and religious doctrines, etc, but they like the structures of the community--in theory at least.

When he speaks of the church most often it is in a distant sociological research way. There's little to no theology in this one.

The book isn't so much THE ANXIOUS GENERATIONS NEED JESUS AS THEIR LORD AND SAVIOR because they are sinners in need of a Savior, as Gen Z and Gen Alpha need the structure of weekly fellowship, in-person friendships, socialization and camaraderie. They need youth groups, discipleship, mentorship, to be a part of a family. It will benefit their mental health if they attend church. It doesn't really go into spiritual needs and spiritual solutions.

He encourages the church to actively invite and welcome younger people in the church. That means, most notably, bringing someone to church--literally. Not just inviting casually. But making plans, going with them, sitting with them, sharing a meal, etc. He points out time and time again, that most are not willing to go to a church alone, but if they had someone to go with them, they'd go. He also emphasizes that "the unchurched" of all ages are not hostile to the faith, to church, to Christians, they just are waiting for us to go to them and actively care about them. (I'm not sure *where* he is getting this not hostile thing. I'm not sure which polarized view is right.)

Church consultant and researcher, Thom Rainer, believes God is at work in this generation, and he believes that this moment in time has created unique opportunities for churches to grow, thrive, and revive. This is a good book with wonderful analysis.

I thought that this would focus more on how to reach the Anxious Generation and get them to come to church. Instead, this was mostly just data about church growth and examinations of different surveys that have been done. As an "elder gen Z" who grew up in church, I knew a lot of this stuff and the rest I just thought "Yeah, that makes sense. Why does it need to be explained?"

I wish this got more in depth of how to get those kids to come to church.

This is perfect for someone who is just entering to wondering why the church is getting smaller and is looking for data and facts explained to them.

This book was good. I appreciated the insight and learning about the Anxious Generation through the lens of the church. I do feel that much of it could have been condensed into a well-thought out blog post that made it more meaningful, especially at the end where I felt I was reading the same chapter over and over again. Overall, practical insight and tips into how to love our younger generation better. I will recommend, specifically for those in our church who don’t work with the Anxious Generation on a daily basis.

Thanks Netgally for the ARC!

I like the premise and the timeliness of this book – the author is building on the topic of the book The Anxious Generation by Jonathon Haidt which was published just over a year ago and got quite a lot of traction and exposure. Haidt’s book spends a great deal of time and data analysis to propose the issues that face our young generations now are very connected to the shift from a play-based childhood to a phone-based childhood and that children today have less independence navigating the in-real-life world. I read the Haidt book as well so was curious how to apply what these studies on Gen X and Alpha tell us, so that we can them involved in church.

Rainer has continued on with this topic with additional research and spends a good portion of his book relaying similar information as he sets up the overall basic premise. He makes strong points for the benefit of the church for these young people and discusses some ways that church members can respond to make it more likely for them to come and to stay. Because there isn’t a silver bullet (though he stresses personal invitation a lot) there isn’t a formula to follow and the part of the book about what to do is limited (I didn’t feel like it got to ideas or actions until about the 75-80% point). He does provide good food for thought for all, either parents of those still living at home or church members and pastors in general.

Thank you to the Tyndale House Publisher and NetGalley for an early copy to read and review. This book is expected out in August 2025.

Wow. What a thought provoking book. I have not read the book that inspired this one (although now I want to!) So much to think about on how we are reaching other generations & future generations in the church. Rainer put a lot of thought & time into this, and im not sure one read through will be enough. It will be a must get for my bookshelves, not just an ebook!

Readable, insightful, and engaging. This book gave me a lot to think about. Rainer has clearly done his research and a lot of it was eye opening. I can’t wait to read more of his church books - they are short but certainly pack a punch…and that is coming from someone who doesn’t read a ton of nonfiction. I can’t wait to implement some of these ideas in my home church.

I have been engaged in Christian philosophy, apologetics, and the reality of the "Nones" for a full decade at this point; this kind of book is right up my spiritual alley. These are the kinds of things that I think that we need to be talking about more. These are the things that I encounter every day in my own ministry.

That said, I'm not sure Rainer really hit it. I mean, he did, but then, he missed it. This book is extremely dense in that it has a very heavy message included, but the actual copy is extremely repetitive, even within just a few paragraphs of each other. Rainer says exactly the same things over and over and over again and instead of an invitation to exploration and consideration, it makes this book a hammer. That approach just doesn't work for me. And, as a writer, it seems like perhaps he doesn't have enough to say to make a full, well-rounded book if he has to repeat himself so often. From my own studies, I know that there is so much to say. And at the same time, I understand also that a very foundational understanding is often enough to spark a movement. I think Rainer tried to take that very foundational understanding, which is not very complex, and make it sound like very much to say, which seems complex, and it just became boring and insulting.

The charts and graphs in this book, though few, are not helpful. They are not mathematically sound and do not actually contribute any information or understanding, such as the graphs that show simply the rise in certain reports without indicating where they rose from (what the baseline is) or over what period of time. Saying, "This rose 97%" and making a bar graph that just says "97%" is not informative. My hope is that these graphs will be enhanced before final publication. (I was reading an advanced copy of this book.)

This book, by nature of its concept, has so much potential. And for some audiences, it may work very well. For someone like me, who has invested so many years in these questions and this type of ministry, it was not the strongest presentation of the material. But my prayer is that it will do good work in God's world. I know it will.