Signs of ‘quiet revival’ within the UK should encourage the Church, says evangelical leader 

Evangelical leader John Stevens has welcomed recent findings from the Bible Society’s Quiet Revival report, saying the info should embolden Christians within the UK and provides renewed confidence within the Gospel.

The report, based on a study of 13,000 people by YouGov for the Bible Society, challenges the long-held assumption that churchgoing within the UK is in terminal decline.

It found that church attendance amongst adults has the truth is risen from 8% to 12% within the last six years —a rise of over 2 million people.

Most strikingly, attendance amongst 18 to 24-year-olds has quadrupled, from 4% to 16%, with young men seeing the biggest rise, from 4% to a remarkable 21%.

In a recent post on the website of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, Stevens noted that these changes reflect a deeper spiritual longing: “Young people say they’re more spiritual … those that attend church report higher life satisfaction and connection to their communities.

“Secular liberalism has not delivered the happiness and freedom that it promised, with ever-increasing loneliness and mental health issues.

“Young people bear the unattainable burden of getting to define their very own identity, and young men are bored with the relentless castigating of so-called ‘toxic masculinity’.

“Some of the identical pressures which have led to an increase in populist policies and alt-right influencers are causing people to show to church for answers to their pain and frustration.”

This longing has sparked interest not only in evangelical churches but in addition in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are attracting those drawn to tradition and transcendence, while Bible-teaching evangelical churches are welcoming seekers with a transparent message and community rooted in Scripture.

“The lesson is that individuals want substance not superficiality,” said Stevens, who’s national director of the FIEC.

The Chief Executive of the Bible Society, Paul Williams, said the findings of their study were “highly significant” and may “transform the perception of Christianity and churchgoing in England and Wales”.

“Far from being on a slippery slope to extinction, the Church is alive and growing and making a positive difference to individuals and society,” he said. 

A co-author of the report, Dr Rhiannon McAleer, added, “These are striking findings that completely reverse the widely held assumption that the Church is dying.

“While some traditional denominations proceed to face decline, broad-based growth—especially in Catholic and Pentecostal churches—is painting a really different picture.”

Indeed, the denominational landscape is shifting.

Catholics now make up 31% of UK churchgoers, up from 23% in 2018, and Pentecostals have grown from 4% to 10%.

Meanwhile, the proportion of Anglicans has decreased from 41% to 34%.

Across the Atlantic, similar trends are emerging.

The State of the Bible: USA 2025 report by the American Bible Society found a big increase in Scripture engagement, particularly amongst men and younger generations.

In the US, 41% of adults now read the Bible at the least 3 times a 12 months outside of church, up from 38% the 12 months before.

Among Gen Z, Scripture engagement jumped from 11% to fifteen%, and amongst millennials, from 12% to 17%.

Notably, Bible use amongst men grew by 19%, closing a long-standing gender gap.

While the findings are encouraging, Stevens sounded a note of caution as migration has contributed significantly to the church growth within the UK while the UK population itself has grown by nearly 2 million since 2018, highlighting the urgent need of “re-evangelising the indigenous population”.

Furthermore, he cautioned, “We need to keep in mind that churchgoing is just not similar to real Christian faith, and an increase in cultural Christianity, even when expressed more actively, is just not similar to a revival.”

Nonetheless, he believes the info points to a spiritual shift: “There does appear to be a recent move of God in Britain and a greater openness and response amongst young people, especially men.

“We can often make evangelism and church growth way more complex than it truly is and forget that it’s the work of the sovereign Spirit.”

After praising the Bible Society for its investment within the report, Steven concluded with a challenge to wish for a shift from a ‘quiet revival’ to a “mighty revival”.

“These signs of latest evangelical life within the UK are an encouragement for us to have faith within the Gospel and to persevere in Gospel ministry,” he said.