The Quiet Non-Revival – Christian Today

Almost a 12 months ago the Church thought it was being supplied with concrete evidence of what a few of us are seeing – a change in culture and a more responsive openness to the gospel.  

The Bible Society published “The Quiet Revival: Gen Z leads rise in church attendance”. It used YouGov polling to report monthly church attendance rising from 8% of adults in 2018 to 12% in 2024, with men aged 18-24 jumping from 4% to over 20%. The findings suggested a “quiet revival” reversing a long time of decline, and it caused a little bit of a response – although to be fair the reactions varied – often depending on the presuppositions and desires of the people reacting. Some were triumphalistic, seeing this as evidence of the best revival in human history. Some went completely the alternative, regarding it as ‘fake news’ – all smoke and mirrors. 

Yours truly, while hoping it was true, had his doubts and expressed them in this text on Christian Today. I even have to confess that I used to be quite shocked by the vehement response from some to the article. It seems that the argumentative methodology of social media has now develop into fairly mainstream – you might be either totally for something or totally against it.  

In that original article I argued that the Quiet Revival was not quiet. Now it seems that it was not even a revival. I wrote: “What in regards to the endlessly repeated assertion that church attendance is up by over 50%? It’s just not true. The reality is that 2,000 people out of 13,000 stated in a survey that they went to church a minimum of once a month. This is higher than the previous survey, but it surely doesn’t prove a 50% increase in attendance.” 

This week the pollsters, YouGov, after some intense scrutiny and questioning admitted that their methodology was, to say the least, flawed. People could respond from outwith the country; they may answer the survey multiple times and complete it too quickly and inattentively. There were other serious flaws – which a few of us who had been involved in YouGov surveys before were well aware of.  

The Bible Society are to be commended for therefore quickly retracting the report when YouGov admitted their methodology was false – and for informing the broader world that this was the case. It must also be acknowledged that the Bible Society had asked YouGov to examine their quality control and the information that they had received. 

For those of us who had doubts, I don’t think that it is a time for an ‘I told you so’ attitude, far less a time to have interaction in ‘schadenfreude’ (enjoyment of the misery of others)! But equally there are lessons to be learned for the broader church.  

The biggest by far is that we are only far too worldly. By that I mean we too often use the methods and arguments of the world. In the West today we’re governed by opinion pollsters.  I’m fed up being told what the Scottish, English, American, Australian people want – based on opinion polls. Our politicians appear to have an inability to control without opinion polls. The perceptive and sometimes prophetic Yes Minister explained how opinion polls may be used to only reflect the opinions that the pollsters want.

How the world governs itself is maybe not the church’s business. How the church governs itself is. We don’t do church doctrine by opinion poll – or a minimum of we’d hope that just isn’t the case – although I even have had it put to me that I should change or tone down a few of my biblical teaching because ‘young people won’t prefer it’. But how do they know that young people won’t prefer it? Opinion polls. 

But it just isn’t a lot in the realm of doctrine but fairly missiology and ecclesiology that I fear the Church is more liable to worldly temptations – of which being guided, encouraged or discouraged by opinion polls is only one. In terms of ecclesiology (how we do church) the church has been at risk of becoming far too corporate and managerialist. In terms of missiology, we’ve been equally too liable to use the most recent sociological theories and the fundraising techniques of the promoting industry. There is just one thing that sells higher than stoking fear, and that’s creating false hope.  

I remember raising funds for a youth employee at one point and I used to be told by the missions’ pastor of the big church I used to be asking for funds from, that I had to actually sell it. By which he meant promise the following reformation, revival, and provides them a figure for the way many converts – because that’s what the massive funders want. And if getting a giant funder is difficult enough, getting one that doesn’t hold to the adage “he who pays the piper calls the tune” is virtually inconceivable – although miracles do occur! 

I feel that there are two other big temptations here. Firstly, it’s human nature to need to know what is occurring. That helps us feel a little bit more on top of things. But biblically we cannot know what is occurring … only the Lord knows those that are his (2 Timothy 2:19). We can sow the seed, but only God could make it grow (1 Corinthians 3:6).  

Secondly, we actually, actually need success. By success I don’t mean rejoicing in those that are converted and delivered to Christ, but fairly rejoicing since it has been our ministry that has resulted on this (which takes us back again to the danger of getting ministries funded by donors who want some bang for his or her buck!). In the Christian subculture – identical to the secular culture – there’s loads of competition. 

So just as a political party will often talk up the fear of the opposite, and the actual hope that they, they usually alone can bring (‘hope not hate’ anyone?), so within the church we’re sometimes liable to grasp at anything which we will use to supply hope (or conversely create fear). 

I stress again that I don’t think the Bible Society were doing this. They were passing on, in good faith, information that they had been given. But I do think they were a bit naïve and unquestioning. The irony is that I’m pretty certain (as are many other commentators) that there was a minimum of a cultural shift towards Christianity – especially amongst certain groups – but it surely just isn’t yet revival, and it will probably just as easily shift away.  

Meanwhile the church will, or should, take its encouragement that the Lord Jesus will construct his church and the gates of hell won’t prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). That, as we sow the seed of the Word, we all know it would not return to the Lord empty (Isaiah 55:11) and that at the top of time, when all of the kingdoms and powers of this world have faded away, there might be an awesome number in heaven from every nation, tribe, people and language, that nobody can count (Rev 7:9). So, let’s proceed to work while it remains to be day – for the night comes when nobody can work (John 9:4). 

David Robertson is the previous minister of St Peters Free Church in Dundee and a former Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland. He is currently the minister of Scots Kirk Presbyterian Church in Newcastle, New South Wales, and blogs at The Wee Flea.