Understanding Gen-Z (Ep. 290)

Gen Z is has taken center stage. This new group of young people are making their mark on our culture and are influencing every society around the world. At the recent FEBC Leadership Academy, the topic of Gen Z was one of the major points of discussion with our staff. Our friend Jonathan Mortiz was a presenter at the conference and took the time to talk with several participants.  This is an important opportunity to hear their reactions to what they are facing as they reach out to Gen Z and work with their Gen Z staff. Discover how to reach out and learn from this group and welcome them as partners for the Gospel. We know this episode will help us all prepare to hand off ministry to the next generation of leaders…Until All Have Heard.

Transcript

SPEAKER_07 0:02

Welcome to Until All Have Heard from the Far East Broadcasting Company. We shuffle with Ed Cannon, president of FEBC. Ed, and my uh few years of association with FEBC, which goes back 80 years itself, by the way, I'm always so impressed about the the now of this organization. What is happening now that we can use to our advantage in the ministry?

SPEAKER_06 0:21

Mm-hmm. Well, you know, I've mentioned on several podcasts before this leadership training, uh, which uh once again I think is a very, very important element of how we're working, but it has many different tentacles. It's not just to train the young people how to be leaders and and how to uh set vision and cast s vision over strategic plans and implement plans and and budget and lead people and evaluate people. It's way more than that. It's about getting these people together and having them share with us, the leadership team, what's going on at their roots. And these are young people. Many of these people are Gen Z, which by the way, Wayne, we had to look up to make sure we had the exact number.

SPEAKER_07 1:08

The two of us are boomers, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:10

So anyone under 28 years old is considered in the Gen Z. And so I would say probably 70 percent of the people at our leadership academy are in that category. Interesting. Maybe a few in the in their thirties or a little bit older. But actually, uh what I see is a very common sort of behavioral element. They're idealistic, they have big ideas, they want to accomplish lots of things. This is a generation that I think, unlike previous young generations, they want to get stuff done. Yes. They don't want to just sit back and enjoy life. They want to accomplish things. Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.

SPEAKER_07 1:51

Well, around the world we're learning now Gen Z is leading what's amounting to perhaps a spiritual revival, even in Europe. It's amazing what's going on right now. And young people, Gen Z is leading the way in it in church attendance right now in this country. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_06 2:05

So what we need to do, Wayne, is harness that energy.

SPEAKER_07 2:08

We're going to take you to the Leadership Academy today and hear from some of these Gen Zers. As I guess we could call them, right?

SPEAKER_06 2:14

Yeah, yeah. And Jonathan Ortiz, uh one of our staff, w was doing the interviews. But I can tell you I was standing right there and I was listening to what they were saying. I was actually taking notes at so what at the things that some of these young people were saying, because we, the senior leadership of the organization, need to learn from these young people how they're thinking, what their plans are, what they need that a radio station like FEBC could provide, not only to the listeners, but also to the employees. So these were very important conversations. And I would like to point out that most of these people, well, none of the people that you're going to hear speaking have English as a first language. It's always either a second language or possibly a fourth language.

SPEAKER_07 3:02

Which is it shames us who know so few languages. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 3:06

So I apologize a little bit for the the nature of their language. So listen carefully.

SPEAKER_07 3:12

Oh, it's so worth the effort, though. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_06 3:14

Yeah, but understand that, you know, in in many cases, these people are from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Thailand, and um, yeah, English is about their third language. Okay.

SPEAKER_07 3:24

Well, let's begin with one of those voices from the Leadership Academy.

SPEAKER_08 3:29

In the Leadership Academy, um, I learned a lot of things. Uh I saw a lot of examples of good leaders here, and uh learned a lot of things from different of leaders, and um it's really um inspired me, and um sometimes I um have a lot of uh thoughts, dubs um about uh myself, like am I really uh ready to be a leader, or uh maybe I'm too young and but here I like felt and um saw that uh God um wanted to everybody be a leader, um and I felt uh like God's calling and uh that He um uh trust me, He believed me and He wanna uh that I uh should share the gospel in my country and I wanna like uh continue and I wanna uh grow in my leadership to reach the people to through the media.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

Yes, I I learned a lot from a leadership academy uh four. I heard, but I never thought that that as uh important for me as um the topic talking about Gen Z. Yeah. I try to find uh uh the way that I can communicate with my son and daughter. So I tried with my best uh friend, the foreign nurse, to help me and then they they they try to to tell me that uh when the teenagers become uh when when the kids become teenager, they become like that. So I thought that maybe. And uh after I I I I uh learned through the session, I know that Gen Z is uh I I know um the the the way that Gen Z acts. So I will I I will try to do research more that I can uh I hope that through this session I will communicate with my son and daughter better.

