MANTLE

PROJECT

The

Future-proofing the church
by creating conversations
with and for the next generation

» THE CRISIS WE CAN’T IGNORE

A historic shift is unfolding across the American Church — quietly, quickly, and at enormous relational cost.

  • Pastors are aging out faster than churches can replace them.

  • Younger pastors are stepping in without support, coaching, or spiritual parents.

  • Older pastors want to pour out wisdom, but have nowhere meaningful to put it.

  • Younger leaders want guidance, not control, but lack access to it.

And all the while… Gen Z is more spiritually open, but also more institutionally skeptical.

The stats tell the story of a system under strain.

The real story is deeper:

Two generations stand side by side — but almost entirely disconnected from each other.

Just when spiritual hunger is rising, leadership infrastructure is collapsing.

This isn’t a leadership crisis.

It’s a connection crisis.

And if we don’t address it, we will spend the next decade repeating the same mistakes.

» THE PENDULUM PROBLEM

Every generation responds to the one before it.

But without humility, response becomes overcorrection—

and overcorrection becomes the next generation’s burden.

Tight, loose, tight, loose—

the Church has lived this cycle for decades, and the cycles have only gotten sharper.

People get caught (and hurt) in the swing.

But the cycle can break.

If older leaders show up with humility—not to resist change, and not to abandon it—but to hand it off well.

That is the heart of The Mantle Project:

Stop the pendulum with a healthy, relational handoff.

» THE ORIGINAL VISION

When The Mantle Project began, the dream was simple:

  • Older pastors who are not done need a place to give their wisdom.

  • Younger pastors who feel alone and overwhelmed need care — not metrics.

  • Churches need legacy + innovation, not one or the other.

  • The Bible gives us a model for this:

    Elijah » Elisha
    Paul     » Timothy
    Moses     » Joshua

Wisdom flowing forward. Courage flowing upward.

The mantle being passed with honor and clarity.

That was always the heart. And it still is.

But the strategy required a shift.

Because if you want to shape the future Church, you start by shaping the conversation that forms it.

» THE PIVOT: LISTEN FIRST. BUILD SECOND.

We realized something crucial:

Before you build a program, you start a conversation.

Before you build a system, you build a community.

Before you build a curriculum, you build trust.

And here’s the most important realization:

The next generation isn’t gathering in conference rooms.

They’re gathering online.

Short-form clips. Podcasts. Streams. Creators. Dissatisfied DMs. Faith TikTok. YouTube deconstruction. Group chats. Discord servers. Late-night scrolling.

This is Gen Z’s “church hallway.”

This is where their conversations are happening.

This is where formation lives now.

If The Mantle Project wants to matter, we must meet them where they already are.

And we needed the right partner to help us build something credible, attention-commanding, and spiritually grounded.

» ENTER THE SCROLL COMPANY

Scroll is a creative agency built to do one thing exceptionally well:
reach the next generation with clarity, credibility, and spiritual depth.

Led by Jon Rush and Taylor Random, Scroll has:

  • A proven ability to engage young adults at scale

  • Deep ministry experience

  • A track record of building sustainable digital communities

  • A strategy-first approach to formation, not just content

They’re not Gen Z — they’re simply better than anyone we’ve met at reaching them.

Scroll offers what Mantle needs: reach, strategy, cultural fluency, and digital credibility.

Mantle offers what Scroll honors: wisdom, legacy, and pastoral depth.

Together, we can build the bridge the Church has been missing — where the past and the future finally sit at the same table.

» THE 6-MONTH BUILD

The Mantle x Scroll Initiative

For six months, we are building a digital + relational movement that unites generations and future-proofs the Church.

Here’s what we’re launching:

01
Weekly Long-Form Conversations

A weekly YouTube series featuring:

  • Gen Z believers

  • Emerging church leaders

  • Seasoned pastors

  • Honest, vulnerable, spiritually-rich dialogue

Topics like:

  • Church hurt

  • Calling

  • Faith and culture

  • Leadership pressure

  • Deconstruction + reconstruction

  • The future of the local church

  • Wisdom + humility

  • What Gen Z actually wants

These conversations become the public table the whole Church can sit at.

02
The Short-Form Engine

Every long-form episode generates 5–10 shorts weekly.

These clips:

  • Build trust with Gen Z

  • Amplify the conversation

  • Showcase humility across generations

  • Spread spiritual imagination

  • Invite younger and older voices into the movement

This is how we build reach, quickly and meaningfully.

03
Private Community (Leaders + Pastors)

A digital home for:

  • Senior pastors

  • Future pastors

  • Innovators

  • Retired pastors

  • Next-gen communicators

  • Anyone committed to championing Gen Z inside the Church

This community features:

  • Monthly live calls

  • Problem-solving sessions

  • Early access to content

  • Think tanks

  • Frameworks + guides

  • Direct engagement from Jon + Tommy

  • Collaboration between churches

  • Stories + wisdom sharing

This becomes the movement’s relational backbone.

04
The Kickoff Retreat

A two-day filming + discernment retreat with:

  • Scroll team

  • Gen Z creators

  • Legacy pastors

  • Future leaders

  • Mantle leadership

Outcomes:

  • Shared language

  • Direction for the next 6 months

  • Spiritual clarity

  • Content capture

  • Initial relational trust

  • A unified voice

It’s where the movement begins — spiritually and practically.

» WHAT WE’LL DELIVER

✔ 24 long-form Mantle episodes

✔ 120–240 short-form videos

✔ A unified YouTube presence

✔ Scroll’s full production team

✔ Weekly presence from Jon Rush

✔ Weekly pastoral leadership from Tommy Carreras

✔ A private, engaged leader community

✔ The Kickoff Retreat

✔ A generational vision + framework

✔ A movement that can grow organically

This is the platform, content engine, and relational ecosystem for generational renewal.

» WHAT IT COSTS TO DO THIS RIGHT

Scroll Company + Jon Rush

$10,000/month × 6 months = $60,000

Tommy Carreras

$2,500/month × 6 months = $15,000

Community Platform + Tech Stack

= $2,000

Software, Tools, Admin Support

= $6,000

Kickoff Retreat

= $15,000

Ads + Distribution Budget

= $10,000

Subtotal

= $103,000

Contingency

= $12,000

» TOTAL INVESTMENT NEEDED: $120,000

This is the full cost to launch and sustain the movement for six months.

After that, we’re already closer to self-sustainability.

Not a program. Not a product. A movement.

» WHAT’S AT STAKE

Here’s the truth no one’s saying out loud:

“Generational overcorrection is what hurts people most. But humility can stop the pendulum.”

If older pastors don’t join the process, the Church will swing again —

and Gen Z will overcorrect the wounds of this era.

But if older leaders come alongside them…

If wisdom flows with humility…

If courage rises with guidance…

If legacy walks with innovation…

Then for the first time in decades,

we can stop the pendulum.

We can shape a future Church that is healthier than the past —

because the past helped build it.

» THE INVITATION

We’re asking you to help us build the first digital + relational ecosystem designed to:

  • Reconnect generations

  • Restore spiritual parenthood

  • Rebuild trust

  • Renew the Church

  • And help thousands of young leaders meet God again, not through performance or pressure, but through presence and wisdom.

If this vision resonates — if you want to be part of the generation that stops the pendulum — we would be honored to talk.

The pastors of tomorrow are waiting.

Let’s pass the mantle well.