Signs of Renewal Among Younger Generations: A Reflection on the Global Methodist 2:42 Conference
Picture from a time of prayer at the 2025 2:42 Conference in Reynoldsburg, OH, courtesy of the Global Methodist Church. Photo by Emma Stonum.
God is stirring up something quite beautiful among younger generations in the church right now. I see it in myself, I see it in my peers, and I see it in churches all over the country. Recently I witnessed evidence of it at the 2:42 Conference, a Global Methodist event for young pastors, seminary students, and those exploring a call to ministry. There are plenty of young people in recent decades who are discontent with institutions and leaving the organized church. But my heart’s desire, and what I see the beginnings of, is a thriving church. I want to see God’s people free from bondage and brokenness, empowered by the Holy Spirit for ministry, and unified in mission. Specifically, I am invested in the formation of the Global Methodist Church and its flourishing for generations to come. Increasingly I am discovering that I am not alone in this desire and commitment.
Emma Winchester preaching during the opening session of the 2:42 Conference. Photo by Emma Stonum.
I am 22 years old and a member of the Global Methodist Church. I have been a part of the Methodist tradition since I was 10, when I first responded to Jesus in a 5th grade girls small group. Jesus rescued me and gave me a home in his church. Since then, I have spent hundreds and hundreds of “kingdom hours,” as I like to call them, serving in the local church. During the last three and a half years I have worked for Spirit & Truth, a renewal and equipping ministry that serves congregations all over the country. I have recently finished a Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Studies and plan to start seminary in the Fall. I love the Wesleyan/Methodist family and hope to be ordained in the Global Methodist Church. My life is and will always be devoted to Jesus Christ and his church.
Recently I was reading an article from Pew Research Center that described Christianity being one of the most abandoned religions in the world. The vast majority of adults leaving Christianity are not merely switching from one religion to another; rather, they are disaffiliating from religion altogether. In the United States, 19% of adults who were raised Christian now identify as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular.
Studies like this and many others have served as warning signs for the church in recent decades. They have been indicators that God’s people are not living into the fullness of life that he has designed for us. There is ignorance about the person and work of the Holy Spirit, a lack of conviction for the salvation of the lost, and a decrease in spiritual disciplines. Given the state of discipleship in the West, it is no wonder that this kind of nominal Christianity is ceasing to exist among adults. Christianity is experiencing the effects of straying from its doctrine, spirit, and discipline. This was John Wesley’s greatest fear, that Methodism would become a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power (Thoughts Upon Methodism, 1786). I would classify the church’s current condition as a discipleship crisis. Adults who were raised in the faith are walking away just as easily as they walked in.
However, there are trends among younger generations that offer hope in spite of these issues. In the past, older generations have been known to have the highest level of commitment to Jesus. Yet, Barna’s recent study on young adults and their faith in Jesus noted that “Millennials and Gen Z have shown significant increases in commitment to Jesus, while Boomers and Gen X have remained mostly flat in their commitment levels to Jesus.” Another recent study found that church attendance in Britain is surprisingly on the rise and it is primarily thanks to a resurgence in Gen Z. Christianity Today goes as far as to call this a “quiet revival.”
While some older adults are leaving their childhood religion, younger adults are just finding theirs. Not only has faith in Jesus Christ increased in recent years among the young, but so has their commitment to him. Anecdotally, I have seen this among my own friends. At my home church there is a growing group of young adults, people ranging from 18-30 years old who are diving deep in their discipleship. This is not a group of mildly interested church attendees. The people I know in this demographic are going all in with Jesus, re-orienting their lives in very practical ways to make him the center. They are also extremely open and interested in the person and work of the Holy Spirit. They are not interested in a powerless religion, but seem set on discovering the same power that fueled the early church.
Worship at the 2:42 Conference being led by Rique Garza of First Methodist Conroe (Conroe, TX). Photo by Emma Stonum.
This past week, I witnessed firsthand similar signs of hope among younger adults at the 2:42 Conference. About 100 of us from around the country gathered at Reynoldsburg Community Church in Columbus, OH, for three days of worship, prayer, teaching, fellowship, and renewal. This is the second year that the Global Methodist Church has hosted the conference. Last year it was held in Lake Junaluska, NC. The denomination has continually emphasized its commitment to support and equip young clergy and laity to carry out this mission: “The Global Methodist Church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holiness across the globe.” In fact, five of the eight GMC bishops attended the 2:42 Conference in support of these young leaders. They made themselves available to answer questions, pray, and encourage the group to “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” as Paul says in Philippians 3.
