{"id":14671,"date":"2026-03-19T11:47:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=14671"},"modified":"2026-03-19T11:47:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:47:28","slug":"gen-z-influencer-says-young-americans-are-turning-to-jesus-were-tired-of-fake-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2026\/03\/gen-z-influencer-says-young-americans-are-turning-to-jesus-were-tired-of-fake-stuff.html","title":{"rendered":"Gen Z Influencer Says Young Americans Are Turning to Jesus: ‘We’re Tired of Fake Stuff’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gage Skidmore \/ Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A young Christian influencer says a growing number of Gen Z Americans are rediscovering faith in Jesus Christ as they grow weary of the “fake stuff” dominating modern culture.<\/p>\n

Bryce Crawford, a 22-year-old evangelist who shares the gospel both online and on the streets, believes many young people are beginning to question the promises of social media, popularity, and material success.<\/p>\n

“We’re tired of fake stuff. We’re tired of fluff,” Crawford said Monday during an appearance on Fox & Friends<\/em>.<\/p>\n

According to Crawford, constant exposure to curated social media lives and endless digital distractions has left many people searching for something deeper.<\/p>\n

“We’re fed fluff through our phones, through desires, through whatever we think is going to satisfy,” he said. “Every human being is on a quest for love, and we try to fill that void with different things.”<\/p>\n

But many young people, he says, are beginning to realize those substitutes for meaning simply don’t work.<\/p>\n

“I think people are naturally understanding, ‘Wait, this thing isn’t working anymore. This isn’t going how I thought it was going to go,'” Crawford explained. “So ultimately, people don’t just want a truth, they want the truth \u2014 and that would be Jesus.”<\/p>\n

Crawford’s own faith journey began during a deeply painful season in his teenage years. Though he grew up in a Christian household, he struggled with intense anxiety and depression as a teenager.<\/p>\n

At 17, the pain became so overwhelming that he considered ending his life.<\/p>\n

“When I was 17, I planned on making an irrevocable decision with my life because I thought that was the only way to get the pain to go away,” he said.<\/p>\n

But on the night he says he planned to take that step, Crawford experienced what he describes as a life-changing encounter with Christ.<\/p>\n

“The night I was going to make an irrevocable decision, Jesus supernaturally encountered me,” he recalled. “And I prayed a prayer. I said, ‘Jesus, if you’re real, take away my anxiety and depression,’ and I haven’t had it since that day.”<\/p>\n

That moment, he says, changed the trajectory of his life and eventually led him to dedicate himself fully to sharing the gospel with others.<\/p>\n

Today, Crawford reaches millions of followers across social media platforms while also taking his message directly to communities across the country. Through his “I Love Jesus” tour, he travels from city to city, creating opportunities for people to hear the gospel and engage in conversations about faith.<\/p>\n

For Crawford, evangelism begins with treating people as individuals rather than statistics.<\/p>\n

“[People are] not a statistic. I’m not going out there to treat them like a stat to go home and brag about,” he said. “They’re a human being that’s made in the image of God.”<\/p>\n

He believes meaningful conversations often begin with honest questions.<\/p>\n

“We want to be intentional and ask questions,” he said. “But we ask the tough questions, too: Do you have a faith? What do you think happens when we die? Do you believe in Jesus?”<\/p>\n

Crawford believes many of his fellow Gen Z peers are beginning to realize that the things they once chased \u2014 relationships, substances, or social approval \u2014 ultimately leave them empty.<\/p>\n

“We’ve lived for so many different things, different people, relationships, substances, different vices, and it doesn’t fulfill us,” he said.<\/p>\n

In his view, the renewed interest in Christianity among young adults reflects a deeper hunger for something eternal.<\/p>\n

“So people understand that we need something eternal and perfect that can sustain that,” Crawford said. “And Jesus is alive and active, and He is doing that in people’s hearts who are hungry and ready to receive Him.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A young Christian influencer says a growing number of Gen Z Americans are rediscovering faith in Jesus Christ as they grow weary of the “fake stuff” dominating modern culture. Bryce Crawford, a 22-year-old evangelist who shares the gospel both online and on the streets, believes many young people are beginning to question the promises of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":14674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGen Z Influencer Says Young Americans Are Turning to Jesus: 'We're Tired of Fake Stuff'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gen Z influencer Bryce Crawford says young Americans are rejecting \u201cfake\u201d culture and turning to Jesus for deeper meaning.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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