Modern Day Missionaries

The Questions Gen Z Won’t Stop Asking About Missions with Mark Matlock

• Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez | Modern Day Missions • Season 8 • Episode 5

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Gen Z is stepping onto the mission field with big questions on their hearts. Is missions moral? Does the West still have a role to play? How do you navigate support raising in today’s world? And what does healthy emotional and spiritual sustainability really look like?

In this conversation, Mark Matlock—author, Insight Lead at Barna, and Executive Director of Urbana—helps us understand the shifts happening with today’s young adults. He shares how their imagination, honesty, and bold questions are shaping the future of missions, and what leaders can do to walk alongside them with wisdom and hope.

Whether you’re a young missionary yourself or mentoring the next generation, this episode will spark fresh insight into how Gen Z is changing the way we think about calling, leadership, and global missions.


In This Episode, You’ll Learn

  • The tough questions Gen Z is asking about missions and why they matter
  • How their imagination and creativity are reshaping global ministry
  • Why mental health and emotional honesty are becoming strengths on the field
  • Practical ways Gen Z can connect with supporters in their own style
  • How older generations can mentor without shutting down curiosity


Hey missionaries—how are your finances on the field? At Modern Day Missions, we make it simple for missionaries to receive donations and for donors to give. Serving 1,100+ missionaries worldwide, we free you to focus on your calling. We also offer resources like our weekly podcast, fundraising coaching, and a resource-packed newsletter. Connect with us at modernday.org


Thanks for listening! Email us your questions at care@modernday.org


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Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Hey, Mark. Welcome to the Modern Day Missionaries podcast. We are so glad to have you.

Mark Matlock: Hey, I am so glad to be here, Stephanie.

It's a really different generation on a lot of different levels. And one of the things that I really came to understand is I was watching my own children, who are on the front end of Gen Z. They're kind of like right on that line; they're kind of ibetweeners between millennials and Gen Z, watching them use technology. Because I was an early adopter, I have always been into technology, social media, and things of that nature. But I started realizing that their imagination around these tools was very different than my imagination around these tools. That's when I realized, oh, we have a generation that actually has something unique to offer older generations. It used to be that while you pay your dues, you gain some wisdom, you earn your stripes, and then you can have a seat at the table of imagination. But the reality is we need their imagination sooner.

We missed it with the millennials and with Generation Z. We need it even more, so the way they're thinking about it, the future is around what's going on in the world. It's just not anything that we are going to imagine as older generations, because I don't think God is going to give it to us. After all, the runway ahead of us isn't the same, but they're more immersed in it. They imagine things differently. Like when I first started using Facebook, and I let my daughter use Facebook long before it was actually probably legal for her to use it, but I realized I was writing to broadcast on Facebook. She was writing to pull people in. I was writing to tell people something, and she was writing to get a response out of them. So we were having really different ways that we were using the same technology to accelerate more and more and more as time goes on.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: And even just the nuances between older Gen Z and younger Gen Z. I mean, you had the Urbana conference a couple of years ago. What are you seeing with these young adults just a couple of years later that feels different? 

Mark Matlock: David Kinnaman, in our book Faith for Exiles, we type two words onto the page that kind of like have been, the thing that a lot of people take away from this book, and it was just these two words: screens, disciple. And so a lot of us were thinking that we were still shaping a generation, not realizing that they were on a self-guided journey by themselves and by the questions they were asking into search engines and now ChatGPT, and then responding to those responses. And sometimes the interior life of a young person is so much more developed than we even know.

So we sit there and go. They're quiet. They're not thinking a lot very deeply about things, and they're actually doing a lot of deep research. They're actually exploring threads of interest in very deep ways. This happened with one of my nephews. You know, we knew he was kind of into certain things, but all of a sudden, he's applied to be a research assistant in the Amazon during the summer.

And we were like, where did this come from? Like, but it was something that was building and that he was generating and developing deep inside himself. And he found this internship, figured out how he was gonna get there, and jumped into it with almost no help from the immediate adult infrastructure around him. And this generation has incredible agency; it's hard to make assumptions about them. And as I'm planning Urbana, I'm going, which Gen Z is showing up, right? There are lots of different Gen Zs. And how do you program around that? How do you know how much of them know a lot about? What's going on in missions and globally and geopolitics, and those that are like, I had no idea. So you have different expertise based on what they've been looking at and the kind of questions they've been asking in the world.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Yeah. Well, I wanna pull on a thread of interest there with you for a second. You mentioned the questions that these young adults are asking. What are some of the questions they're asking about missions? You also mentioned Gen Z's arrival everywhere, so they're also arriving in the mission field. What are the questions they have about missions as they're arriving or considering going?

