Jordan Whitmer’s ‘HowToLife’ Movement Inspires Gen Z to Share the Gospel in NYC and Worldwide

By Matthew Becker

Ron Hutchcraft began a weekly youth outreach in Chicago as a student at Moody Bible Institute. By 1991, the speaker, radio host and author emerged as a national and international Christian voice and Ron Hutchcraft Ministries (RHM), based in Wayne, NJ, was established.

RHM subsequently relocated to Arkansas to launch On Eagles’ Wings, a ministry that trains and equips Native American young people to reach their people for Jesus. Years later, the peer-to-peer element of the ministry caught the attention of Ron’s grandson, Jordan Whitmer.

Jordan was born in New Jersey, but spent his formative years in Arkansas. Despite being considered part of the ‘Bible Belt,’ in Jordan’s experience, there were very few residents in his area who seemed to have truly had a passion and heart for the Lord. Recalling what Jesus said in Acts 1:8, right before He’s taken up into Heaven—“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth…”—Jordan decided that something needed to be done in his own Jerusalem.

In 2015, Jordan, a teenager, organized his first major ministry event within his area. There was worship, testimonies, and a message being preached, but there was one unique element that set it apart from many others. This event focused on giving teenagers and young adults the floor and letting them preach the Gospel to their peers. Now referred to as Gen Z, this age group (born 1997 through 2012) would become the primary focus of Jordan’s ministry as he founded the HowToLife Movement.

Now a young adult, Jordan has hosted HowToLife events in the United States and internationally. Now, why Gen Z specifically? Well, not only was Jordan himself around their age range when he began the ministry, but for many people, these ages are right around the time in their lives where they take their first steps towards independence, and that includes making their faith their own.

“They’re old enough to start making some of their own decisions, but young enough so that they’re not fully hardened to the Lord,” says Jordan, who recently relocated his ministry base to Northern New Jersey.

And why young person-led? People tend to gravitate towards those within the same age range. When a young person sees a peer on stage and hears how they’re been impacted by the Gospel—whether it’s through song, testimony, or a gospel message—it can be an incredibly powerful moment. HowToLife Movement provides young people with the opportunity to experience moments like this.

Jordan, of course, doesn’t dismiss the importance of older generations mentoring the younger ones, but as he put it, “…for the purpose of the first [HowToLife] event, we wanted to organize something ‘peer-to-peer’ that could be powerful.” And for many that day, it was.

Since that first event, online influencers reached out to Jordan, asking if there could be an event similar to this one in their area. For the next ten years, Jordan and HowToLife Movement would go from just being a witness in Jerusalem, to eventually the ends of the earth, as it would end up going global, hosting events in 12 countries around the world and 29 states within the U.S.

This format has largely remained unchanged over the years, with artistic elements like spoken word poetry incorporated along the way. Adjustments are made to accommodate diverse cultures and tailor messages to different audiences. For the most part though, it is a student-led component that helps this ministry stand out.

Some churches and other ministries try to appeal to the younger crowd, throwing in smoke machines and flashing lights, generally treating their worship services more like concerts, but Jordan has come to find out that what Gen Z really wants, is something genuine and real. HowToLife aims to provide as real an experience as possible with authentic testimonies and messages delivered by teens and young adults, primarily to teens and young adults. It also helps that for many of these kids, it’s their first time preaching the Gospel to so many people.

Looking towards the future, HowToLife has plenty of events planned for 2025 with a big one in NYC coming up on March 22. Jordan also has a podcast called Gen Z today where he continues to discuss the importance of ministry, especially for Gen Z.

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