The conference is named after Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (NIV). This famous verse which describes the fellowship of early believers summarizes the intent of the conference: to set aside time and space for young disciples of Jesus Christ to learn, be in fellowship, share meals, pray, and worship God. It’s worth noting that the summary of the early church in Acts 2:42 is preceded by Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the believers who were gathered in Jerusalem, their lives were immediately transformed. Just weeks earlier these disciples were betraying and denying Jesus, arguing about who was the greatest among them, and fighting each other for a position of power. It was only after being filled with the Holy Spirit that these disciples were unified in mission and caring for one another. Without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ disciples could not love him consistently, testify about him, or be in a noncompetitive relationship with the others. They needed the power of the Holy Spirit to choose Christ, spread his gospel, and love one another. The Holy Spirit led them to be unified in doctrine, spirit, and discipline. If we are to see God breathe new life into the Methodist movement today, we too are going to need the power of Pentecost.
A consistent theme I noticed, even upon arrival at the conference, was an acknowledgment among attendees and presenters alike, of our need for the presence of God. We sang and prayed about our desire for the Holy Spirit to fill us and meet us. “Come rest on us” was a common refrain. It seemed significant that our prayer was for the Holy Spirit to rest on us in the same way he hovered over the waters at creation and in the way he came upon the disciples in the upper room. This felt fitting as the Global Methodist Church finds itself at a genesis moment. The GMC is receiving the order of the Holy Spirit moment by moment, similar to how the Holy Spirit brought order to the early church. This humble and authentic yielding to God’s power is the collective longing of younger generations. There is a fierce desire for God’s presence that no program, production, or platform will satisfy.
The main sessions of the conference covered topics like holiness and repentance, the pastoral calling, the distinctives of Methodism, and Spirit-filled ministry. The content of the conference sessions gives insight into the desires of the younger generations of the church. The young leaders that I meet in the GMC desire holy living, both personally and socially. They have an unwavering passion for obeying Jesus’ call to feed his sheep. In other words, they desire to shepherd God’s people closer to him, and shepherd the lost back to him. They have a deep conviction for strong theological foundations and anchors in the historic faith. They have a hunger for ministry to be centered around God’s presence, and a holy curiosity for how the person and work of the Holy Spirit can be present and active in the local church. They are open to the gifts of the Spirit, including physical healing, which many experienced at the conference. They have an eagerness to evangelize the lost, low, and least of these. This gathering revealed to me that there are young people pressing on toward the goal of Jesus Christ, and they are a force to be reckoned with.
In some ways, the Global Methodist Church finds itself in a similar season as the experience of the early Church. There is a sense of waiting and praying, as well as daily building and obedience. There are thousands of churches in the GMC who are living into the fellowship described in Acts 2:42-47. New congregations are being planted and established all over the globe. Yet, there is still much to be discerned, articulated, explored. The Holy Spirit’s work of ordering continues, even among these signs of hope. The hundred young people gathered in a church this past week who were praying, “Do it again, Lord. Come rest on your people again,” is an encouraging sign. By praying for the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon each heart and congregation, the entire denomination has the potential to be marked as a people who consistently love and choose Jesus Christ, share the gospel, make disciples, spread scriptural holiness, and strengthen one another in the body. The 2:42 Conference was nothing less than a sign of hope for the Global Methodist Church to thrive throughout the generations, as it holds fast to the heart of Methodism.
The Barna article I referenced earlier ends with this note from David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna:
For pastors and ministry leaders, this is a moment both to celebrate and to steward. People are open—perhaps as much as any time in recent memory—to Jesus…As Christian leaders navigate this changing landscape, one thing is clear: Jesus is still attracting people—even those who have left the pews or never sat in them. The opportunity is not just to count commitments but to help shape people into lifelong disciples.
The Global Methodist Church is full of young people who need help becoming lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. This will only happen through the sustaining work of the Holy Spirit, deep theological roots, spiritual mothers and fathers who will foster their faith, and high investment in the disciplines of the Christian life. In other words, an unwavering commitment to the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which we first set out.
Emma Winchester is on staff with Spirit & Truth, a renewal and equipping ministry in the Wesleyan/Methodist tradition. Firebrand is a ministry of Spirit & Truth.