Why Gen Z Won’t Lead: And What the Church Must Learn from It
Everyone keeps asking the same question.
Where are the young leaders?
Pastors are tired of begging for volunteers.
Youth pastors are watching gifted teens drift.
Church boards are wondering who will take over “one day” or “someday,” or maybe even “today”.
I’ll say the quiet truth out loud:
Gen Z isn’t uninterested in leadership.
They’re uninterested in our version of it.
Let’s unpack this.
1. The Leadership Decline Is Actually Rejection
In Deloitte’s 2025 global survey of over 23,000 Gen Z and millennial respondents, only 6% said their top career goal is a senior leadership role.
For Gen Z, leadership has come to signal burnout, bureaucracy, and a loss of authenticity, so they’re redefining ambition, not abandoning it.
They’ve watched their parents burn out in boardrooms.
They’ve seen spiritual leaders collapse under pressure.
They’re not chasing titles; they’re chasing authenticity and health.
In their minds, leadership doesn’t look like freedom.
It looks like exhaustion.
And in many churches, they’re right.
2. The Church's Leadership Pipeline Is Built for a World That No Longer Exists
Let’s keep it 💯
Most churches still use a "climb the ladder" model:
Serve for years in silence.
Prove yourself through loyalty.
Maybe get handed a mic in your 30s.
If you survive long enough, you’ll be seen.
That worked in the 80s and 90s.
But Gen Z is built differently.
They don’t want hierarchy. They want influence.
They don’t want titles. They want trust.
They don’t want to wait. They want meaning now.
And if we keep offering them a system that looks like control and burnout, they’ll choose to lead somewhere else or not at all.
3. They're Not Lazy. They're Redefining Leadership.
Church leaders often assume Gen Z:
❌ Doesn’t want responsibility
❌ Isn’t committed enough
❌ Is too soft to lead
But what if we’re wrong?
What if they’re not running from responsibility, and they’re running from a version of leadership that feels unsafe, inflexible, and dreadful?
Gen Z is asking:
“Will this role let me be who I am?”
“Does leadership here look like health?”
“Will I still have a soul when it’s over?”
If the answer is no, they’re out.
4. What Gen Z Actually Wants in Leadership
Here’s what the data and stories show Gen Z is hungry for:
1. Purpose Over Platform
They don’t care about titles. They want to know their leadership matters.
Impact is more important than influence.
2. Flexibility Over Formality
They want fluid roles, not rigid ladders.
They prefer collaboration to command.
3. Psychological Safety
They’ve seen manipulation masked as mentorship.
They need trust and space to be honest.
4. Spiritual Depth
Many aren’t rejecting God. They’re rejecting performance-based religion.
They crave real discipleship, not just church jobs.
5. Creative Autonomy
They want to lead with you, not under you.
Give them a lane and let them drive.
5. If Leadership Looks Like Exhaustion, They’ll Choose Influence Without It
Read that again. And maybe one more time.
Because this is the tension church leaders must face:
We’ve taught them that leadership equals sacrifice.
But we haven’t shown them that it also equals joy.
We’ve made leadership feel like:
Constant busyness
Endless expectations
Public pressure
Private burnout
And not very fun
No wonder they opt out.
If leadership only ever looks like loss, why would they want it?
6. Jesus Modeled a Better Way
Jesus didn’t just train the disciples.
He trusted them, early.
He let teenagers shape the future of the church.
He gave spiritual authority before seminary credentials.
He walked with them, not just over them.
When Peter failed, Jesus restored him.
When Thomas doubted, Jesus invited him to touch the wounds.
When the disciples got it wrong, Jesus didn’t remove them; He re-formed them.
That’s the kind of leadership Gen Z is hungry for.
Not perfection. Not hierarchy. Not pressure.
Just authenticity. Just trust. And growth.
7. Practical Ways Church Leaders Can Respond
You don’t need to overhaul your entire ministry overnight.
But if you want to raise up Gen Z leaders, you do need to shift your strategy.
Do this:
✅ Reframe Leadership
Stop selling leadership as stress.
Start inviting them into shared purpose.
Say: “Here’s what we’re building, and we want you to shape it with us.”
✅ Give Real Responsibility Early
Let them lead a team.
Share a stage with them sometimes.
Let them fail forward without punishment.
✅ Create Flexible Pathways
Not everyone wants to preach or be on staff.
Make space for creatives, strategists, thinkers, and organizers.
Leadership isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s faithful and quiet.
✅ Listen Before You Coach
Build feedback opportunities.
Ask: “What’s missing in how we lead?”
And then actually apply what they say.
✅ Model Healthy Rhythms
Teach Sabbath by actually taking one.
Talk about therapy, rest, and boundaries.
They’ll lead what they see, not just what you say.
8. What Happens If We Don’t Change?
You already know, I hope.
They won’t lead.
They’ll attend, maybe.
They’ll sit in the back, probably.
But step into leadership? Doubt it.
Not if it looks like burnout and bureaucracy.
We’ll lose a generation of influencers who could’ve reshaped the church in powerful ways.
Not because they weren’t called.
But because we didn’t change the culture enough to welcome their calling.
If the only path to influence is exhaustion, Gen Z will walk away from the path entirely.
✅ Your Next Move as a Church Leader
Here’s a quick self-check:
Do any Gen Z leaders have real decision-making power in your church?
When was the last time you asked a 20-something what leadership means to them?
Does your leadership development process feel more like a machine or a relationship?
If you’re not sure where to start, I can help.
I coach pastors and churches through leadership redesigns that actually work for the next generation.
Let’s build pipelines that multiply healthy leaders, not just fill empty roles.
Schedule a free discovery call today.
👉🏽 Momentum Meetup Registration is Open
If you’re a pastor or church leader who feels tired, stuck, or ready to grow, this is your invitation.
Seats are limited, and the early bird rate ends September 1.
REGISTER NOW
See you next Saturday!
Eric V Hampton