Mark Matlock: Yeah. I mean, I think one of the first questions they're asking is: are missions even moral? There's a sense, especially coming out of maybe the last decade of conversations about, you know, globalization, the impact of colonization, the impact of the West, and how it's shown up in the world, with the majority church now being in the global south rather than the West. Right? This has become prevalent in a lot of conversations, and we have a lot of content out there that nobody's had access to before, on kind of post-colonial studies and the impact of post-colonial theology. This generation is not unaware of these things. It's not like you have to go to graduate school and become a master's or PhD level student, or even a bachelor's student, to deal with these things. They're aware of these things in high school and in school. 

So there is a question going on about that, and their friends are judging them as well in this way. You know, my son went on a trip with his church, and he had a bunch of friends saying, Hey, I think what you're doing is wrong. He had friends people unfriended him because they thought he was so wrong. And when he was actually doing this short-term project, he started asking himself, saying, Maybe what we are doing is wrong, like maybe this isn't designed in a way that's really honoring to the indigenous people, and the fact that God may already be at work here in different ways than we understand.

So we can't just assume that they are at the same place that we were at. So I think that's one of the big questions, is mission moral, right? Not just is it outdated, but it is also old-fashioned, and is it moral? 

And then the other question that they're asking is, are North Americans still relevant? Is the West still relevant in this space? And I think that there's probably a lot of different answers to these questions. Because two things can be true, right? There could be some immoral things that were done in missions, and we lament those things. We grieve those things. But there's also the reality that we do have the Great Commission, and it existed before the West really kind of way a thing. So, you know, going back to Jonah, right, and God calling Jonah to go deliver a message to the outside of Israel, to call people to repentance. And so we realized that, you know, missions is the heart of God.

Sometimes we as humans have maybe taken it and run with it in the wrong ways. One thing I will say about, you know, when I'm talking to younger people and they ask me this question, I say, you know, of all the career professions out there, vocations out there, I don't think I've seen any vocation that has been more deeply self-reflective than that in the missional community. Doesn't mean that we are getting it right or that we're able to move fast enough, but we have a goal as missionaries, and that is we want to see people meet Jesus. And so we're always trying to learn from that so that we can do it better. And I think we've made a lot of progress, but it is important to acknowledge that for this younger generation, we've made some mistakes too. And up to that, and we can acknowledge that.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Yeah. And for us not to be offended by their questions, like, how dare you question, especially if you're a missionary. You know, how dare you question these life choices I have made? And it can feel like, oh, I just need to fix them and give them the right answer. And they really want to be listened to. They have good questions to ask. There's skepticism is fair, and there's a difference between skepticism and being cynical. And it's not always cynicism. Sometimes it might be, but some skepticism in saying, Hey. I don't know. I don't know how I feel about this. And can we let them wrestle with those questions instead of giving them quick-fix answers?

So that would be maybe a skepticism is something they're kind of bringing in with questions about the morality of missions. What would be some of the other struggles that you might see a young missionary dealing with as they're heading onto the field?

Mark Matlock: You know, a lot of our missionary support structures have come out of a certain paradigm, right? You gotta have a network of people around you to help fund you. And not everybody that's in our world today has that kind of network around them. And so I really watch this, you know, as our church is much more socioeconomically diverse when we do certain activities. 

We were just by the nature of the activity, excluding a lot of people from being able to participate. And I realized, wow, the kingdom is not playing itself out for everybody. And then I was surprised when my son and some of his friends wanted to participate in some cross-cultural activities were experiences how limiting that was to certain people based on the structural nature and design of what it was we, and the interesting thing is that some of the people who couldn't participate by the given means actually had some of those valuable contributions to the process because of where they were coming from.

