Young men are coming back to church – What do they believe about Israel?
A noticeable rise in young men returning to church in the United States and the United Kingdom is drawing attention from church leaders. Yet alongside this encouraging trend, new concerns are surfacing about how this generation understands and views Israel and the Jewish people.
The observations come from a recent episode of the Inside the Epicenter podcast, where The Joshua Fund co-founders Joel and Lynn Rosenberg spoke with Dr. Tommy Fretwell about emerging the data and its implications.
“This is a fascinating trend,” Fretwell said. “Young men, particularly Generation Z, are driving this upward trend in church growth.”
Recent studies support that assessment. Research in both the U.S. and the UK shows church attendance stabilizing and beginning to rise, with younger men leading the shift.
Fretwell said he has seen the same pattern in his own congregation.
“Our youth group is heavily male-dominated, whereas when I started 15 years ago, it was completely the opposite,” he said.
Even so, both Fretwell and Rosenberg cautioned that increased attendance should not be confused with spiritual maturity.
“What we have now are trends moving in the right direction,” Fretwell said, noting that true revival would involve widespread repentance and lasting change.
Many of these young men, he explained, are searching for meaning, structure, and truth in a culture that often leaves them unsettled.
“They are seeking community, they are seeking values, they are seeking truth,” he said.
That search is bringing them into churches. But what happens next is where the concern begins.
Fretwell warned that many of these young men are not yet grounded in scripture and arrive with views shaped largely outside the church, including on issues related to Israel and the Jewish people.
“This is a real problem for the church,” he said.
Rosenberg agreed, noting that the encouraging trend of increased attendance does not automatically translate into a biblical worldview.
“I am encouraged by the number of young men that are coming back into the church,” he said, while cautioning that understanding develops over time.
A key factor, Fretwell said, is the lack of consistent teaching.
Many young believers report they have never heard clear instruction on Israel, despite its central place in scripture.
“If they are not being influenced by the word of God, they are being influenced by other sources,” he said.
For church leaders, the moment presents both opportunity and responsibility. Many of those entering churches are spiritually curious but not yet rooted in the faith.
“A lot of the people walking through the doors are not saved. They are spiritually seeking,” Fretwell said.
That reality places renewed urgency on discipleship.
“The church is supposed to be the pillar and support of the truth,” he said. “We need to teach them to stand on the rock.”
The trend may signal a meaningful shift. Whether it leads to lasting transformation, both spiritually and in how this generation understands and views Israel, will depend largely on how the Church responds.
Click here to listen to the full conversation between Joel Rosenberg, Lynn Rosenberg, and Dr. Tommy Fretwell, which explores these trends in greater depth, including the data, cultural drivers, and the growing challenge of discipling a generation whose views on Israel are often shaped outside the Church.
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Thanks for sharing. Blessings on your head from the Lord Jesus, Yeshua HaMashiach.
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People
Charlotte, NC USA