At the Church of the Highlands Motion Conference, more than 17,000 Gen Z students didn't just talk about faith, they lived it. Middle school, high school and college students gathered around a bold question rooted in Isaiah 6:8: “Who will go?”
What happened next was extraordinary.
In just a few days, these students raised more than $250,000, funding a digital evangelism effort that will help reach 750,000 children and young people in a Muslim-majority nation with the hope of Jesus, many of whom may never otherwise hear the gospel.
Hear the full conversation with Crystal Thornton and Rob Hoskins in the podcast below.
A Defining Moment of Generosity
Rob Hoskins, president and co-founder of OneHope, was on stage when the response began unfolding.
“It blew us all away. We weren’t expecting that,” Hoskins said. “The excitement in the room was just so tangible.”
As students listened to stories about young people their own age who had never had access to Scripture, the atmosphere shifted.
“You could see them weeping,” Hoskins recalled. “They were hearing about kids just like them who had never heard the gospel.”
When the final total was revealed the following day, Hoskins said he was overwhelmed.
“I was the one in tears,” he said. “They didn’t just feel something, they did something about it. They wanted to make a difference in the world.”
Why Gen Z Is Responding
Hoskins says moments like this are not isolated, they reflect a broader movement within Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
“We’ve been tracking beliefs, attitudes and behaviors from millennials through Gen Z and now into Gen Alpha,” he explained. “What we’re seeing is a generation that is deeply cause-oriented and hungry to see their world changed.”
According to OneHope’s research, Gen Z is also among the least materialistic generations in decades and increasingly open to spiritual truth.
“What we’re really seeing is not faith dying,” Hoskins said. “It’s nominal faith dying. When these young people are in, they’re really all in.”
Rather than disengaging from faith, Hoskins believes spiritual vitality is actually growing.
“I’m incredibly hopeful,” he said.
The Digital Mission Field
The funds raised at Motion Conference will support what Hoskins calls “the newest frontier of missions,” digital evangelism.
“The gospel can go where it’s never gone before through digital platforms,” he said.
Young people today spend an average of six to seven hours online each day outside of schoolwork. OneHope meets them there through platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and secure messaging apps, offering content that invites honest questions and real conversation.
“The mediums can change,” Hoskins said, “but the message never has to change. It’s still the good news of Jesus.”
Meeting Real Needs With Real Connection
Digital outreach often begins by addressing the real struggles many teens face; loneliness, anxiety and isolation.
“They’re the loneliest generation we’ve ever seen,” Hoskins said, despite being more digitally connected than any generation before them.
But digital ministry works because it doesn’t end with content.
“Gen Z doesn’t want to be talked at,” Hoskins explained. “They want to talk with someone.”
Through secure online conversations, trained digital missionaries build authentic relationships, answer questions and walk alongside young people, often in places where traditional missions are restricted.
Lives Being Changed
Hoskins shared the story of Satya, a young woman in a Muslim-majority nation who encountered OneHope’s outreach during a season of deep loneliness. Through a digital connection, she began asking questions, exploring Scripture and forming a real relationship with a believer.
Her life, Hoskins said, was transformed by the Word of God.
He also described another young woman who reached out online during a moment of crisis. Through compassionate digital engagement, she eventually stepped into a local Christian community that surrounded her with care. Today, she now serves as an online missionary, helping others find hope.
“That’s the power of the gospel,” Hoskins said. “It transforms lives.”
Not the Church of Tomorrow, The Church of Today
Hoskins is quick to point out that young people are not just the future of the Church.
“They’re leading right now,” he said.
He sees a generation asking deeper theological questions, seeking truth and living out their faith with conviction.
“I am more hopeful now than I’ve ever been in my lifetime,” Hoskins said. “This generation doesn’t just dream about the Great Commission, they believe it can happen in their lifetime.”
How to Pray
Hoskins closed with two prayer requests.
First, for integrity, “that we would always have clean hands and a pure heart.”
Second, for people.
“The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few,” he said, asking believers to pray that God would send more trained digital missionaries into the hardest-to-reach places.
A Generation That Said Yes
The Motion Conference offering was more than a fundraising moment, it was a declaration.
When asked, “Who will go?” Gen Z didn’t hesitate.
They stood up and said, “Here I am. Send me.”
And through their obedience, 750,000 young people will hear the name of Jesus, many for the very first time.
To learn more about how OneHope is sharing the hope of Jesus with the next generation around the world, visit onehope.net.