So there are some really interesting questions about that that come up that I think are barriers to support raising. The other thing I think that's interesting is just the idea of what my relationship is to the indigenous church and churches that are already a part of culture, how do I properly posture myself? In that context, unfortunately, a lot of people's exposure in the United States to missions is purely in a short-term context, which probably echoes some of the worst practices of missions, and it reinforces and informs those. And so we have to do some unpacking of those things with them.

And I think that's important. I'd say a third thing is the de-stigmatization of mental health issues. They probably misdiagnose themselves a lot because they have access to the internet, and they're typing in their symptoms. And maybe, you know, I spent a day hanging out with somebody from Gen Z and a copy of the DSM. And it was funny how every page, this young person was kept saying, Oh, that's me. That totally is me. And I was like, well, no. And it was kind of interesting to watch that conversation go on. So there is a lot of, you know, misdiagnosis, I think by a younger generation, but I also think that there's a de-stigmatization that's really healthy.

Yeah, and I actually had a mission leader say, You know, we're rejecting most of these young people because many of them are mentally unstable. And I'm like, you know what? You sent out a lot of mentally unstable people. It's just that they're putting it on their application. Other generations would never bother to find out if they had a problem. So we have to lean into, I think, the reality of what that is and realize that this is actually allowing us to have emotionally healthy. Out there on the field doing this work, of this vulnerability and this transparency. I think that's a huge opportunity, and I think this generation's gonna help us live into that.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Oh, it is. I mean, I remember even when the interns were down with us, and this was kinda the tail end of millennials, and I hinted at it earlier. They wanted to talk about their feelings a lot, and there were a lot of tears and just different types of conversations than I think I'd ever seen in the mission space. And the beginning, it was like, Oh. We didn't quite know what to do with it. And then yet, as we leaned into it, we realized, okay, they're saying this stuff that everybody's been feeling and thinking, but I think older generations, a lot of time, you know, we stuffed that or pushed forward, or we didn't acknowledge that, and there is a health to being able to talk about those things.

So, you know, as we kinda talk to leaders, what are some ways they can not be frustrated with Gen Z's desire to talk about what's going on in their mind and their heart and their emotions? How can we create safe spaces for that and encourage resilience? 

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Mark Matlock: So, you know, it's interesting. I think a lot of us are really quick to forget what life is like in our twenties, especially those of us who are a little older. Right. And I remember, you know, as I've got two 20-something children who are starting their careers. They were kind of launched into adulthood during the COVID era, which I think is a really important thing to realize right now for older leaders. The pandemic really put a mark on some of these 20-somethings, especially the somethings. 

There's a lot of grief, a lot of loss, a lot of things fundamentally that didn't get established in them. That is gonna take them some time to develop. One of the interesting things with the Gen Zs that we're seeing come up right now in their earlier twenties, late teens, is that they didn't quite experience the pandemic in as traumatic a way. And so they're really leaning into some opportunities that some of these others are a little bit like a lost tribe. So I think we have to be really patient with that and realize that there's some grief, some trauma that hasn't fully been realized. But we also need to really get in touch with our own twenties. Realized that we didn't have some of the options that they did, so it caused us to maybe, like, we wanted to quit our job, but we didn't have the actual ability to do that to find another job. 

Whereas they can like Google underneath their desk while they're working and actually apply, and then go into the janitor's closet and do a Zoom interview for a job, quit that job already, knowing what they have lined up or having confidence that they quit their job, they know where they can look for another one. This has never existed before. So I think that is important to realize. 

The other thing is this idea of reviews that we did. In preparation for Urbana, all of our mobilization partners, different mission agencies, and everything were a part of this group. We did some research and we did 13 focus groups among CCCU, Christian College, and university students. One of the things that surprised us was that before a lot of them ever walk up to a table, they've already done a lot of research on the group that they're approaching. So for of us that are older, we might go to a table to learn about something. They look across the campus, see the name on the table, and they Google it, and they also look for reviews who have already been on a trip, already experienced this agency. They might go to Glassdoor and see employee reviews to find out what's going on.

