Highland Baptist Church might be more than a century old, but it is a much younger crowd that fills the pews each week. This is in large part due to the church’s efforts to reach the next generation of seekers—college students and young adults. And the results speak for themselves: The church has grown 25% year over year for the past three years, with 1 in 3 attendees in the 18- to 25-year-old demographic.
Drew Humphrey, Highland Baptist’s next gen/college grow pastor, believes that the Waco area, with its high student population at Baylor University, offers a prime opportunity to interact with young adults who are looking for a deeper connection to God and each other.
“Across the world, young people are coming back to Christ,” he says. “We are focusing on prayer groups, worship and evangelism. We have a team of people out there starting conversations about faith on campus.”
In addition, Highland Baptist offers a large church gathering and as Sunday school classes for all ages, which gives congregants a chance for more meaningful interactions every week.
Humphrey finds that the next generation is much more open to experiential faith than generations prior. God’s presence and grace captures their hearts initially, and the church steps in to help reinforce their faith with Bible studies, discipleship groups and foundational courses.
“The churches that are really growing aren’t afraid of the ‘feeling’ side of faith,” he explains. “Students feel first, emotionally, through worship and prayer. And then the second phase is working on their depth of faith with theology and the Bible.”
While the church gears their Sunday services more toward a younger audience, Humphrey says that Gen Z students are not as interested in the “entertainment factor” when it comes to the Sunday sermon. They place a high value on prayer and worship, and they appreciate authenticity from leadership and the pulpit. Most of all, Gen Z craves the truth of Scripture.
“Young people just want you to open the Bible and stay in the Bible,” Humphrey says. “They want preaching straight from God’s Word—without a lot of fluff.”