In every generation, God gives the Church a fresh opportunity to live and tell the good news in ways that make sense to emerging hearts and minds. I believe we are standing at an incredible moment of curiosity and openness.

Generation Alpha, born between 2010 and 2024, are the youngest cohort now shaping our families, schools, and churches. Many are still preteens, but their world is already radically different from the one most of us grew up in. They are the first generation to be fully born into a digital world—where the internet isn’t a place you go but the air you breathe.

Until recently, much of our conversation about youth and faith focused on Gen Z. But a new national study conducted by OneHope International released in partnership with Alpha Canada, titled Gen Alpha in Canada, gives us the first clear portrait of Canadian preteens ages 11 to 13. It reveals both striking vulnerabilities and extraordinary openness—an invitation to the Church to pay attention, to love well, and to walk faithfully alongside them.

A Spiritually Open Generation

One of the most surprising findings is just how spiritually curious Gen Alpha is. Sixty-eight percent say their faith, religion, or spiritual journey is an important part of their identity. Even among non-religious preteens, nearly one-third believe in a higher power.

In an age often described as secular or “post-Christian,” this data challenges our assumptions. Beneath the noise of social media, this is a generation asking profound questions about purpose, meaning, and truth earlier than ever before.

As Christians, we shouldn’t rush to fill those questions with pre-packaged answers. Instead, we can listen deeply, affirm their curiosity, and introduce them to the God who welcomes honest seekers. In Acts 17, Paul doesn’t scold the Athenians for their altar “to an unknown God.” He starts there—recognizing their spiritual hunger—and then names the God who can be known in Jesus. We have the same opportunity today.

Faith is Bold—but Formation is Shallow

Nearly half of Canadian preteens (49%) identify as Christian, and 14 percent already display the beliefs and habits of what researchers call Emerging Committed Christians: those who pray and read Scripture weekly, believe Jesus is the Son of God, and understand forgiveness through faith in him.

That number may seem small, but for an age group not yet in high school, it is profoundly hopeful. These young believers are not waiting to be adults to express faith. They are talking about Jesus with their friends and praying about anxiety at night. In fact, 73 percent of Christian preteens say they feel confident sharing their faith, and 57 percent even say they feel personally responsible to do so. There is a courage rising in this generation, and a willingness to speak about God in spaces where many adults hesitate.

At the same time, the majority of Christian preteens are what the study calls nominal—identifying with faith but lacking consistent habits of discipleship. Only 18 percent read or listen to the Bible weekly. For many, church attendance depends entirely on whether their parents go.

In short: many youth are spiritually open but not spiritually equipped. They are confident before they are grounded. They talk about faith before they are formed in it.

For pastors, parents, and mentors, this is a critical discipleship moment. The seeds of resilient faith are planted now—in late childhood, before adolescence pulls them toward a thousand competing voices.

Parents Still Matter Most

If you ask Gen Alpha who they turn to for life’s biggest questions—about right and wrong, identity, or even God—the overwhelming answer is family. Eighty-three percent say they go first to parents or family members for moral guidance, far more than to friends, teachers, or the internet.

That’s great news. Amid a noisy digital culture, the family table still carries spiritual influence.

But there’s a catch. While most preteens say their parents are their most trusted voice, few see their parents modelling faith in daily life. Only half of Christian preteens see their parents regularly attend church or pray, and only one-third read Scripture. Almost a quarter of Christian youth say they never see their parents do any of these things.

This is sobering—and yet it aligns perfectly with biblical wisdom. In Deuteronomy 6, God calls parents to talk about his commands “when you sit at home and when you walk along the road.” Faith formation is not a program; it’s a way of being together.

If faith conversations are missing at home, they are missing where they matter most. But the inverse is equally true: when parents, grandparents, godparents, aunts, and uncles pray, read Scripture, and share their faith, the children in their lives are exponentially more likely to do the same. Modelling, not perfection, is the key.

And beyond the family, intergenerational ministry within the Church plays a vital role in this formation. We see this at Alphas across the country. When youth see faith lived out by mentors, elders, and friends across generations, and those people invest time to care about them, they catch a vision of what following Jesus looks like over a lifetime.

