A report finding young people favour trusted relationships over media when exploring faith raises questions for how Christian organisations design outreach and content.
A new report reportedly finds that young people exploring Christian faith rely on trusted personal relationships rather than media content or institutional messaging. This bears directly on Christian media strategy, since it suggests reach alone may matter less than the relationships around which content is shared or discussed. It raises a question for churches and Christian organisations about how digital content and in-person trust interact, rather than compete. The finding, as described, does not specify methodology or sample size, so its scope is unclear.
ECMS 2026 data, gathered from an engaged-Christian sample in the Netherlands and Belgium, found 52 per cent of under-35s named Christian organisations a trusted source, against 34 per cent of over-55s, a pattern broadly consistent with a report emphasising relational trust among younger people.
Source: ECMS 2026