#016: Why Your Generation Stopped Believing in Miracles

Welcome, Family

This week stirred something deep. Maybe it's because we keep running into the same wall: young adults who grew up in church but never saw anything... supernatural.

They heard about the miracles in the Bible, sang songs about God's power, but never witnessed anything that couldn't be explained by natural causes.

And honestly? We get it.

When your Christianity looks identical to good morality plus church attendance, when prayer feels more like positive thinking than communion with the Creator of the universe, when you've never seen God move in ways that defy explanation—why wouldn't you start to wonder if it's all just ancient mythology?

But here's what's been burning in our hearts: A 2025 Pew study reveals that 86 percent of Americans believe that people have souls or spirits in addition to their physical bodies, and 83 percent believe in God or a universal spirit.

People are hungry for the supernatural. They're just not finding it in church.

Many Christians have given up believing in miracles. For them, the age of miracles belongs to the early church, when awe-inspiring events confirmed the authenticity and divine nature of God and Jesus.

But what if we've traded the supernatural Christianity of the New Testament for a sanitized version that fits comfortably in our modern, rational world?

Jesus didn't promise His followers a better philosophy. He promised them power.

🍞 This Week's Bread

• ⏳ The Sign: Why young adults are leaving powerless Christianity for spirituality that promises the supernatural

• 📖 The Word: Mark 16:17-18: What Jesus promised would follow those who believe

• 🌍 The Witness: How cessationism convinced generations that God stopped moving supernaturally

• 🔥 The Work: Three questions about whether you're expecting God's power in your life

• ⚡ Midweek Power: Wednesday night prayer for authentic supernatural encounters

• 🙏 Prayer Corner: Intercession for God's power to be manifest in this generation

⏳ The Sign

The headlines tell a story that should concern every church leader: while young adults are leaving Christianity in record numbers, they're not abandoning spirituality.

They're flocking to astrology, meditation apps, crystals, and New Age practices that promise supernatural experiences.

Pastor JP Pokluda has had a front-row seat to revival, traveling American college campuses and watching young people come to Christ.

But he's also watching many leave churches that offer religion without power, morality without miracles, and theology without transformation.

Meanwhile, journalist Billy Hallowell is traveling around America to unravel the mysteries behind modern-day miracles in his 2025 documentary.

The hunger for the supernatural is real. The question is: where are people finding it?

Here's what we can't ignore: our generation grew up in churches that taught us to believe in the miracles of the Bible while simultaneously explaining why we shouldn't expect them today.

We were told God is all-powerful but somehow lost His power when the apostles died.

The result?

A powerless Christianity that looks more like a philosophy class than an encounter with the living God. And young adults are walking away—not because they don't want the supernatural, but because they're not finding it in church.

📖 The Word

Jesus didn't say these signs might follow believers. He didn't say they would follow some believers. He said these signs will accompany those who believe.

But immediately, we hear the objections: "That passage isn't in the earliest manuscripts!" "That was just for the apostles!" "Miracles ceased when the New Testament was completed!"

Cessationism is the view that the "miracle gifts" of tongues and healing have ceased—that the end of the apostolic age brought about a cessation of the miracles associated with that age.

The doctrine was developed in the Reformation and is particularly associated with the Calvinists.

But here's the problem with cessationism: it's not what the early church believed.

Even at this day, in every believer, faith has a latent miraculous power: (every effect of prayer being really miraculous:) although in many, because of their littleness of faith, and because the world is unworthy, that power is not exerted.

Think about it: if God designed the church to operate with supernatural power for 30-40 years and then suddenly stopped, why didn't He tell anyone?

Why is there no clear biblical passage that says, "The age of miracles is ending"?

The truth is, cessationists believe spiritual gifts in the miraculous category have ceased primarily because they've created a theological system that explains away their lack of supernatural experience rather than seeking God for more of His power.

🌍 The Witness

Look at church history honestly. The early church didn't just preach the gospel—they demonstrated it with signs, wonders, and miracles.

They cast out demons, healed the sick, raised the dead, and saw supernatural provision. This wasn't limited to the apostles.

But somewhere along the way, the church became comfortable with a powerless version of Christianity.

We developed sophisticated theologies to explain why we shouldn't expect the supernatural. We turned the Christian life into moral improvement rather than supernatural transformation.

