Next-Gen Ministries
“I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them;
[the dry bones] came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.” Ezekiel
Another branch of J17 Ministries has been emerging, and it’s called Next-Gen.
There has been a hunger stirring amongst our young men and women of faith that cannot be ignored. I was born in Tucson and discipled around a large group of young believers who were all excited to get together but not all were excited about growing deeper in Christ. I started to notice a trend, that those who were serious about their faith often left the city for greener pastures. Those who stayed struggled to grow and reproduce faithful communities in familiar environments.
So the cycle continued that leaders would be sent to Tucson to lead and send out committed Christians to serve elsewhere. As a missionary, I am excited about this Great Commission mindset but have always wondered if fulfilling the command in Acts 1:8 (“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”) included our city along with the ends of the earth. Can God raise up an army of Tucsonans from the dry bones of our city to serve the city?
Yes/ And!
God is the God of the revival; He is the God of resurrection; and He is the God of the next generation. So, what’s the next step? In July 2027, we are planning to launch the Next-Gen version of the John 17 Weekends retreat. The focus of the three days will be developing a Radical Upward Relationship with God, forming Radical Inward Relationships with other Believers, and receiving a Radical Outward Calling to share Christ with the world.
So, if we already have an adult three-day retreat, why should we invest so much energy in Next-Gen ministries?
God is calling the next generation to step into faith, now. “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha are not the church of the future; they are the church now. God doesn’t want to merely spark a glowing ember of belief in our youth underneath a heap of worldly ash, but to fan the roaring flames of faith that will set the standard for the whole body of Christ.
The next generation is hungry for authentic Christian community where they can truly know others and be truly known. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1-2). In a world of screens and artificial information, there is a desperation for real connection in a way that can only be experienced when the family of faith tears down every façade and gets real
together.
Young men and women are ready to make life-altering changes for the gospel. “For whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). What if Jesus was serious when he said this? The Next-Gen community has not yet been burdened by fear of the future, malaise of the 9-5 grind, or the burden of mortgages. They are primed for radical changes and lifelong commitments to Jesus Christ, but they just can’t do it alone. They need shepherding, connection, mentorship, and prayer from the whole body of Christ. God is up to something with this generation; the wave of revival is on the way. Instead of letting it pass us by, let’s ride it together as we get the privilege of being part of God’s incredible plan of redemption for the city of Tucson and the rest of the world.
Your Brother in Christ,
Pastor Louis Liss
Louis Liss serves as the senior pastor at Mount Zion Lutheran Church in Tucson, AZ, and collaborates with J17 Ministries Next-Gen. He and his family served as missionaries in Lebanon for the last decade before being called back to the States to take care of aging parents. While overseas, one of the keys to seeing so many people come to Christ was Kingdom Collaboration.
We desire to continue to work together as one body for the glory of Christ so that all may know that Jesus Christ is Lord. Unity in the body of Christ means that we are fulfilling Jesus' prayer to the Father by working together to share the gospel and discipline God's people to be conformed to the image of Christ.
