Last 12 months was awash with whispers of the ‘quiet revival’, a term coined in a Bible Society report that found church attendance was on the up, particularly amongst Gen Z. These reports of increased numbers of young people pulling up a pew for a Sunday service, are mirrored by SPCK Group’s findings that UK Bible sales reached their highest point ever in 2025, doubling since 2019.
As a publishing director at SPCK Group – The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in case you’re asking – it’s exciting to see more young people invested in spending their time in church and within the word of God. It’s natural that, when someone initially connects with the Christian faith, their first port of call on the bookshop will likely be a Bible. We hope that the identical growing community will turn to thought leaders and students within the Christian space to assist them unpick, understand and live out the word of God.
A component of equipping these church-goers well, is knowing what’s driving this desire to attach with God. A clever person recently said to me: “The answer is at all times Jesus, but what are the questions?” What are the questions which might be driving people to explore in church? What are the desires? What are the fears? There are many theories and I’m harbouring just a few of my very own.
Is this it?
Growing up within the social media age has given Gen Z easy accessibility to so many things that were previously prized and rare. They have the keys to demonstrable popularity in the shape of likes and followers – all they need is a little bit algorithm know-how. They could be higher looking than any previous generation – with every make-up tutorial and workout at their fingertips. They have all of the convenience, never needing to choose up an encyclopaedia to search out answers and even to walk to the chip shop to gather a takeaway. The world sits at the tip of their fingertips and yet it’s not enough.
Speaking as someone who (despite not being Gen Z) also has access to all of these items, I can confidently say that getting every thing you wish only serves to point out you that you just wanted the unsuitable things. It’s awful to fight for more followers, or a greater body or the next salary, only to grasp that the identical insecurities and anxieties plague the marginally more “successful” version of you too.
Perhaps in light of all of this achievement, persons are realising that they need to connect with something that isn’t all about themselves. Perhaps they’re seeing that the deeper sense of security and fulfilment that was promised by the world, can actually come from knowing Jesus. Maybe the generation that has every thing wants more – more real, more truthful, more consistent, more outward facing, more generous and more peaceful. More God-like.
Forgotten sins of the past
I went to college in 2007. I’m wondering if this spiritual thirst that was sweeping the nation at the moment, if people have gone to church to quench it. I think not. In my time people dabbled with Buddhism, generic mysticism or simply trained to be yoga instructors.
For me and people I grew up with, church and Christians were synonymous with judgement. We heard the stories of corporal punishment being enacted on our parents’ generation in church or in class. We knew in regards to the far-reaching pain and suffering brought on by the systemic child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. There was a person who stood at Oxford Circus all through the 2000s with a megaphone aggressively pointing at passersby to inform them they were sinners. To walk right into a church was to ask certain admonition.
The church has modified an enormous amount within the last twenty-odd years. This up-and-coming generation don’t carry the identical harmful memories or pre-conceived ideas of church. Some of their favourite footballers and musicians openly thank God. Increasingly, the Christians they arrive across major on demonstrating Jesus’ love, somewhat than threatening smiting for bad behaviour.
I discovered a message posted anonymously on X’s confessions account @fesshole that summed it up for me: “Recently began attending church again after 30 years. Forgotten how nice everyone seems to be. Plus all of the moralising judgemental preaching has gone. It’s an actual oasis within the week.”
They aren’t afraid of discipline
Despite the media continually lamenting the work-ethic of Gen-Z, I firmly imagine that they are usually not afraid of discipline – but only when it builds towards goals they’re keen about. This is the generation of the 5am club, the protein targets and Steven Bartlett’s The Diary Of A CEO. They know that consistency is more vital than intensity and might immediately explain to you the principles behind habit stacking.
This is why the Christian faith works for them. It guarantees huge rewards – not only heavenly but earthly too – for many who walk with Jesus. I don’t mean in a prosperity gospel way, I mean in the shape of spiritual gifts and fruits of the spirit. This peace, gentleness, self-control and others are things many strive for in their very own strength but God gives them in abundance. If a teenager is keen about growing closer to God and tastes these fruits, they may even be willing to place within the discipline and consistency required to grow in these items. A every day spiritual routine isn’t a chore, it’s a challenge that they need to embrace.
It’s not us
Finally, and possibly controversially – what if none of this has anything to do with our work? Sure, we will take a look at the social aspects, how perceptions of the church have modified and what they provide now, but what if God’s just calling and persons are listening? Maybe we’d be seeing the very same response with totally different social and political aspects at play. Maybe God’s just at work.
I’ve heard stories of individuals dreaming that they should go to church and showing up the subsequent day, and of individuals walking past church buildings and coming in to listen to the music. That’s not a preacher’s clever phrasing, or perhaps a well-timed carol concert invite. It’s God’s leg work. He’s on the market, telling people to are available in. Maybe we’ve just got to be ready, arms outstretched, to supply a warm welcome.
Lauren Windle is Publishing Director at SPCK.
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