Now, we know that most of these things that people write tend to be a little bit more on the negative side, but the question is, what are we doing to engage and address that? Because it's out there. And so there's a whole thing around reputation management. There's my friend Gareth Russell at Jersey Communications in the UK, he's just launched a new phrase around this called reputation governance. Because he thinks that's a better approach than reputation management. It's I need to manage a crisis. It's we need to always be thinking about how we are presenting ourselves. Mission agencies, I think, are woefully behind on this, as most of us in the nonprofit world are in all sectors of really understanding that there's a lot more about us that might be out there that's actually feeding perceptions. This generation is going to do everything to avoid talking to a person for as long as they can. So you're never going to get a chance to explain yourself until they've already done their own due diligence on you, and then, you know, walk up to the table and approach to find out what's going on.

So it's just that we have to have about the tools that they're using, and they might be using them differently than we are. I mean, how many times have you sat at a table, know, with those of us that are Gen X and above? You know, what was the name of that movie? Oh yeah. I remember. It's like, pick up your phone and Google it. Right. You know, but we will still play that game of trying to use our brains to remember something. This generation immediately goes to their sources that they know they can find in search of these things. So there's just that reality that they're doing things, we have to remember that most of them have been trained to, you know, go to their devices first, so. You know, when you go to ATMs, anything that you do, you don't really have to engage people anymore. 

For older generations, it's like, Oh, this is a new way of doing something. But I still have this other skillset for younger generations that are used to getting packages delivered to their door, not having to go to the store and shop and look for things. It's a whole thing, it's just a natural way of living. I mean, even the idea of when I'm on the phone with people, I'm very mindful of how much time I'm online. Where did that come from? Because I'm consciously worried about the other person's time. Or did it come from my grandmother, who was worried about how much time I was spending on the phone, calling her long distance before five o'clock? You know, there's these behaviors that we get ingrained in us that come from these older structures and forms that this generation just doesn't have as an issue, you know?

And so. They're a lot more prone to go, Hey, I can do some work on my own more efficiently. I mean, how many times have we ever seen somebody behind a computer typing? We're like, get out of the way, just let me do this. You know, you're human, are getting in the way. Right. Look at how banking has changed, right?

We'd rather go through the drive-through, or we'd rather go to the ATM. Then, actually go in and wait in line at the counter and do that work. Right. So this is a generation that's true of everything that they're doing. So they just naturally are inclined to go there first. 

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: So some of it's systemic. It's just what everybody else around them has been doing. It's how they've been trained. But if they're doing everything they can to avoid people, what does that look like on the mission field?

Mark Matlock: Well, so what's really interesting is seeing how a lot of this younger generation is using their imagination to do digital missions, right? We have access to all of these people, so how are we using Instagram and things like that to maybe find some of these unreached people or people that are in hard. access groups or where it may be really sensitive for them, like if I was, you know, in a Muslim context, to be able to go out and seek information outwardly is dangerous, but doing it on my phone, you don't know whether I'm paying my taxes or doing homework or reading the paper or chatting with my son or daughter. Right? There's, there's no visibility there, so. This isn't just something that's affecting Christianity; it's also affecting the other religions of the world, where they're able to go out and find other sources and seek truth. So this is a beautiful moment, and Gen Z has an imagination for it in ways we couldn't even imagine.

So yeah, it is, they're still connecting with people. They're just so this younger generation, just their imagination, I can't even begin to understand what their capacity is. And I think that's the danger of reading the research that we come up with at Barna and other places is as older generations, what we need to realize and look at with this data is, Whoa, we are really different than this younger generation, and I need them at the table.

I do what I call vibe checks all the time around Urbana. I have a group of Gen Z students that I will send things to, and I go, tell me what you think, or give me insight I can't, I can't see on my own right? As much as I try to think that I've got it, I don't, and I'm somebody who's always trying to stay up on things, right? And so the danger would be if I read the data and go, Oh, the data tells me this about Gen Z, therefore, we need to do this. Always right. We can misread what the data's telling us. We have to be in a relationship with the generation.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: That's so good. 

Mark Matlock: And really be able to take advantage of it. And here's the beauty about Gen Z. They are what I call a generation of best practices. Understand that they have access to data, but that wisdom is what they lack. So they are very interested in engaging older people. They're willing to come alongside them and not be dogmatic, not be black and white about things, not tell them what to do, but to engage them as whole beings in trying to make sense of the world.

