Worship teams from churches and ministries across New York and New Jersey led worship songs and delivered sermons facing Times Square’s red steps on Oct. 6, as people raised their hands in praise, danced, and waved silky worship flags beneath the glare of the billboards. Nearby, volunteers held up signs offering free prayer. 

The event was Ecclesia NYC/NJ’s first Generation Z worship rally, bringing young Christians into one of the city’s busiest public spaces to share their faith. By 8:15 p.m., organizers estimated about 250 people had gathered in front of the stage. For organizers and attendees, the rally was less about numbers than about defining what Christianity means to their generation. 

“The best thing about our generation is that we can smell the BS,” said Sebastian Gonzalez, 26, who helped run operations for the Gen Z night. “We want the real thing, and Jesus is the real thing.” 

Organizers say more young people are answering that search. “We’re seeing an increase of turning specifically to the Christian faith among Gen Z,” said Ryan Delling, who leads The Altar, a small New Jersey ministry, and organized the rally.

Recent national research paints a more nuanced picture. Barna Group, a Christian research firm, reported that in 2025 Gen Z churchgoers attended services an average of 1.9 weekends a month, more often than churchgoers of any other generation that year. But a December 2025 Pew Research Center report found no clear evidence of a nationwide religious revival among young adults, who remained less religious than older Americans and than young adults a decade earlier. Taken together, the findings suggest that while young adults overall remain less religious, some young Christians are visibly bringing their faith into public spaces.

Tuesday’s rally, held from 6 to 10 p.m. at Duffy Square, closed three days of public worship, prayer and street evangelism. Ecclesia is a fellowship of churches and ministries from New York and New Jersey. 

Delling said the group chose Times Square for its crowds. “There are literally tens of thousands of people that come through here every day,” he said. 

Many millennials, he said, were driven away because “the church in many ways really messed up,” citing “hypocrisy” and “double standards.” He said a “Christian nationalization type of movement” had also “misrepresented the gospel and Jesus” in recent years.  

Delling said the night had two goals: to encourage young Christians to continue on and to show people who have never stepped into a church the love of God. 

Out on the plaza, evangelists stopped passersby to talk and pray. Will Khairalla, 31, an attorney, said reactions run “the full spectrum from people cussing you out to people that are genuinely really touched.” 

Khairalla said he did not come to faith until he was about 25, after moving to New York alone for law school. With no distractions, he said, he began to wonder about something he had never cared about before. 

“God is either real or he’s not,” he remembered thinking. “And the answer either way is so important.” 

As the night went on, some people hugged and cried after being prayed for, while others painted at the front of the stage and danced to the music. 

Gonzalez said the crowd size was never the point. “It’s not about the multitudes, it’s about the one,” he said. “If one gets ignited, it’s a domino effect.”