Suddenly, after decades of derision, church is cool. It is being called ‘the quiet revival’ because more Britons, especially youngsters, are quietly eschewing late night raves in favour of going to church.
More and more children and young people have also been making a decision to follow Jesus each year over the past four years at the annual Spring Harvest Christian holiday weeks. Around 630 children and teenagers gave their lives to Christ at this year’s event. This follows the publication of ‘The Quiet Revival’ report from Bible Society, which outlined a recent rise in sales of Bibles among young people.
50 per cent more attend church than pre-Covid
Church attendance among young increases
2,000 youth attend all-night prayer
A new openness before Franklin Graham’s visit
By HEART staff
Signs of a spiritual shift have been picked up across the Atlantic; the Christian Broadcasting Network has reported that young people are “flocking to churches in search of healing, freedom, and deliverance”. More than 2,000 young people gathered to seek God in an all-night prayer and worship event in early May.
Overall, church attendance has grown by 50 per cent since 2018; two million of us are now churchgoers.
This Easter some churches reported having to turn people away, according to excited internet reports. Denominational data confirmed increased attendance, with larger than expected responses to the Gospel message and baptisms. This is being called ‘The quiet revival’, named after the report; in the last six years, there are now 16 per cent of 18-24 year olds attending church regularly, compared to four per cent in 2018. Among 25-34 year olds the number of those identifying as Christian has grown from from four per cent to 13 per cent.
“Extraordinary scenes: a thick and heavy sense of God’s presence, dozens giving their lives to Christ, healing, freedom. One thing is certain: we are witnessing a profound and sovereign spiritual moment.”
There are also 30 per cent more over 65s returning to church in the last six years. But most surprising is the keenness of young men to find God. A 21 year old man is THREE times more likely to be a churchgoing Christian than a 51 year old. This contrasts with church attendance by young women, of whom just 12 per cent will turn out on a Sunday morning. Al Gordon, pastor of Saint Church in London, has been part of leading a bi-monthly prayer gathering in Britain that is at the forefront of this “spiritual awakening.”
On 2 May, more than 2,000 young adults crowded into his Hackney church for an all-night prayer and worship event. Gordon wrote about the remarkable night on Instagram: “Extraordinary scenes: a thick and heavy sense of God’s presence, dozens giving their lives to Christ, healing, freedom. One thing is certain: we are witnessing a profound and sovereign spiritual moment.” This new seriousness about Christianity will be welcome news for the organisers of Rev Franklin Graham’s visit to London on 21 June. In 2024 he visited Birmingham and Glasgow; the Scottish event was attended by 7,000 people, with hundreds making commitments to follow Jesus. (Photo – young people prostrate at the 2 May London prayer event. Credit Al Gordon Instagram)
Young people are very much part of the preparations for Rev Graham’s London visit; 11 ‘Pursuit of worship’ events were held across the UK in May, with an invitation to “Supercharge your life!” Increased church growth has also been seen in Northern Ireland. The pastor of Hope Church Craigavon told CBN that his church had grown by 30 per cent in a year, with many healings taking place. Rev Craig Cooney said that the people who had testified to being healed were down to earth types not prone to exaggeration. His mid-week prayer meetings were also, unusually, filled: “People are there at 6pm, crying out to God for the lost and for their families.” (Photo – young people at the Newport “Pursuit of Worship” event)
Rev Cooney welcomed the increase after the Church’s decline during the Covid lockdowns, when the Church’s influence seemed to be in hopeless decline. Hope Church’s Associate Pastor and YouTuber, Jamie Bambrick, says of young men’s interest in spirituality: “They have seen the deadness of atheism and are unimpressed by the effects of secularism. They are much more aware of the threat of Islam to the future of the nation and have decided to return to church because [they instinctively know] they need some serious foundations for their life and their national identity.”
Link for Jamie Bambrick speaking: https://youtu.be/x21mTfAMRCk
Link to CBN news report : https://cbn.com/news/world/2000-young-people-uk-encounter-god-all-night-prayer-gathering-sense-holy-awe