What are teens telling the church?
At last month’s Spire Conference, CDF Capital and Christ in Youth (CIY) co-hosted an event to help foster this conversation among church leaders across the country.
For more than 55 years, CIY has partnered with local churches to help students discover and live out God’s call on their lives. Every summer, CIY hosts conferences and camps and creates resources to equip the church to raise up the next generation of Kingdom workers.
In 2026, CIY partnered with Barna Group to survey 1,500 American teens about faith, pressure, and the people who shape their lives. At the Spire gathering, CIY president Jayson French shared an idea from the study that rises above the rest: Churches must measure activation, not just attendance.
More than half of Christian teens (57%) reported attending youth group in the past three months. While this statistic is encouraging, attendance only reveals that they are showing up, not that faith is actually taking root. Barna measured six pathways of integrated faith, and the gap between attendance and activation should trigger a wake-up call.
What the data tells us should reshape how churches lead.
Teens are asking adult-sized questions.
More than three in four teens (78%) are thinking about how they’ll make a living as adults. Previous generations were asked, “What do you want to be?” Today’s students are wondering, “Will I be able to make a living at all?”
The most engaged students carry the most.
Faith-activated teens are more hopeful and more future-minded, but also more likely to feel exhausted and doubtful. The student who never misses an event still needs to be discipled.
Adult voices still matter.
Two-thirds of teens say their family has the greatest influence on who they’re becoming.
Jayson’s challenge to church leaders was simple: Students can handle more than the church is asking of them. The goal isn’t merely a full room of teens, but discipling groups that are equipped, called, and sent.
These takeaways resonated with CDF Capital CEO, Eric Schroeder. He reflected, “I grew up a ‘camp kid,’ as my mom was the camp cook. Those summers at camp fifty years ago shaped my spiritual journey just like the CIY experience is shaping young people today. CIY is a great ministry partner, pouring into the next generation. As a grandfather, that is a generation that I want to invest in.”
If you’d like to hear more from Jayson about the recent Barna study, check out a clip from his talk on his Instagram (@jaysonfrench). You can also learn how CIY is equipping business and church leaders via The Current, a leadership podcast, at ciy.com/thecurrent.
