People have been having dreams throughout the course of human history and will most likely continue to have them until the end of humanity. But if God is in our waking and in our sleeping, then we need to be open to the possibility that He may be speaking through our dreams. There are 21 dreams in the Bible (six of them are in the New Testament). Each of them points to an encounter with God which leads to real life transformation. And there is presently a generation out there who are waking up spiritually. This is a generation who are experiencing God in dreams and visions and walking into churches looking for answers. Maybe you have a framework for this in your church, maybe you don’t. But either way, as this season of awakening grows, you can expect them to come to yours. Are you ready for when they do?
"This is a generation who are experiencing God in dreams and visions and walking into churches looking for answers."
This generation will arrive in church with no knowledge of the Bible. They won’t know the parables and stories. They won’t have coloured in Noah’s Ark. They may never have heard the story of Jesus. When they arrive in your church, will they understand what’s going on? Will they understand the words you’re using, or why you do certain things in certain ways?
One of the most helpful things you can do in preparation for this generation is to think about what language you are using. Does it make sense to someone who hasn’t grown up in church? If you think about your service with this lens, you’ll realise that there are so many things that we do that assume a certain level of knowledge. For someone who hasn’t read the gospels yet, Communion is a foreign concept. What do you mean ​‘this is Jesus’ blood, shed for me’? How could you explain, or build a framework, for someone who’s never been before? You can do this at the start of the service so that new people know what to expect and what will happen. This will help put them at ease, if they know where the service is heading.
"For someone who hasn’t read the gospels yet, Communion is a foreign concept."
Historically in the UK, we’ve used a guilt/​forgiveness paradigm to explain the gospel. This goes something along the lines of ​‘we’re all sinners in need of forgiveness, which is why we need Jesus’. Of course, this is true. But this generation may respond better to a shame/​honour lens, or a fear/​power angle. This new generation won’t necessarily feel like they’ve done anything wrong, but that they are the victims of a society where everything has been done to them. They were isolated by the pandemic, they are uncertain about their future thanks to the fragile job market, housing crisis and economic instability. They are targeted by social media, sold lies by society and manipulated by AI. Many will feel powerless. Some will feel ashamed. Almost all will feel afraid. They need the honour that Jesus restores to them and to experience the power that He has as King over creation, then they will be convicted of their sins and repent. But they first need to understand that their identity is as a child of God and is secured by the authority of Jesus before they can reach that point.
These young adults who are waking up through spiritual encounters may have no idea how to explain what’s happened to them. They won’t have the language or processing ability to articulate their experience. They may not even be able to tell you why they’ve come to church. People will say things like ​‘I just knew I needed to be here’ or ​‘I just couldn’t stop thinking about church, so I’ve come’. We need to accept people at their word and not judge why or how they’ve come to faith. This means our welcome needs to be strong and centred on genuine relational connection. Who in your community is inviting newcomers for dinner? Who’s getting names and numbers, not just to add to a mailing list, but to text mid-week, and ask if they’d like to have a coffee. If a new person walked into your church this Sunday, who would come and sit next to them?
"These young adults who are waking up through spiritual encounters may have no idea how to explain what’s happened to them."
In a world which says, ​‘you do you’, you’ll need to challenge them to commit. Commit to Jesus, commit to church, commit to turning up on time when they’ve said they’ll be on the rota. Young adults may be tempted to pick bits and pieces of different church expressions to create an idealised church that works for them. But the bride of Christ doesn’t ​‘work’ for them – it works for the kingdom. We have to be deeply rooted, and that means committing to one church. Don’t be afraid to challenge them on this.
Young adults with spiritual experiences may need time. We all need time and space to journey in our faith. But for them especially, you’ll need to get into the dirt of their lives with them. Who knows what they’ll be carrying in the soil strata of their soul? They’ll need someone to sit with them and ask them questions about their experiences, their story, their life, what they think and why and then genuinely listen to their answers. If you can’t be available to do this with them, find someone else who can be and release their time. For a lot of people, this may be the first time they’ve truly been listened to. The first time they feel like someone cares enough to try to understand them. We have to be generous with our time, because these people will bring something vital to your church – but you’ll have to dig a bit to help them find it, and you’ll have to not mind getting some mud on the floor in the process.
