The Spiritual Temperature is Rising
Many will have read the recent ‘Quiet Revival’ report from the Bible Society, and the subsequent articles in the Christian and secular press about a spiritual ‘awakening’ in Gen Z. We are beginning to see the first flickers of a new move of the Holy Spirit across our nation – what a time to be part of what God is doing through His church!
In our own Network, we’ve been hearing many stories of people with no previous experience of church coming in through the doors - with packed Easter services, and hundreds of men and women, young and old, coming to faith in Jesus and being baptised. Stories of transformation, healings, and dramatic answers to prayer have not just been trickling through but flooding in!
“...There isn't a clever strategy or anything. It's like God is just doing something and bringing people.”
Senior Leader, London
The temperature is rising
“...We've been praying for this for so long and it feels like it's actually happening.”
On a recent Zoom call, leaders in the HTB Network shared some of their stories of God on the move in new and powerful ways. The spiritual temperature is rising, and some leaders who had previously felt despondent and burnt out are feeling a new sense of excitement, joy, anticipation, and hope, as they see the remarkable ways God has been bringing people through their doors.
One church leader said, ‘On Easter Sunday we had 19 baptisms of people from the local area, and the majority of them young men, which was really exciting.’
Another shared, ‘...A 14-year-old boy emailed in, and just said, “none of my family are Christians, no one goes to church, but I pray each night, can I come to your church? Can I have a Bible?”’
At SAINT church in East London where they hold a joint monthly prayer gathering with nearby churches, Imprint and KXC, they have seen an incredible growth in their prayer gatherings.
“...we opened the door on Friday and normally you have a little bit of a queue but this time... half an hour before the doors open, there’s a queue all the way around the church yard. And then when we come to actually open the doors, they're like five deep all the way to the main road... the queue gets longer and longer till it's blocking the main road. So literally in the end we had over 1,300 - we were expecting 600!”
We need to get ready
Part of our mission at Revitalise Trust is to equip church leaders for the different contexts in which they serve and empower them for effective, sustainable church leadership. Never has this been a more important calling for us. The fields are ripe for harvest and we need to be ready to welcome those who are seeking God and looking for answers.
It’s an exciting time for the Church - let’s continue to cry out to Him to sweep across our nation - we long to see broken lives healed and restored, and our churches filled with people worshipping Jesus!