Want to help your church find focus in its disciple-making efforts? We've created an 8-part resource called Discipleship 101 to help. Learn more at https://www.intotheharvest.org/discipleship-101/ Need a simple framework to help you make disciples like Jesus? Check out The Pathway Series to learn more: https://www.intotheharvest.org/pathway Shop ► https://www.intotheharvest.org/shop/ Instagram ► instagram.com/intotheharvest Facebook ► facebook.com/intotheharvest Newsletter ► https://www.intotheharvest.org/newsletter What happens when truth feels slippery, hope feels distant, and the next generation is caught in the middle? In this episode of Into the Harvest, John sits down with Joel Woodard, author of In Pursuit of a Better World, and Ethan Zimmerman, a disciple-maker working with first responders. Together, they unpack what it means to bring the gospel into a culture shaped by skepticism, uncertainty, and longing for authenticity—the Meta-Modern Generation. Joel shares the “Islands” analogy he uses in the book to describe the fragmented ways people experience life and identity today—and why we need new maps if we want to bring people to Jesus. Ethan reflects on how the book helped him better love, listen to, and reach people who often live with trauma, doubt, or spiritual disconnection. Whether you’re leading in the church, at home, or in everyday places of life, this episode will equip you to engage with grace and truth, build bridges, and offer lasting hope. Joel and his wife Amy spent nearly seven years in Slovenia, pioneering youth ministries in two local churches and pouring their lives into the next generation. In 2010 the Lord brought them back to Oregon, where Joel pastored Cornerstone Church in Gresham for nine years and then, starting in 2019, took on the adventure of replanting Hollyview Church in Boring. After more than twenty years of ministry in the Pacific Northwest and Europe, God recently led Joel, Amy, and their family to a fresh chapter in the Carolinas. Today Joel serves with South America Mission, recruiting, equipping, and sending out missionaries who will carry the gospel throughout Latin America for years to come. During college, God gripped Ethan's heart with a passion to know Christ Jesus, make Him known, and help others do the same. At the same time, Ethan worked as an EMT where God grew in him a desire to see first responders reached and equipped with the hope of the Gospel. Since graduating college in 2017, Ethan has worked in full time disciple-making ministry. His first four years on staff were spent making disciples among college students in Auckland, New Zealand. Since moving back to the United States in late 2021, the Lord has led Ethan to Portland, OR where God is raising up spiritual generations of disciples of Jesus among first responders. RESOURCES MENTIONED: In Pursuit of a Better World The Pathway Series Original Release Date 1/29/26 The post #257 – Bridging the Gap: Reaching the Meta-Modern Generation with Gospel Hope appeared first on Into the Harvest