And so I've had a lot of older leaders say, especially Boomer leaders who had experience with millennials, I just had the most incredible experience with my younger employees. Got them together; I started talking to them about leadership, and then they started asking me questions, and they couldn't write fast enough. They go, I've not had this experience with young, you know, usually they're challenging me and pushing back, and that happens too. But if you have any sense of humility and intellectual honesty, like in your being, this generation will respond to that and want to tap in to that. So, it's an exciting time.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: It really is.

Mark Matlock: And those of us who are older have to be careful not to carry some of our judgments and transfer them onto what is emerging right now.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Yeah, you're so right. That's been my experience as well. Mark is you might sure have some of that skepticism and some of those questions and some of that curiosity, but it's when you really engage them in heart dialogue, I found that they have great questions, and if you care about them.

Mark Matlock: And passion.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Yes, they do. And they really do. If you care about them as a person and show that you're willing to listen with empathy, they do wanna know what you have to say. They just don't wanna be preached at and talked down to; they know they have something valuable to offer, and they do. And so I think when you can have that symbiotic relationship, it can be so fun.

I have some of my favorite conversations with Gen Zers… I mean, I was talking to my nieces the other day, and go, Wow ddid they ask good questions! You know, we have these stereotypes and we read things in statistics like you said, and it's good to be informed, but I think that if we use those to limit our thinking about them rather than get curious, we'll miss out on some really good stuff.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: So I wanted to go back to something you were saying earlier. You were talking about one of the challenges for Gen Z, is can kind of even be that fundraising space at Modern Day. That's, you know, important to us. That's what we do. We have a giving platform for missionaries, and there's kind of a joke that went around. There's a bunch of reels on it for a while too, TikToks, about how Gen Zs don't like making phone calls to schedule doctor appointments because they've, you know, learned to communicate in such a different way. What would you say are some of the ways that you see? 

Mark Matlock: The way, I schedule my appointments with my doctor on Instagram, which is crazy,

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: I'm on Instagram. Didn't even know you could do that. 

Mark Matlock: Yeah. Getting them on the phone is almost impossible. But if I go to Instagram, oh, easy peasy. So yeah, 

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Yeah, it's, I mean, it's a real thing, and it's pretty funny. And it is, like you were saying earlier, when they've been trained to communicate in one way, it can be hard to jump into something new. So in that fundraising space, as they're, you know, going on the mission field, or maybe they're already there and they're connecting with supporters, what are some of the ways that you see them being able to connect with supporters in a unique way that's working well? 

Mark Matlock: I mean, I remember my daughter, she would go out, and she'd say, Hey, I'll make a drawing of you if you support me. I'm trying to buy a guitar. Know, and people were just giving her money online, you know, and crowd supporting her. And so we gotta look for those innovators that are kind of like, you know, figuring things out and then telling their stories so that they can support one another. You know, one out of every four Gen Zs want to be an influencer, which means they're thinking about how they leverage the platform and presence. And so I haven't seen a lot of like things personally to like, build off of yet, but I think they're out there and we're only going to see that multiply and increase as time goes on.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Yeah, and they can do a lot of the traditional things like we were talking about, like learning how to make a phone call and having those face-to-face meetings. But there are unique things that they can do. Like you said, just that creative way of thinking. The drawing. That's hysterical. I'll draw you if you support me.

I love that. Like, I mean, I'm thinking of my generation. I would've never thought of something like that, but there are so many ideas like that that I think people enjoy jumping on. That's so fun. 

Okay, so we've kind of looked at, you know, some of the challenges around Gen Z with missions, some of where that comes from. You talked about just the things that they've gone through in life, some of the systems they've been a part of. So we walk into, you know, what this kind of looks like, actually, on the field, and I wanna reference mental health because you brought that up earlier. So let's say that there's a young adult missionary who's wrestling with some anxiety, maybe some doubt around, like, Is this even an okay thing? Or maybe they're just flat out exhausted. What does a healthy, hope-filled response from other generations to them look like?

Mark Matlock: Well, one, do not stigmatize them because they may be vulnerable, transparent about these things. Right. You know, in our research at Barna on pastors and pornography, you know, shocking the number of pastors who, you know, told us, you know, three weeks before this survey, here's how much porn I looked at, and somebody actually said, well, how do you know they're telling you the truth?

