The evidence is clear that the younger generations, especially men, are increasingly looking to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus to find meaning and purpose in their lives — and their emotional reaction to Charlie Kirk’s murder makes that hunger for truth even more undeniable.
For decades, the story of the Church in the West has been one of empty pews and fading influence. Yet in the middle of the decline, God is stirring a new generation to look upward.
We have been told that church attendance is dropping, the number or religious “nones” is climbing, and men are completely checking out of all things faith-related.
Turns out, though, that Gen Z and Millennials — the generations thought to be the most committed to the ideologies of “tolerance” and “resistance” than to faith — are the ones driving a renewed interest in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus.
The Numbers
There are many important sets of data showing that the youngest generations of adults are growing to be more interested in Christ than older generations.
Take church attendance, for instance. According to Barna Research Group, church attendance in the U.S. among Gen Z and Millennials is the highest it has ever been, even surpassing older generations.
The growth is more precipitous in the U.K. From 2018 to 2024, the percentage of people attending church monthly in England, Scotland, and Wales increased by four percent, but church attendance among Gen Z men increased by five times that number, according to a report titled “The Quiet Revival” conducted by the Bible Society.
Report author Dr. Rhiannon McAleer stated that the findings reverse the belief that “the Church in England and Wales is in terminal decline,” noting that “2 million more people [are] attending church” than in 2018.
But it’s not just that young people are returning to church — Bible sales are now skyrocketing in the U.S. and the U.K.
In 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported a 22 percent increase in annual Bible sales in the U.S., while Bible sales nearly doubled from £2.69 million to £5.02 million in the U.K. between 2019 and 2024.
And these new buyers aren’t just purchasing the Bible — they’re reading it.
From 2024 to 2025, the State of the Bible Report found an expansion in the number of people qualifying as Bible users, meaning that they read the Bible outside of church and on their own at least three times a year.
In 2024, Millennials were the least likely to be Bible users at 30 percent, but in 2025 that number had grown to 39 percent, overtaking Gen Z.
The number of people who have become Christians has also grown. Barna reports that 66 percent of Americans report having made a personal commitment to follow Jesus that impacts their daily life; that number is up from 54 percent in 2021, the lowest recorded percentage.
Gen Z and Millennials are driving this growth, particularly men.
From 2019 to 2025, the number of men making a commitment to Jesus grew by 15 percent for Gen Z and 19 percent for Millennials.
The Signs
You can see the winds of change blowing across the nation through revivals and worship events. For example, the Asbury revival, which started on February 8, 2023, as a scheduled Wednesday chapel service became a 16-day-long outpouring of continuous prayer, worship, and salvation.
Later that same year, thousands of students attended a worship service at Auburn University called Unite Auburn, and after one student asked to be baptized in a nearby lake, hundreds more made professions of faith and were also baptized.
Here, at Liberty University, students have held worship and prayer events like the 24-hour prayer service last year where so many students attended that they overflowed from the prayer chapel and remained standing outside in freezing temperatures.
Perhaps the most high-profile sign of this change has been the growth of athletes talking about their faith.
For example, New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields says he is “low-key addicted to getting in my Bible each and every day”, and encourages others to read God’s Word, “start[ing] in Proverbs and move on from there”.
He’s not alone.
Earlier this month, members of Ohio State University’s football team led a worship service for more than 1,000 students on campus. This follows a revival on campus led by football players in 2024.
Last year’s College Football Playoff was filled with expressions of faith in Christ by players from competing teams.
And as I wrote last year, players in Major League Baseball are vocally standing up and promoting faith nights at ballparks, and there appears to be a growth of players reading the Bible.
It seems players, coaches, and media members are also using their platforms to talk about Jesus, something a majority of sports fans say they support.
The Why
So, what’s driving Gen Z and Millennials to look to the Bible and to Jesus?
Firstly, it is God, who draws us to Himself.
Secondarily it is the anxiety within and the chaos without.