The Digital Formation of the Soul

On average, Gen Alpha spends three hours and eighteen minutes online daily, outside of school. Nearly one in five are “high users,” online for more than five hours a day. Their top platforms—YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat—shape not just what they watch but how they think.

Digital culture is not neutral. It disciples, often faster than the Church does. It forms identity through algorithms rather than relationships.

Many preteens say they feel “good” about their screen time. Yet those who spend the most time online report the highest rates of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. The correlation is stark: heavy screen users are five times more likely to experience depression than those who spend less than two hours online.

Formation is happening—whether we shape it or not. The Church must not only teach about the digital world but also enter it with wisdom and compassion. We need credible, hope-filled voices in those online spaces, pointing young people toward truth and beauty.

At the same time, we must reclaim embodied community as a radical act of discipleship. Youth groups, mentoring, shared meals, intergenerational worship—these are not nostalgic programs; they are counter-cultural practices that heal the loneliness of digital life.

Mental Health and the Need for Hope

The research reveals that one-third of Canadian preteens experience high anxiety, two in five report loneliness, and one in five report depression. Non-religious preteens struggle the most, with rates nearly double those of their peers who identify with faith.

This should move us to compassion, not judgment. These are not “other people’s kids.” They are in our pews, our classrooms, our kitchens.

I often remind leaders that the good news speaks directly into mental health. Jesus’s promise of abundant life is not about unbroken happiness; it’s about presence. “Peace I leave with you,” he said, “my peace I give you” (John 14:27).

When caring adults—parents, mentors, pastors—model that peace through empathy and prayerful presence, it becomes tangible for youth. Gen Alpha doesn’t need us to have all the answers; they need us to show them a God who is near.

The Opportunity Before Us

The most hopeful insight in this study might be this: Gen Alpha’s openness is real, but it will not last forever. They are eager to explore meaning and faith right now, before teenage cynicism sets in.

If we wait until they are 16, it might be too late. The window for shaping spiritual curiosity into discipleship is open now—between ages 10 and 13—through parents, churches, schools, and caring mentors who model faith in everyday life.

I believe the Canadian Church has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine how we share the good news of Jesus with youth who are growing up digital  and deeply curious. The future of faith in Canada will depend not on how flashy our programs are but on whether we show up in relationships of trust.

As the study concludes: “Caring adults must respond with empathy, presence, and meaningful relationships.” That is discipleship in plain language.

A Call to the Church

For Regent readers—pastors, theologians, parents, and layleaders—this data offers both a challenge and a gift. It reminds us that theology and research must once again talk to each other. We have an opportunity to understand how young people are formed, in addition to what they believe.

If the Church wants to reach the rising generation, we will need to recover the incarnational imagination of Christ himself, entering their world, speaking their language, and embodying the good news in friendship and everyday faithfulness.

This work is already happening through so many churches. Across Canada, thousands of churches and individuals are joining Made For This, a national prayer movement inviting believers to pray by name for every high school in the country. It’s a simple but profound act, interceding for students, teachers, and the presence of Jesus in their schools. Prayer, after all, is where evangelism begins. Pick one school close to your home and close to your heart at https://wearemadeforthis.com. 

At the same time, young leaders are sharing their faith through the brand new Alpha Youth Series—an interactive, conversation-based exploration of life, faith, and meaning designed by and for this generation. Each week, young Canadians are gathering in classrooms, youth rooms, and living rooms to ask real questions about God, and to encounter Jesus in community.

These are glimpses of what it looks like when the Church takes seriously the spiritual curiosity of this generation, when we create spaces for honest dialogue, authentic friendship, and the power of the Holy Spirit to move. 
Generation Alpha is not waiting for us to have perfect strategies. They are waiting to be seen, known, and invited into a story big enough for their questions. The good news is: we already have that story.

“Let the little children come to me,” Jesus said, “and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)

May we take him at his word. And may the Church in Canada rise to meet this remarkable generation with courage, wisdom, and hope!

For more on the Generation Alpha Report, visit https://alphacanada.org/gen-alpha/.