EDITORIAL
Raise the Future | Rob Hoskins
I’ve spent my life studying the moves of God, witnessing them unfold in places like Nairobi, São Paulo, Singapore and Paris. In each of those moments, there was a sense of holy disruption, a stirring beneath the surface that signaled something new was breaking through.
Lately, I’ve started to feel that same stirring again. This time it’s coming from Gen Z. Could it be that Gen Z is not walking away from faith, but walking straight into revival?
It’s not polished or loud, but if you listen closely, from university chapels in the U.S. to underground house churches in the Middle East, you’ll hear it: a hunger for truth, a yearning for something real.
A Gen Z Awakening?
In 2023, the UK Bible Society’s study The Quiet Revival revealed a dramatic shift: monthly church attendance among 18- to 24-year-olds quadrupled from 4% in 2018 to 16% in 2024, with young men showing the most increase (4% to 21%). Additionally, 40% reported praying monthly, and 51% had engaged in spiritual practices within the past six months.
Let’s be honest, some broader trends don’t immediately paint a revival narrative. According to data from the United States found in the General Social Survey, Gen Z shows the highest percentage of young adults (ages 18–29) who say they never attend religious services at 38%, more than double that of boomers when they were the same age. Weekly attendance has declined steadily across generations: 25% of boomers, 23% of Gen X, and just 19% of both millennials and Gen Z reported attending church weekly at that age.
Some look at these numbers and see a church in decline. I see something else: a clarifying moment.
Cultural Christianity is fading. The middle ground—those who once went to church out of habit or obligation—is shrinking. What’s emerging is a sharper distinction between disengagement and authentic hunger. Fewer young people are going to church just to go, but those who are engaging are doing so with deeper intentionality and a longing for something real.
At OneHope, our Global Youth Culture research uncovered similar spiritual openness. Nearly half of U.S. members of Gen Z said they’d attend church if invited. More than half of teens worldwide say Jesus is worth studying or believe he’s the Son of God. Yet this openness exists alongside profound spiritual discontent.
Today’s teens want meaning and truth. We saw this during Asbury’s 2023 viral outpouring, where thousands flocked to a Kentucky campus, drawn not by celebrity speakers but by humble hunger for God’s presence. The response spread nationwide, echoing themes of repentance, authenticity and desire for something real.
I’ve witnessed this in thriving churches across Singapore, Paris and the United States, where visionary leaders empower Gen Z not just to attend, but to lead and shape their faith communities. These churches don’t ask Gen Z to show up; they invite them to take ownership. Altars are full. Lives are being changed.
But what makes this moment different?
Unlike previous revivals sparked from single locations, this potential awakening is decentralized and digitally connected—unfolding across continents through worship gatherings, dorm room surrenders and social media conversations. Gen Z is discovering faith on podcasts, in text threads, navigating belief in a pre-Christian culture where past assumptions no longer hold.
This revival isn’t looking for celebrity; it wants community. It’s not chasing emotional highs, but pursuing spiritual depth.