The mainstream media coverage of growing Bible sales and Gen Zers returning to church has continued apace in 2026, says Lani Charlwood of Christians in Media. It’s right we celebrate what God has done – and continue to tell the story of his goodness that more might be won for him
It is somewhat hard to believe that Bible Society coined the phrase “quiet revival” only nine months ago.
Then, following a flurry of research, anecdotal evidence and excited reporting, a second narrative quickly emerged: perhaps it wasn’t really quiet at all. Leaders were talking about it. Churches were seeing it. It felt obvious, visible – loud, almost.
Of course, Christian journalists and media outlets were first to the news but, soon, mainstream news channels and national broadsheets followed.
And then, just as it always does, the media cycle moved on. What had once felt remarkable became familiar, then assumed. Not because it had stopped happening, but because it had slipped into the background and become old news.
But as we began 2026, the stories have surfaced again; this time with increased Bible sales forming the epicenter of reporting from The Times, The Telegraph and Sky News, among others. The tone is different this time. Less breathless, more curious. Less sensational, more intrigued.
A significant rise in Bible sales suggest that last year’s Quiet Revival was more than just a passing fad. And if something deeper is at work, what is driving this not-so-quiet return to spirituality?
Rumours of war
Most of us are too young to remember the second world war, but history shows that in 1940, amid global chaos, King George VI called for a national day of prayer. The nation turned towards God, and a great rescue followed.
Scripture, too, tells this story repeatedly: when the world shakes, people look up. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that a global pandemic - the most unifying and disorientating event of our generation – has left a spiritual mark.
These things are not accidental. They are not imaginary - and they are not ours to gloss over
For many, it appears to have been a catalyst rather than a cause. It arrived against a backdrop of already rising levels of anxiety, a mental health crisis among young people, unprecedented immersion in digital life and, now, a world once again marked by war and political instability.
When uncertainty, overload and fear threaten to unmoor us, where else do we turn but to our creator, the one whose perfect love alone can cast out fear?
Stories of hope
Telling the story of what God is doing is not a new commission. Believers have been telling God’s story for millennia. The Christian media has long shared testimonies, traced God’s hand in the world and offered faithful perspectives when few others would listen.
But now, as spirituality re-emerges into the public square, the wider media has taken notice too. Whatever lens they use, this is news and it is something to celebrate.
Scripture leaves little ambiguity about our responsibility in moments like this. God’s people are repeatedly urged to speak aloud what he has done. “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story” (Psalm 107:2). Faith is passed on, as “one generation commends your works to another” (Psalm 145:4).
This is why God’s acts must never be taken for granted: “things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us…we will not hide them from their descendants” (Psalm 78:3–4). Faith is sustained not by silence, but by shared memory.
Remembrance revived
We are entrusted not only to tell God’s story today, but to remember God’s stories throughout time. Richard Gamble’s book Remember (SPCK) explores how prayer itself is shaped by memory; how recalling who God is and what he has done strengthens our confidence that he will do it again.
In Joshua 4, God instructs his people to set up stones of remembrance. “In the future, when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’”
These monuments were never about nostalgia, nor about pausing briefly before moving on. They were prompts. Visible, unavoidable, lasting reminders of a God who breaks into history and brings his purposes to pass.
When uncertainty, overload and fear threaten to unmoor us, where else do we turn but to our creator?
Light is breaking through the darkness of our world. Young people are walking into churches having dreamed dreams of God, bought Bibles online or had their curiosity piqued by reels on social media.
More than that, people of every generation are turning again to the Church, searching for something deeper and more lasting than the fleeting satisfactions of our age. These things are not accidental. They are not imaginary - and they are not ours to gloss over.
Our calling is simple and it is urgent: to keep telling the stories. As the old hymn so beautifully puts it: “Yes, I’ll sing the wondrous story / Of the Christ who died for me / Sing it with the saints in glory / Gathered by the crystal sea”.
May we sing it now - clearly, faithfully and without growing numb to the wonder of what God is doing in our midst.
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