Next Gen Movement – The Daniel Generation: Standing Firm and Shining Bright in Our Schools

Ps Tan Yunyun explores how youth ministries can look to the book of Daniel to disciple the next generation in identity, intimacy, and influence, equipping them to stand firm and shine brightly in a fast-changing world.

Daniel 12:3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

Our next generation is growing up in a fast-changing world that is oppressive to their well-being and development. In his bestseller book of the same name, Americal social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt had coined Generation Z as “The Anxious Generation”. His findings on the psychological damage of digital usage on children corroborates with local data. In September 2024, the National Youth Mental Health Study[^1] released some alarming results from their 2022 survey on the state of youth mental health in Singapore residents aged 15 to 35. Some of the findings include:

• More than one in four youth (about 27 per cent) had severe or extremely severe symptoms of anxiety
• Around one in seven (nearly 15 per cent) felt severe to extremely severe levels of depression
• Around one in eight (nearly 13 percent) felt severe to extremely severe levels of stress, including being unable to relax or feeling upset or irritable, most of the time.

Besides that, our young people are also navigating a global culture that can at times be less sympathetic to our faith and the values we hold. In America, public education has, in some places, become a contested space for debates over new social ideas and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Developments in the United States often quickly shape the content that appears on our youths’ social media feeds here.

In a recent session held by Singapore Bible College on “Intergenerational Connections and Practices in Church and Society,” Ho Wei Hao of GraceWorks presented some findings on Evangelism from The Generation Project. ^[2] Notably, 46.9% of the surveyed Gen Z strongly identifies with the statement “I believe it would be difficult to speak to pre-believers about the faith unless we can first address their negative opinions about the church.” Wei Hao also recounted an interview with a 13-year-old youth on her evangelism experience. When this youth had tried to witness to a friend, her friend had demanded the youth to first explain why Christianity is being oppressive to women, before the friend would be open to hearing more about the gospel.

Against this backdrop of oppression and hostility, how can youth ministers and leaders protect and at the same time, prepare our next generation to be salt and light in their schools?

The story of Daniel and his peers provides a good framework to guide our efforts here. In Daniel 1, we read that the kingdom of Judah had been defeated by Babylon; the temple in Jerusalem defiled and the articles of worship being brought to the treasure house of Babylonian deity. The young and talented men of Judah were exiled from their homeland and forced into the service of King Nebuchadnezzar through Babylonian education and diet. Yet Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah stood firm in their faith and shone brightly for God in the royal courts of foreign powers. From the biblical account of Daniel, we observe three areas of discipleship which need to be addressed in every young person’s life.

Yet Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah stood firm in their faith and shone brightly for God in the royal courts of foreign powers.

Discipleship on Identity

Who am I? Who are my people?

In the Babylonian attempts to assimilate their Jewish captives, the first thing mentioned is the chief official’s renaming of the four youths (Daniel 1:7). Similarly, today’s culture tries to pervert the God-given identities of our youths for the gods of this age. Thus, it is crucial for discipleship to help our youths discover and anchor their identities in God. Sadly, most discipleship efforts are centered around external behavior modification or information transmission, which do little to impact the identity formation of our youths.

Some awareness on the science behind life span development and identity formation will equip us to design more effective discipleship programs. In “The Other Half of Church,”[3] Wilder and Hendricks describes the ingredients necessary to develop a healthy community that facilitates the transformation of one’s identity and behaviour. Based on brain science and scriptural truths, the four ingredients are:

• True joy found through connection and relationships
• Hesed love of securely attached communities
• Well-developed group identity based on the character of Christ
• A culture of uplifting, healthy correction

This implies that biblical curriculum and lessons are not enough to disciple our youths. Effective discipleship also involves building the right type of relationships and communities around our youths. Youth groups need healthy and mature adults of various ages to be role models and instructors to disciple them about their God-given identities. Adult volunteers need to be carefully and prayerfully recruited to serve the youths. Intentional efforts should also be made to engage the youths’ parents towards the well-being and faith formation of the youths. Whenever possible, youth ministry can equip and partner the parents in the church’s discipleship plans.

Thus, it is crucial for discipleship to help our youths discover and anchor their identities in God.

Discipleship on Intimacy with God

How do I love God? How do I grow spiritually?

Throughout the book of Daniel, we read about Daniel’s dedication to spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting and studying the word of God (Dan 1:12-16; 2:18; 6:10-11; 9:2-3; 10:2-3). These disciplines helped Daniel to seek God and to remain faithful despite of persecution from kings and scheming officials.

