5 Signs America Is Already Experiencing Revival
Michael Foust
Audio By Carbonatix
By Michael Foust, Crosswalk.com
Church Attendance Is Up
Perhaps the most significant sign of a massive movement of God came last week when the Hartford Institute for Religion Research released new findings showing church attendance had increased for the first time in the 25-year history of its Faith Communities Today project. The report found median attendance climbed from 45 in 2021 to 70 in 2025, surpassing even pre-pandemic levels (65).
The encouraging trends in the Hartford study extended beyond attendance, with churches also reporting increases in new congregants, volunteer involvement, and overall congregational strength. Nearly 6 in 10 church leaders said their congregations are stronger today than they were before COVID, suggesting many churches have not only recovered but emerged healthier.
Bible Sales Are Up, Too
Bible sales surged in 2025, reaching record highs in both the United States and the United Kingdom as millions of people turned to Scripture, searching for hope and peace. In the United States alone, Americans purchased 19 million Bibles last year, marking a 21-year high and a 12 percent increase from 2024, according to Circana BookScan. The total was also double the pre-pandemic numbers in 2019. The momentum extended across the Atlantic, where Bible sales in the United Kingdom increased 134 percent from 2008 levels – the first year sales were tracked, according to Christian publisher SPCK.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/ skynesher
Bible-Based TV Series Are Big Hits
The Chosen was already a global sensation before these surveys emerged, but in hindsight, perhaps it was a leading indicator of America’s growing spiritual curiosity – or even part of what helped fuel it. Viewed by more than 300 million people across roughly 175 countries and setting a Guinness World Record as the most translated television series in history, its success is unprecedented for a Bible-based drama in the modern entertainment era.
The series climbed to No. 1 on Prime Video after its Season 5 debut while its lead actor, Jonathan Roumie, appeared on shows ranging from The View to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – to discuss, mind you, a project centered on the life of Christ.
But it’s not just The Chosen. House of David also became a major streaming hit, drawing audiences into a dramatized retelling of the Old Testament story of David.
Meanwhile, other projects are on the horizon.
5&2 Studios, the company behind The Chosen, is developing additional series focused on Joseph and the Book of Acts, while Wonder Project is preparing a new series centered on Moses titled The Old Stories: Moses.
The showrunner for a new Fox series about the women of the Bible – The Faithful – said The Chosen opened doors for other Bible series.
“The fact that it's even possible to have the conversation about doing a television show – a Bible television show – is only made possible because of the success of The Chosen,” showrunner Rene Echevarria said. “And House of David has sort of proven that that wasn't just a one-off. It created the possibility – just something that just didn't exist five years ago.”
Photo Credit: ©The Chosen
Interest in Jesus – and Religion – Is on the Rise
A 2025 survey from Barna found that belief in Jesus is rising in the United States, with 66 percent of U.S. adults saying they have made a personal commitment to Jesus that remains important in their lives today – marking a 12-point increase since 2022 and the highest level recorded by Barna since 2012. The increase has occurred steadily each year since the pandemic, suggesting many Americans may be searching for deeper meaning and spiritual stability in an uncertain culture. Younger generations are helping fuel the trend, with belief in Jesus reaching 67 percent among Gen Z men and 71 percent among Millennial men. Gallup data released this spring echoed the findings, showing that 42 percent of young men ages 18 to 29 now say religion is “very important” in their lives, nearly matching the modern-era high recorded after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Religious service attendance among young men also climbed to 40 percent, the highest level Gallup has recorded for that demographic since 2012–13. Although the rise is less dramatic among young women, church attendance among women ages 18 to 29 has still increased notably in recent years.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/mbolina
College Students Are Gathering by the Thousands … to Worship
It’s common nowadays to open your social media feed and see inspiring images of baptisms by college students. It’s become so familiar that it’s easy to forget: This simply was not happening on such a wide scale just a few years ago.
The catalyst for many of these stories has been the Unite US movement, which launched in the fall of 2023 at Auburn University and quickly spread to campuses nationwide. Notably, it emerged only months after the highly publicized revival at Asbury University in Wilmore, Ky., captured national attention with days of nonstop worship and prayer.
The Unite US gatherings have not slowed down since. More than 50,000 college students have packed venues across the country to worship Jesus, with thousands remaining afterward to publicly declare their faith through baptism.
But it’s not only Unite US. College athletes have helped fuel the movement, too, with football players at campuses such as Ohio State University, University of Alabama, and University of Pittsburgh organizing campus worship events and boldly proclaiming the name of Jesus – and urging fellow students to do the same.
Texas pastor Jonathan Pokluda is a frequent speaker for Unite US.
“Without a doubt,” Pokluda said last year, “we are in the midst of a spiritual awakening. I have no hesitation to say it’s a revival.”
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Unite US