Did I just watch revival in the UK begin?

Amid claims that Gen Z is increasingly turning to spirituality, AJ Gomez reports from a HowToLife event in London. There, he saw hundreds of young Christians gathered to worship, share testimonies and engage with the call for spiritual renewal in their nation

You may find this peculiar, but today in church, I realised that testimonies of God working in people’s lives scratch the same itch on my brain that is appeased by a heart-throbbing thriller or an engrossing novel. As the mic passes from pastor to testifier, whatever held my attention prior is compulsorily eclipsed by the wild account of Jesus’ transformative work before me.

I largely attribute this deep affinity for hearing people’s testimony to the fact I feel as though I don’t really have one of my own — or at least not biopic worthy kind that provides details that will drop your jaw. It’s that all too human tendency to deeply desire what we don’t have.

In recent years, I’ve found myself watching more testimonies on YouTube — a shift induced by feeling convicted the content I was consuming didn’t draw me closer to God. In its place, I discovered stories of wild encounters with Jesus during psychedelic trips and tales of men who journeyed from demonic encounters to ultimately finding truth in Jesus.

I know God has been good to me, yet I can’t deny I’ve sometimes felt because my testimony wouldn’t depict the drama of a Saul-to-Paul transformation I’ve seen in others, it must not really be a testimony at all.