And I go, the number's so high. You know what I mean? Most of them are answering truthfully. So we have to look at the fact that there are some things that are common. And I know that, like on the mission field, it used to be that some of these things you could isolate from access to all of this.

Well, now everything's pretty much everywhere. And so these issues creep up in a lot of different ways. You know, one of the things that we're seeing a lot of is. Among young people is online gambling and the gamification of certain things that aren't involved in taking our money, though, can maybe they're creating dopamine hits that are addicting us or keeping us focused on things that are time wasters.

So I think there's a lot of mindfulness that we have to bring to the mission field to realize that, you know, sometimes when I'm feeling isolated, or I'm feeling like I don't know how to fit in here. It's easy to become reclusive; those things are gonna be even more heightened, perhaps when we do some of these cross-cultural experiences.

I think there are some major shifts that are affecting kind of the mission's moment right now. So the first would be the steep decline in Bible poverty. The idea that that more language groups have access to scripture more or in whole than ever before. Just, you know, when I went to Urbana in 1990, there was a huge emphasis and focus on Bible translation and the work that needed to be done. And, you know, WCL started something not too long ago, about a decade afterwards, called Vision 2025, which was, can we get a translation started or completed in every language that needs one by 2025?

Well, guess what, Urbana, we're gonna celebrate at the end of 2025 and the end of this vision 2025, you know, WCL threw out there into the Bible community space. It's amazing how much progress has happened and how many naysayers there are. We're doing a little mini documentary on this, but the interesting thing about it is that the world that we're in is very different as a result. That's one shift. 

The other is shifting globalization and what primarily revolves around urbanization, where most of the population is now in urban centers. Urban ministry, you know, a long time ago, had a certain connotation to what it meant. Now urbanization is, you know, a different experience. You can drop just about anybody in an urban center, and if they've got a cell phone and a credit card, they can function quite well without any training or preparation. And so a lot of missionary preparation was around preparing to live in another environment. Well, a lot of that is we've got a language around living that's pretty consistent. We know how to tap and pay for things. You know, exchanging currency. Most people don't even do that anymore when they travel internationally. That's done automatically by your credit card or bank company. And so all of those things are happening. So, a whole new way of thinking. 

So that's the other, the other would be changes in education, what we're preparing people to do, and the timeframe needed, because when somebody goes and is deployed, on the mission field, not like they're isolated now for a long period of time. We have, there's the ability to actually learn as you're going, so asynchronous learning and learning on the job, much more effective. So, the ramping up to some of the things is very different. And then the fact that the global church is, you know, really shifted, to the global south, that the majority of churches are in the global south, that's a major shift.

So these things are really contributing, I believe, to the thing. The other thing is just that the people are moving the diaspora, and what you have happening is. You know, we're no longer talking about crossing cultures as much as we're talking about, we're even talking about multiculturals, we're talking about interculturalism, that's a really different frame than some of these other models.

And so this generation is really ripe to be able to engage in this era of hyperconnectivity. And so it's really easy to say, well, everybody's digital, but what is digitization doing? It's doing the things I just mentioned, right? It's allowing for these other kind of second-level changes that are really, actually more profound than maybe just technology or the internet.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: So, if you could speak directly to Gen Z missionaries right now, what would be a message that you would give to them? 

Mark Matlock: I would say, first of all, realize the older generations have stuff you want, so don't dismiss them too easily. Just be a little more patient with them, and tell them what you really want and what you could really use, but honor them. They have stuff you want. And so, here's the really interesting thing. They want to give it to you. And so those of us who are in older generations, we want legacy. We want to pass down what we have. We want to empower younger people. And so finding the right balance and attitude, and posture is the key. So that's the first thing I would tell Gen Z. 

The second thing I would say is, you got this. The Lord is on your side. You see things that we don't see. Be patient with us. Don't give up on us too easily, but also have a little humility yourself that maybe you might not know everything the way you think you do, and you may need to challenge some of the assumptions that you have, and maybe get some perspective because some of the algorithms have shaped you, and maybe have kept you from seeing. Things from a little bit more holistic position, and so that would be some of, you know, what I'm doing, and better to do this together than to do it on your own, even though you can do that. You know, better for us to be doing this together. So those would be some of the things that I wouldthat I would say are words of encouragement to them.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Well, so good. Okay. And then you gotta tell us all about Urbana.