Surrounded by a fast-paced culture of instant gratification, it is a non-negotiable to help our youths develop and practice a personal rule of life for themselves. As these spiritual disciplines will likely be unfamiliar territory to them, practical step-by-step instructions and hand-holding are needed to help our youths do these spiritual disciplines. Be careful not to set too high a standard for them at the start, as this might discourage them from persevering in the practices. Start from where they are at or what they are interested in and slowly build towards your target goals. Design regular campaigns where the entire youth ministry embarks on certain spiritual disciplines for a set time period and celebrate personal testimonies of breakthroughs corporately.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with digital tools or different methods and ideas to help our youths express these ancient disciplines as part of their modern lifestyles.[4] Insisting on just using a particular technique or method might discourage and alienate youths who struggle with it.

Once such a culture is established in the ministry and the youths themselves have experienced its benefits, it would become easier to encourage resistant or skeptical ones to start for themselves. To avoid going down the path of legalism, it is crucial to emphasize that the purpose behind the spiritual disciplines are to help us grow closer to God and to deepen our love for God and man. They are a means of God’s grace to transform us towards Christ-likeness.

Surrounded by a fast-paced culture of instant gratification, it is a non-negotiable to help our youths develop and practice a personal rule of life for themselves.

Discipleship on Influence

How do I love others? How are we to live out our faith?

Though Daniel and his friends were exiled to Babylon and forced to serve their oppressors, they sought “the peace and prosperity of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7) without compromising their faith. Daniel served in the governance of the Babylon and Persian empires with such excellence that the kings took notice of his “exceptional qualities” (Daniel 6:3) and they sought his advice on various matters. Daniel spoke prophetically to kings, interpreting their dreams and visions. And he also had prophetic visions about God’s purposes for Israel and the nations, which are recorded for us in the Bible. Not only did Daniel and his friends stood firm in their faith, but they also exerted godly life-giving influence on the pagan culture around them. And God is still calling the church to do likewise today.

In a culture that is hostile to faith, it is instinctive to want to shelter our next generation from the world and come up with protective measures to shield them from ungodly influences. However, we need to be careful that such well-intentions do not produce a faith which is weak and irrelevant to the real world. Youth ministers need to effectively disciple the youths for influence and impact and also to prepare them for the persecution and rejection that comes along with it.

The cultural issues today are getting increasingly complex and unheard of in previous generations. Hence, it is paramount for youth ministry to prepare their youths for the uncharted moral landscapes ahead. Instead of shying away from such issues, we need to equip ourselves on the subject matter, in order to train our youths to think about it through God’s perspective and guide them to come up with possible responses to these issues in their daily living.[5]

Jesus said in Acts 1:8, the power of the Holy Spirit will enable us to be His witnesses to the world. Besides discipling the youths on worldviews and apologetics, youth ministers need to also train their youths to walk in the Spirit and move in the gifts of the Spirit. Planning for programs which provides the biblical teaching and the opportunities to practice their spiritual gifts. Such programs can look like going for prayer walks or mission trips accompanied by debriefing and processing time, modelling for the youths how relying on the Holy Spirit looks like in event planning, or workshops on practicing the gift of prophecy or healing. God’s empowerment is indispensable for our youths to be prophetic influencers in their culture.

The overwhelming challenges in youth ministry are not insurmountable with God’s resources. Despite of the bleak outlook, God has not forsaken His people. In Israel’s defeat to their enemies, Daniel 1 states that God had “delivered” Jehoiakim king of Judah” into the hands of Babylon. Israel’s loss was allowed by God and was part of God’s plan for them. Though it feels like the church is losing their youths to the world, God is still in control and He has a plan. In this spiritual “exile”, we can partner with God to raise up a Daniel generation who are discipled in their identity, in their intimacy with God and in their influence. Youths “who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits” (Daniel 11:32b NKJV). Youths who stand firm and shine bright for Jesus!

The cultural issues today are getting increasingly complex and unheard of in previous generations. Hence, it is paramount for youth ministry to prepare their youths for the uncharted moral landscapes ahead.

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[1] “Key Takeaways from IMH’s National Youth Mental Health Study”. The Straits Times [Singapore], 19 Sept. 2024. The Straits Times, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/key-takeaways-from-imh-s-national-youth-mental-health-study.

[2] “Intergenerational Connections and Practices in Church and Society”. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8ip32VlWzI&list=PL6IsoVKoNxJNcbvO6j5YoCZRRHiYJoWqH&index=2. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.

[3] Wilder, J., & Hendricks, M. (2020). The other half of church: Christian community, Brain Science, and overcoming spiritual stagnation. Chicago: Moody Publishers.

[4] Choong, W. (2025). An ecosystemic approach to Digital Christianity: How Faith and Identity Formation Evolve Among Youth in Singapore. Religion and Social Communication, 23(2), 332–346. https://doi.org/10.62461/wc040325

[5] The Next Gen Commission is organizing a Young Adult Seminar on “Cultural Apologetics.” Held over 4 Fridays in July to equip Young Adults, Timothy Weerasekera (Founder of RegardlessSG) will be training the participants on how to engage their peers in conversation on tough cultural topics. Find out more about this seminar and sign up here https://forms.gle/fwYzwRENqLNKfSpM6