Vibrant pews, empty seats: The paradox of America’s Revival 

Roughly eighty million Americans believe that a spiritual revival will soon come to the United States. But what would revival look like today? Is that even the right question to ask? Fortunately, we can look to past examples for help. 

Why it matters: While there’s reason to believe the encouraging anecdotes and stories of faith reflect reality, the statistics are a bit murky as to what that reality actually looks like. Understanding why so many people are giving God another chance—particularly among younger generations—is crucial to doing our part to help them know the Lord. 

The backstory: Scorched by the world

As Dr. Jim Denison noted in a recent Daily Article, roughly eighty million Americans—particularly younger Americans—believe that a spiritual revival will soon come to the United States. Are they right? Is America experiencing the first steps toward awakening, or are we mistaking trends and anecdotes for genuine change? 

The answer depends largely on who you ask. 

The latest polls show that most key measures of religiousness are holding steady rather than moving in either direction. Moreover, that stability has been around for the better part of five years, so it hardly explains the vibe shift—particularly among Gen Z and young men—that seems indicative of a more substantive change. 

After all, younger adults are now the most faithful churchgoers of any generation. Moreover, young men are now just as likely to be religious as their female counterparts. This also marks an important shift from previous generations, in which women were more likely than men to attend church and practice their faith. 

But while the data is encouraging, the same age group of late teens to early twenties is still less religious than their counterparts were in previous studies from 2007 and 2014. And the basic math still points to the possibility that at least some will prove to be like the seed that was scorched by the sun and withered before the roots could really grow deep (Matthew 13:5–6). 

It’s a bit ironic, then, that the greatest reason for hope is the fact that so many are giving God a chance because they’ve already been scorched by the world.

“Secularism let them down”

When asked why they believe revival may be coming soon, more than 40 percent of Gen Z cited mental health challenges, with 35 percent pointing to anxiety. As that Barna study described:

Younger generations appear to be looking to faith not only as a source of spiritual meaning but as an answer to the instability and isolation many have experienced coming of age in an era of pandemic, political fracture, and social disconnection.

By contrast, older adults pointed to more traditional explanations, such as young people being saved, a search for meaning and purpose, and prayer. Now, to be clear, those are not mutually exclusive reasons. But the differences do point to a heightened sense of desperation among young people. 

John Stonestreet spoke to that reality when he appeared on the Faith & Clarity podcast last fall, describing how the “rise of the nones” twenty years ago was precipitated by the belief that the church had let them down. By contrast, he noted that we now “have a whole bunch of young people going back to church talking about how secularism let them down.”

In short, many among the younger generation watched their parents try and fail to fill the God-shaped hole in their lives with something else, and they’re willing to give Christianity another shot. And while everyone is ultimately responsible for their own faith, the failures of the past cost the kingdom the better part of a generation. Will God’s people do better this time? 

It’s crucial that we try.

As David Kinnaman, the CEO of Barna, noted, “When a generation turns toward faith not out of tradition or habit but out of a genuine drive for something deeper—stemming from anxiety, isolation, and disruption—the Church’s response to that search may prove more consequential than any single cultural trend.”

So how can we make sure that we’re responding well?

Lessons from the First Great Awakening

I’ve been thinking a lot about revival lately, particularly in the wake of watching the new film, “A Great Awakening.” In the years leading up to the First Great Awakening, the Enlightenment had led to the marginalization of religion in many parts of the colonies and England. Moreover, the clergy was seen as catering to the upper classes, with little interest in helping the common people encounter a genuine presentation of the gospel (the film portrays this reality well). 

As a result, when George Whitefield, John Wesley, and others were willing to step outside the conventional religious practices of their day to meet the people where their need was greatest, it made a profound, New Testament-style impact on the crowds to whom they preached. Part of what made these famous preachers so successful, though, was that the harvest had already been planted by other revival-minded ministers whose names are largely lost to history.

You see, at least in the colonies, Whitefield and Wesley were simply the catalysts that tied several pre-existing reform movements together and guided them toward becoming something more. The Holy Spirit was already at work, preparing the hearts and minds of the people to respond to the gospel once they heard it. 

Their sermons reflect that reality as well, with the constant emphasis on the necessity of individual repentance and faith. If these revival preachers had been trying to save a nation, they would have failed. Instead, they succeeded because they were more focused on saving whoever was in front of them on a given day. 

And there’s an important lesson in that approach for us as well.

Spiritual application: Just do your part

In one of Christ’s more famous parables, he tells the religious leaders a story about a man who had a hundred sheep but had lost one of them. In the parable, he leaves the ninety-nine to go in search of the one and rejoices with his friends and neighbors after he finds it (Luke 15:1–7). The purpose of the story was to help them understand how heaven rejoices over every lost soul that finds salvation in the Lord.  

The scribes and Pharisees were so focused on saving Israel from falling back into sin and judgment that they largely neglected the individuals who sat in their synagogues. By contrast, Jesus came to seek out the lost and share the good news of salvation with the people he met along the way. While he frequently attracted a crowd, you never really get the sense that he lost sight of the individuals within the masses. 

And, as we consider the sense of community, purpose, and stability that the younger generations are seeking from the church today, it’s vital that we do the same. 

So, is America experiencing a revival? I don’t know and, honestly, I’m not really sure if that’s the right question to ask.

Every period of genuine, culture-wide Awakening in the past has resulted from individuals and individual communities embracing salvation in Jesus. And it usually only looks like a revival in retrospect. In the moment, the men and women history has shown to be most responsible were simply worried about helping the next lost person in the crowd come to Christ. 

So, while there’s nothing wrong with looking at the data and following the trends to see where the Spirit might be leading, our job doesn’t change regardless of where the numbers point. Our Lord has called us to go and make disciples, with the promise that he will be with us always as we do (Matthew 28:16–20). And if we want to see awakening come to America, each of us has to do our part by taking the gospel to the people God has brought along our path. 

Let’s start today. 

God is good

Christians in Nigeria have faced intense persecution from Boko Haram, the Fulani Herdsmen, and others. While the government has taken steps to increase security in recent months—including a police directive calling for a “massive security deployment” for Easter—an attack on two churches in Ariko village, part of northwestern Kaduna state, on Sunday left at least five dead and many more taken hostage. Good news came on Monday, though, as the Nigerian army rescued 31 civilians who were taken during the attack. 

Kingdom impact

News of ongoing persecution, particularly when attempts to prevent it prove unsuccessful, can be demoralizing to say the least. But while no government intervention will bring back the lives lost during Sunday’s attacks, that just makes it all the more important to celebrate when lives are saved as well. So, as our brothers and sisters in Christ balance grief and joy in the wake of this rescue, may their story be a reminder to pray for their safety and for their witness even after Nigeria fades from the headlines again.

Prayer point

Please pray that God will help his people to grieve well as they mourn those who died. Please pray that he will help those who were captured to heal from what they experienced. And please pray that the Christians in Ariko will have the courage and divine protection needed to gather in worship again this Sunday. 

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