SPEAKER_05 5:55

And you can apply that to your ministry and uh to the overall ministry of uh FEBC in your field country, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:04

Yes, all yes. Also, I will apply this uh session to my um ministry because I have uh one IT guy, he is a Gen Z.

SPEAKER_04 6:17

Yeah. So you're working in the information in the in the computer side. Yeah. I work in the computer side.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_04 6:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 6:25

Oh, the whole leadership academy for was filled with aha moments, but I just want to emphasize uh several moments. First, uh, it was really great to learn from valuable experience of the uh senior leaders who have been leading uh others for many years. I really loved it. So one of the really important things I have learned here is that I, as a leader, I need to be more open, more clear, and more ready to listen while uh I work with the younger generation.

SPEAKER_05 6:58

So these things that you have learned, those aha moments now, um, you could apply that in in the ministry in where the country where you're ministering at. Well, we won't mention that, but uh we definitely are kind of investing on that so you could you could reach to your people, right? Are you excited with this? Is this your first time?

SPEAKER_09 7:20

Yes, it's my first time here in Leadership Academy. And as we mentioned, uh Gen Z, now I would definitely work better with them. The most part of our academy is Gen Z. And in fact, in our nation, the 70 uh percent of the population are young people. So, in and it was for me, it was a bit difficult to find the key to their hearts, and now I know uh how to speak to them and how and how to work with them.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

What are you really learning in the Leadership Academy 4?

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Uh from Leadership Academy 4, I learned and uh I understand that uh generation of uh Gen Z is a very interesting guys uh because uh our team I think uh around 70-80 percent uh from our team it's a Dan Z. It's a vloggers or uh young broadcasters, and um we see how hard work with them because uh they all is so creative. And uh now here uh I understand uh what instruments I can use to uh reach their heart to reach their mind with our ministry and uh what uh aha moment uh for me was it's a EQ test. Yeah, uh I made one test uh similar, but uh this test showed me uh who I am for real. Uh sometimes I understand understand it that but uh now I saw. Yeah, for me I am uh calm in the stress, but me hard uh hard uh to share with my emotions.

SPEAKER_05 9:23

Yeah, so so these things that you're saying right now, the things, the aha moments for you, you can really apply this to your own ministry and to the ministry to Moldova in Moldova.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And uh but one more thing, uh what I uh took uh from the Leadership Academy, uh, but not from uh Leadership Academy 4, it was uh in Chiang Mai in uh Thailand. Uh there I don't remember who said uh that, but uh was uh these words like leader, it's uh man, it's it's a person who stay on the front of the team, not in the back. Yeah, and uh then I understand that I stay at the back and I push all my team uh to go, but now I stay in the front and uh how um yeah yeah and I see where we should go and they go after me there.

SPEAKER_02 10:32

Yeah, that's amazing, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_05 10:34

Uh that's really uh an understanding of leadership. Well, we have another Gen C here, uh that here attending the Leadership Academy for, and we're so happy to see the younger generation because they are the future leaders, they are the present leaders of FEBC uh association. Now, what are your aha moments, highlights uh that you think has really impacted you in in your ministry?

SPEAKER_03 11:07

Um, I really liked uh that I I had the opportunity to see all my brothers and sisters from all around the world. Sometimes when I'm in my own country, uh I uh sometimes it's it's hard to see the like bigger picture. But uh like Leadership Academy and like gatherings like this, they're they give us opportunity to see that I'm not alone in this. God is doing his ministry all around the world from different people. We are very, very different from each other. But when when we are together, we're sitting on the same table, I s I can feel that we have the Holy Spirit in us, and um um that we are like a real really big family. Also, I like the uh EQ test that Dr. uh Yuri uh uh gave us. It was really helpful for me to understand my inner self better. Um because uh I saw I uh I I think that I can uh I knew that's what results uh what what results may be, but there was like something new for me and uh um I I think I bless I thank God for this opportunity uh opportunity. I'm blessed. And then um I think it's a really good uh good foundation to grow, to grow more.

SPEAKER_05 12:31

And um and and knowing yourself um it it affects your how will it affect your your ministry?