Mark Matlock: We're gonna be in Phoenix, Arizona, this December 28th through January 1st, and we're coming together to do three things. And this is what Urbana has always been about, and what it's best at. This is what it's done really well. It's tried to help answer these three questions: What is God doing in the world right now? What is God saying to us through his words? So there's a lot of Bible study involved at Urbana. We studied in the book of Jonah, actually, this year. Then the third thing is, what does God want me to do about it? And Urbana will have thousands of young adults attend, but it is not a big event. It is a very intimate journey. It's a pilgrimage experience that's about being spiritually formed. And, what's amazing to me, I mean, when I talk about the fact that I'm leading Urbana, people will run across the room to tell me their Urbana story and talk about how big it was. Always talk about where God met them. It was in the context of that community with others that God spoke to them in that moment. But it was, but it's always a very intimate thing, and it's not just a missions conference, it's for people who are into missions. Well, it's for people who wanna live on my mission. 

Some people will have a job or a vocational calling that will lead them to cross cultures, to be vocational missionaries, as we like to call them at Urbana, but everybody will discover how to live on mission and how to be a part of the global church. It is a conference about global Christianity and so on. Just mind expanding in terms of what's going on in the world and how I can be a part of it. So that's really the heart of it. And for those that are in older generations that are listening to this because it happens every three years, we have a whole new generation of young people that crop up, that have never heard of Urbana and don't know about it. I knew about it when I was 21 going and in 1990, an older adult who cared about me said, You know, you ought to think about going to this. So I wanna encourage everybody to think about that young adult in your life, you know, they may be a relative, they may be a neighbor, they may be somebody at your church, somebody at work, whatever. And if you really want to help them connect to God and his work in the world, send them to Urbana and help them get there. You'll be surprised by the stories that are told. 

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Just the intentionality of bringing all of the sponsors together to form relationships and having conversations and pulling even on us. And what are you guys thinking? What are you guys seeing? And all the workshops that we're receiving, learning, on preparing how to engage the youth while we're there. Every youth who comes is going through, you know, an assessment to figure out a little bit more about their calling. We're being trained in how to talk them through it. I mean, it's wild. I've never seen anything like it. So, actually, my Gen Z daughter is coming with me, and I cannot wait, I just think if there's anything to go to if you're a college-age student and you're really trying to just discern your calling, as you said in any part of your life, I mean, this is, this is the thing to go to.

We could not be more excited about it. So, okay. Say those dates one more time so everybody can jot them down.

Mark Matlock: December 28th through the first 15 minutes of January 1st. So we celebrate. We end with a big celebration in the new year, praying God into this new year, and I think that's. Something unique about it, we would actually be able to run Urbana for hundreds of thousands of dollars less if we didn't end on New Year's Day. But I think something is interesting about that timeframe that God uses seasonally. God is a God of seasons. There's something about ending this year and going into a new one that God uses and meets with young people profoundly, and has proven itself in multiple different events and experiences in our own lives, but also in the lives of young adults today. So yeah, we're really trying to do that. In fact, we've set up our band in such a way. We have an infrastructure that, even though there are gonna be thousands and thousands of young adults there. There are never more than 10 students away from somebody who can help pray for them, coach them, or guide them. So every 10 students has somebody in the infrastructure who can be there for them if they need it. And that's pretty exciting. So it's also very intimate. 

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Hey, thanks for joining. Yeah, thanks for joining me today on the podcast. Really appreciate this, Mark, and your passion for the young adults of today and all God's doing in them and through them.

Mark Matlock: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez: Hey, missionaries, I've got a question for you. How are your finances on the field? Also, are you feeling supported by your senders? At Modern Day Missions, we make it simple for missionaries to receive donations and for their donors to give. As the largest independent missions organization in the US, we process donations for more than 1100 missionaries to and from countries.

All over the world, helping them get on the field and freeing them to focus on what they're called to do. And we also create and connect missionaries to resources that help them flourish on the field, like this weekly podcast, fundraising, coaching, and our resource-packed newsletter. So connect with us at ModernDay.org to explore our free resources and discover how we can serve you.

We're so glad you joined us today.



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Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez

Host
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Ben Ankarlo

Producer
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Luke Eubank

Producer