D. A. Carson warns that young clergy will wrestle with this very issue. Should they expect God to move supernaturally today, or accept that those days are over?

But here's what we see throughout history: every genuine revival, every authentic move of God, has been accompanied by supernatural signs. 

The Reformation wasn't just about correct doctrine—it was about people encountering the living God. The Great Awakenings weren't just emotional experiences—they were demonstrations of divine power.

And today?

We're watching young adults leave powerless churches and turn to counterfeits because their souls are crying out for authentic supernatural encounter. They know intuitively that real Christianity should look different from good morality plus church attendance.

🔥 The Work

Before you dismiss this as "charismatic nonsense" or feel condemned for your lack of supernatural experiences, let's get honest with three diagnostic questions:

1. Do I actually expect God to move supernaturally in my life? 

Be honest. When you pray for healing, do you expect God to heal? When you pray about impossibilities, do you believe He can make a way?

Or have you been trained to expect natural outcomes with a little divine help? Your expectations reveal your real theology.

2. What's my response to supernatural testimonies? 

When you hear about miracles, healings, or supernatural provision, is your first response skepticism or hunger?

Do you immediately look for natural explanations, or do you ask God why you're not seeing more of His power? Your response reveals whether you're open to God moving beyond your understanding.

3. Am I pursuing God's power or just His principles? 

There's a difference between wanting God's wisdom for life and wanting to know God Himself. One leads to better living; the other leads to supernatural encounters.

Are you content with Christianity that improves your life, or are you hungry for Christianity that transforms everything it touches?

⚡ Midweek Power

This Wednesday night (August 13th, 8-9 PM ET), we're praying specifically for authentic supernatural encounters with God—not weird experiences, but biblical demonstrations of His power.

We've been seeing God move as people get hungry for more than just good teaching and moral improvement. People are asking for prayer for healing, for breakthrough in impossible situations, for deliverance from things that have held them captive.

Come ready to pray for:

• Genuine supernatural encounters that reveal God's power and love

• Healing for physical, emotional, and spiritual conditions

• Breakthrough in impossible situations that only God can resolve

• Deliverance from fear, addiction, and spiritual oppression

• Churches to rediscover the supernatural power of the gospel

🙏 Prayer Corner

We're interceding for:

• Young adults who've never seen authentic supernatural power and are questioning whether God is real

• Churches that have traded supernatural Christianity for safe, predictable religion

• Those dealing with sickness, addiction, or impossible circumstances that need God's miraculous intervention

• Pastors and leaders who need fresh encounters with God's power to lead their people into authentic Christianity

• Protection from counterfeit supernatural experiences while hungry for authentic ones

Send us your prayer requests for healing, breakthrough, and supernatural encounters with God. We believe He wants to demonstrate His power in this generation, not just teach good principles.

📅 What's Next

Friday, August 15th (8-10 PM ET): Virtual Bible Study on Zoom - Link here

Missed Friday night? Reply "REPLAY" and we'll send you the August 1st session recording.

📣 Take Action

Forward this to someone who's been wrestling with religious hurt or moral confusion.

Follow @mogakaeventsministry on Instagram for daily encouragement and biblical clarity.

DM us for prayer or if you need wisdom about a specific moral decision.

✝️ Final Word

Here's what we need to settle: According to Jesus, these supernatural signs are supposed to follow those who believe. Since you and I believe, that means these signs are supposed to follow you and me!

The question isn't whether God can still move supernaturally. The question is whether you believe He will.

If you've been content with Christianity that fits neatly into natural explanations, maybe it's time to ask for more. If you've accepted powerless religion because it's safer than expecting supernatural encounters, maybe it's time to take the risk.

Your generation is walking away from church not because they don't want God—but because they haven't seen Him.

They've seen good people, moral teaching, and inspiring music. But they haven't seen the kind of supernatural power that convinced the first-century world that Jesus is alive.

Maybe it's time to stop explaining away the supernatural and start expecting it. Maybe it's time to stop making excuses for powerless Christianity and start pursuing the kind of faith that moves mountains.

The signs are supposed to follow you. The question is: are you following the kind of Jesus who still does them?

With you always,
Mogaka Events Ministry

Come As You Are is a Spirit-led devotional for young adults hungry for God's presence. Written by Ravi Patel and Chris Mogaka.