It is well-documented that Gen Z and Millennials suffer from a crisis of mental health problems. Anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation are rampant among the youngest generations of Americans. Electronic devices and social media have made sure that in their formative years, Gen Z and Millennials were ever inundated with reports of violence, crisis, and apocalyptic warnings.
In fact, while reading articles and studies on Gen Z and Millennials’ sudden and sharp turn towards Christ, one word kept popping up: anxiety.
So young people are turning to Christ because He offers them the one thing that no one else can: peace.
And that reality is borne out statistically. People who pray and attend church report far lower rates of anxiety and depression and far higher satisfaction in life.
The Bible is filled with promises of God’s faithfulness and the peace He offers.
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NASB1995).
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).
Gen Z and Millennials are searching for answers and for help through their confusion, pain, and fear.
And to find those answers, they are increasingly looking to Jesus.
The Challenges
This change is encouraging, but it’s important to note the challenges that Gen Z and Millennials are still facing.
While the percentage of people reading the Bible and attending church is growing, it is still a small minority. Those under 40 continue to show a penchant for harmful ideologies that oppose Christianity.
For example, depending on the poll, 50 to 60 percent of those under 30 favor socialism and more than half support confiscating “excess wealth.”
In the last 10 years, there has been a 422 percent increase in 18 to 24 year olds who identify as transgender, while 22.3 percent of Gen Z identifies as LGBTQ+. That number is even higher among women, as 28.5 percent of Gen Z women say they are LGBTQ+ compared to 10.8 percent of Gen Z men.
And therein lies another of Gen Z and Millennial’s ideological challenges: a dramatic rift between men and women. Polling shows that young males are becoming far more conservative, while young females are becoming much more liberal. This change impacts more than just voting or policy preferences but also how they feel about faith, marriage, and children.
Unfortunately, while the “Spiritual Generation” is hungry for answers, it doesn’t mean they are getting fed right.
According to the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, just one percent of adults under the age of 30 and three percent of those under 40 have a biblical worldview.
Gen Z and Millennials need more than just generic spirituality — they need sound doctrine and discipleship.
There is one more challenge to discuss before I end this article. While in the midst of researching and writing this article about the movement of God in young people, Charlie Kirk, one of the world’s leading evangelists to college students, was assassinated.
Charlie Kirk was famous for engaging with young people in civil discourse with eloquence, wit, and kindness. He taught young people about faith, doctrine, politics, and reason. He told them that making the decision to turn away from sin and follow Jesus Christ would actually make their lives better, more fulfilled, more meaningful, and more joyous than any of the other ideologies and pursuits they might embrace.
His effectiveness as an evangelist and truth-teller is also why he was murdered in front of the whole world.
Sadly, older generations have not maintained America’s heritage of faith and because of that our nation is now one that is filled with hatred of Christianity and Christians.
It is hardly a new challenge — Christ promised that just as the world hated Him, it would also hate His followers (John 15:18).
However, it is a new challenge in the U.S., especially for Gen Z and Millennials. If they make a public statement about their faith, they face potential backlash — not just in the form of hateful speech or a mocking professor but violence.
The scores of depraved individuals celebrating Kirk’s death and the slander of anyone who shares his beliefs by the media, politicians, and even regular people tells you everything you need to know about the situation young Christians face.
After his death, I thought about just giving up on this article, but then I realized that the growth of young people looking to Christ is a major part of Charlie Kirk’s legacy.
This is what he strived for: to awaken the youngest generations to the truth.
As Christians, we must now pick up the baton from Charlie Kirk and carry forward the mission handed down in the Great Commission modeled by the apostles.
That means more than simply encouraging young people to be “spiritual.” We must proclaim the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, calling them to repentance, faith, and obedience to God’s Word. And we must walk with them as disciples, knowing the road of faith is narrow, often costly, and never easy. But it is the only road that leads to life, and it’s always worth it.
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