Houston’s Hidden Revival: How Gen-Z South Asians are Redefining Faith in America

Nov 13, 2024

South Asian students worshipping at a gathering in Houston

By Nathan C. John, founder of Houston Magnify.

My journey started with escape.

I had just graduated high school with my eyes fixed on the skyline of a different city. Every ounce of academic effort was put toward leaving my hometown of Houston and planting new roots in Austin, where I thought I could blossom the most for college. Those efforts, by the grace of God, were fruitless. He instead shut the door and pointed me back to the most diverse and fourth largest city in the U.S.—which also happened to be my backyard. It wasn’t until four years later that I realized how much a closed door had opened my heart. I fell in love with Houston. I gained unexpected mentors, led a growing South Asian campus ministry, encountered people of varying backgrounds, interned for various business consulting firms, and began to see things through a new spiritual lens.

The 3 W’s – A Similar Story Among Gen Z Believers

One of those things was how my city’s South Asian Gen-Z (and Millennial) community often aligned with one of three types of relationships with their local church. The first is the weary relationship, the second is the wavering relationship, and the third is the wandering relationship.

The weary relationship consists of those who are faithfully serving in their home church but are missing the direct care and guidance needed for personal spiritual growth. Simply put, they give tirelessly where they receive minimally. They are deeply devoted to the Lord but have grown exhausted from being one of the few shouldering the burden of the majority of the work.

The weary givers will either faithfully stay with the church and burn out or slowly morph into what becomes the wavering relationship. This relationship is birthed when they seek out another church (most commonly a non-South Asian one) for mentorship, discipleship, fellowship, or just a Sunday refresh. Yet, they still sense a profound lack of community and belonging. What results is a dangerous culture of church-hopping. Serving and communing at one, then receiving and isolating at another. The inconsistency brings negative consequences for both the churchgoer and the body of Christ as a whole.

Sometimes, this wavering becomes so exhausting that at some point, especially post-quarantine, they wander from the local church altogether. They either walk away from the faith or decide to “just catch one of the live streams from their bedroom.”

An overwhelming amount of Gen-Z and Millennial believers have experienced this in some fashion. Not to add to the political, cultural, and multi-generational complexities that exist in any church.

Why Should We Care About This Trend?

This is a big problem, considering this generation is armed with the biggest potential and influence for today’s world of nonbelievers. These are future influential Christian leaders, worshippers, pastors, mentors, and culture-shaping believers. The truth is that this new generation of Christians speaks with the most relevant voice for today’s world. How can we afford not to tap into that? If evangelism is truly our priority, then we as a body should care to equip this next wave of evangelists.

5 Guiding Principles for Approach

What should we do considering this trend? There are five general principles that can help guide church leaders in their solution process. We should, first and foremost, continue to yield to the Holy Spirit. How The Lord captivates and moves in this generation may not look like what we’ve seen before in previous generations—and that’s exciting. Although this world and culture change every second, our Master is still sovereign and capable of drawing all people unto Himself. We have a privilege to be a part of this journey.

The second guiding principle is to address the weary. Gen-Z highly values authenticity and transparency. Creating a feedback space where those heavily involved in ministry can transparently discuss their needs can be helpful in improving support systems, fellowship, and discipleship.

The third guiding principle is to stabilize the wavering. Intentionally crafting environments where mentorship and fellowship are deeply integrated into culture is critical. Providing intentional spaces for direct mentorship, thorough bible studies, or personal discipleship can help strengthen a sense of belonging.

The fourth guiding principle is to re-engage the wanderers. Authentically reaching out to those who have distanced from the church, often through a mix of in-person meet-ups or community-building efforts, is crucial. Doing this with patience and grace, with an emphasis on healing from past hurts, is a strong step to help disarm wanderers of their hesitancy.

The last principle is to use creative strategies. Leaning into the digital age, generational trends, and cultural shifts (while remaining uncompromising on intentional spiritual discipline) can help establish a prominent voice amid a loud world.

Houston Magnify

Houston Magnify strives to implement these 5 guiding principles through its events. Magnify is a local South Asian-led multicultural initiative that focuses on gathering Christians across Houston to magnify Jesus. It exists to remind believers of the Gospel message as our north star, to ignite a generational revival, and to foster a restorative community – all with the objective of supporting local churches. We accomplish this by hosting unique citywide experiences in neutral spaces for the purpose of uniting and equipping today’s believers.

Magnify is divided into two: Moments and Momentums.

A Moment is a carefully crafted quarterly citywide worship night that fosters cross-generational fellowship, biblically focused worship sets, expositional teaching, and community. Our first Moment took place in one of Houston’s most prominent thrift stores, which had over 200 people in attendance. It was a night in which different generations united to uplift the name of Jesus and worship His name. The forgiveness of Christ through his work on the cross was the central theme, prompting others to model that same forgiveness in their own circles.

Meanwhile, a Momentum is a smaller, intimate, and unique pop-up-style event focused on taking people deeper into scripture and community. Our first Momentum was a multi-station Bible study workshop held inside an up-and-coming Japanese-inspired coffee shop with 50 people in attendance. Each station was intentionally made to help participants maximize their personal time with the Lord, as well as refine their leadership in group bible studies. This unique experience allowed attendees to foster relationships within their cohorts, get hands-on with commentaries, concordances, and prayer activities, and even download a digital PDF with frameworks and visualizations.

Moments and Momentums happen at random times in neutral spaces all over Houston. We bypass social media algorithms by utilizing an automated phone number and texting people when and where the next event will be. If you want to learn more about Houston Magnify, our Instagram grid (@houstonmagnify) functions as a cohesive workbook for learning more about this movement.

Why?

Why do I mention this?

I think how God has been moving with Magnify is proof of how He is up to something beautiful and new with this generation. It’s up to us as leaders, believers, and disciples to lean in and be curious about what that might look like in our own cities and circles. I pray that as you read this, the Holy Spirit begins to inspire you to lean into God's new work with fresh curiosity and intentionality. And may our own "closed doors" become pathways into meaningful, local impact for the Kingdom.

May Jesus alone be glorified through this article.