SPEAKER_03 12:39

Uh I hope I I believe that it will it will affect in the better way because uh right now um Dr. Yuri uh gave us like the a whole uh pr like mini presentation of like uh myself and uh I will uh I see my like weaknesses and the the the things that I'm struggling with. So it's um like um opportunity to work on them to become to become a good leader. And um yes.

SPEAKER_05 13:08

And and uh with that you could see also the emotions of of your your team, right? Your your partners.

SPEAKER_03 13:15

So it's also uh I can see the emotions of my team. I think uh this kind of test um showed me that it's really important to be uh emotionally intelligent um because um we are all people and sometimes we all make mistakes and um we shouldn't like um get emotions to control us, control our decisions. So that's why I think it was really, really helpful.

SPEAKER_06 13:49

That's an extremely talented young lady, Wayne, and I I think I should just comment a little bit on what she was talking about there, because it was one of the most well-received elements of the Leadership Academy, and that's where we're training people how to understand relationships with other people, how to read their language, to read their their body position, the way they react to things, and and teach them it's not just about communication in words, it's about communication through emotions. And it was a very important element, which I have to say, I was sitting back and listening to Dr. Ure talking about this, I was learning as much as the young people. So it's really important that these kind of things are helping them understand the way they need to lead. And I even look at my career. I've been in leadership for uh I won't tell you how many years, but a long time. And um some of these elements that he was talking about, I'm thinking I wish I would have known better.

SPEAKER_07 14:50

Yeah, and we need to be open to them, don't we? Yeah, that's right. Right. I so appreciate that we're talking about Gen Z here, that they're willing to learn, but we're also learning from them. Yeah. Which is this dialogue is so very important.

SPEAKER_06 15:02

It's it's very important. And uh yeah, I have to say, these young people at this academy are just so hungry to learn these things. But it's it's driven, as I said before, because they they're ideologically geared toward getting things done. And we have the privilege of having a group of about 75 of them who want to get things done for the gospel. Yes. And it's just very encouraging for me. A lot of people write the youth off, but that's not the case with this Gen Z. We need to align ourselves with them more powerfully than we have in the past and allow them to speak to people their age in a way that they're gonna respond. And and and learning that and being able to take our hands off the control and in some way allow and inspire and equip these young people to be able to do what they can do best is gonna make a great difference for FEBC in the future. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_07 16:00

We should be so filled with hope that this generation is coming behind us to carry the torch of the gospel the way that we've heard it today expressed by this young people. All of them Gen Zers at the Leadership Academy that FEBC puts together under the uh vision that you've had for this ad. So thank you for doing that. And I know it's carried out by many others as well. So we uh we really needed to hear this report today. And I think it really puts a great context on what's happening with Gen Z around the world. So thank you. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_06 16:27

And of course, we were we were halfway around the world for me. So I was a little jet lagged. And one night I woke up, it was probably 1.30 or 2 o'clock in the morning, and I decided I wanted to go get some water, and the the cafeteria they kept open so you could just sit in there and talk, and and they had some dispensers with water and that sort of thing. So I walked into the cafeteria. I I I do, I think it was one o'clock in the morning, and there were still 15 or 20 of these young kids sitting there talking. And it's like, wow. You know, obviously the enthusiasm is still that much. So I told him to go to bed. Old grandpa had to tell him to go to bed.

SPEAKER_07 17:05

Well, thanks for bringing this all to our attention today. And thanks to uh Jonathan Ortiz, your uh your partner there who brought the audio to us as well. So appreciate it. And as I said before, it should fill us with hope to listen to what we've heard here today. So thank you. And thank you for joining us for this podcast, which I hope that you will pass the word around to others that it's available, sort of the inside story of what God is doing through FEBC, the Far East Broadcasting Company. And thank you. We'll talk next time.

SPEAKER_06 17:31

Well, thank you, Wayne. And uh as a final note from me, uh, I'm trying to tell you how encouraged I am for for these young people. That's just the FEBC young people. So uh as listeners to this podcast, would you please pray for these young people? But not just FEBC's young people. Right. This entire generation in whose hands we're gonna pass the baton of of Christian leadership around the entire world. Our hope for the future of the church is gonna be in the responsibility of this Gen Z. We've seen some really encouraging things, uh, but don't give up praying for them that they might lead this in a way that we would be really proud and would fulfill the Lord's great commission.

SPEAKER_07 18:14

Well said. For Joe Carlson, our producer, Wayne Shepherd, thanks for listening to Until All Have Heard.