iShine is a Christian media group dedicated to ministering to kids and their families known as Generation Z.
“Today’s youngest generation with a label, born after 2000, are connected yet isolated, savvy but anxious, indulged yet stressed. They have grown up with social media, a constant proliferation of information on a fully mobile internet, the rise of Islamic state and other forms of terrorism. As these teenager’s approach adulthood against a divided political backdrop, it’s a realistic question to ask how these changes will affect their future”
The single biggest difference between Generation Z and other generations is how connected they are and have been since birth. Connectivity permeates their lives – from friendships to relationships, news, entertainment, shopping – and has transformed how they interact. Generation Z students are also reported to have a much more fluid sense of sexual identity and gender. They are concerned about happiness and considered themselves ‘less satisfied’ with their lives than previous generations, particularly 15-year old’s, girls more than boys. Social workers report these same kids are now seeking treatment for low self-esteem, anxiety, depression and self-harm, in greater numbers than any other generation on record.
“When it comes to low self-esteem, a lot of young people are putting that down to [concerns about] education, their future and the online world. Particularly the online world, and how it’s following young people around – it’s with them 24/7. Every time they switch on their phones, they’re getting messages about parties they haven’t been invited to, or they’re seeing photos of their friends doing things, or their whole self-worth is based on how many likes they’re getting on Facebook or Instagram. It absolutely permeates their sense of self-worth.”
Equipping students and their families to illuminate their world with the Hope of the gospel and find their value, identity, and purpose (VIP) in Christ.
iShine seeks to be a stabilizing influence for this generation of students we now serve; pointing them to the truth of God as found in the Holy Scriptures and seeking to encourage them to continue in the Christian heritage of Faith and Family.
3 We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. 7 So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.