Learning to Speak Story
Story is the native language of the next generation. They consume stories on YouTube. They craft stories for social media. The next generation craves stories for the savory tastes of drama and the sweet morsels of redemption. Having survived school shootings and lived through a pandemic with losses and gains, highs and lows, young people today embody stories through the twists and turns of their burgeoning lives.
Story is the native language of the next generation.
While those of us in older generations often struggle to know how to connect, those in Gen Z, Gen Alpha and even younger Millennials are speaking to us through story every day. They are the digital natives who are captivated by what is exciting without even questioning whether it’s true. From 5-minute crafts to gaming animation, the stories of younger generations are designed to capture their attentions and, if we’re not careful, capture their hearts as well.
If story is the tongue of younger generations, then what or who shapes the heart?
This was one of the many questions that stimulated the design of our Next Generation Initiative.
This was one of the many questions that stimulated the design of our Next Generation Initiative. Since our founding by Billy Graham in 1956, Christianity Today (CT) has been one of the foremost storytellers of the church, now reaching 40 million people every year to advance the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God. We resonate with younger people because we, too, crave the taste of a powerfully redemptive story of God’s beautiful bride.
Next Generation Accelerator
Through our next generation initiative, we get to expand our capacity to advance the stories and ideas of the present generation in the media they consume. As we considered our own origin story and the pressing needs of younger people today, what emerged was our first ever Next Generation Accelerator. Our goal was to bring young creatives together into collaborative community where they could grow in their callings with the support and expertise of trusted guides. If we were successful, we would accelerate the storytelling capacity of younger leaders who would be equipped to advance the ideas of the church within and beyond CT.
The Accelerator program launched in August of 2024 with only four months of planning. It was a scary decision, but my small team consisting of our Next Gen Director, Conor Sweetman, and my talented Administrator, Hannah, quickly realized that perfect was not an option worth pursuing. The rugged authenticity of younger people made room for us to create a foundational shell that they could fill alongside us.
We sought 10 to 12 diverse evangelical storytellers, Christian influencers, marketplace leaders, or media specialists between the ages of 19 and 26. Given the wide range of creativity, we opened the opportunity to artists, writers, editors, videographers, poets, pastors, and everything in between. Applications were only accepted from May 1 to May 31 with very little marketing and, to our surprise, we received more than 150 applications! Truly God was up to something good.
What We’re Witnessing
With just three months of the program underway, we are already witnessing growth in our participants and in ourselves. Our kick-off week in Washington, DC created a level of bonding between participants, allowing them to be open to the process of building trust. Since that first week, we’ve seen one fellow published in The New York Times, five others published in online pieces through CT and one participant stepping out in faith to plant a new church in his community.
With just three more months to go, the fellows are actively developing unique "capstone" storytelling project proposals across various mediums, including film, podcasts, and text-based storytelling projects. These aim to capture and share transformative stories that align with CT’s mission. At our wrap up event in January, they will present their completed proposals and first iterations in a showcase event in CT’s new office space in Chicago. This will serve as a key moment for impact assessment and will be used to evaluate both the creative output and the effectiveness of the program, providing insights for future growth.
A Hope-filled Future
Jumping into the waters of the next generation can feel like a risky investment at times. Younger people aren’t always as strong in their faith as previous generations who grew up in the church. They are currently being formed by pressures and forces that older people don’t always understand. But the story of Jesus drives us beyond our fears to a hope-filled future where his life unites us all.
We’re still learning to speak story to younger people...
We’re still learning to speak story to younger people, but we’re not the only ones who can. Every single one of us has a story and therefore, we are all equipped to reach, serve, and grow with the next generation.
Our stories of God’s healing, of Christ’s overcoming, and of the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives are exactly what younger people need to hear. As we develop our fluency, we’ll find joy in the fact that we each have a role to play in the grand story of the Soon-Coming King.
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Nicole Massie Martin, D.Min., is the Chief Impact Officer at Christianity Today. She is the author of several books, including Nailing It: Why successful leadership demands service and surrender (IVP, April, 2025). She and her husband, Mark, live in Maryland where their two daughters are teaching them how to speak story well.
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