Churches are seeing twice as many people committing to following Jesus Christ compared to five years ago, according to a latest research report called Changing Church just published by the Evangelical Alliance in the U.K. The findings reinforce related research disclosed recently in The Quiet Revival Report by the Bible Society showing young men especially are becoming Christians.
Danny Webster, Director of Advocacy for the U.K. Evangelical Alliance, commented in a news update that “more people are approaching churches and exploring the Christian faith—and in this area smaller churches are seeing salvation at a comparable rate to large churches.”
The research sought the views of 300 church leaders and nearly 1,000 church members across the country some five years since the COVID-19 pandemic challenged preconceptions on how to engage with church life.
“The last five years have significantly impacted the evangelical church in the UK,” Gavin Calver, Chief Executive Officer of the Evangelical Alliance said about the research.
“What I’m seeing as I travel around the country are churches that are adapting well to the landscape, serving their communities wholeheartedly and growing numerically as they confidently share the hope of Jesus with those around them.
“There’s an openness to the Christian faith, especially among young people, which is reflected in our new Changing Church report. The next few years may well be even more dramatic in this time of spiritual openness.”
The data showed average church attendance upsurging by 13 percent since January 2020, still considered an “underestimate of what’s happening across the UK,” by Webster.
Larger churches have grown at the same time as smaller churches shrunk, he said, meaning that “the overall attendance change across all the churches surveyed was 22%, with larger churches seeing significant growth disproportionately contributing to that number.”
Churches with 47 or less members dipped by 15 percent but a quarter of churches with more than 165 members grew by 21 percent.
The Evangelical Alliance had anticipated a decline in weekly church attendance, a trend now confirmed by data showing a drop from 90 percent in 2020 to 78 percent in 2025. However, most respondents who no longer attend weekly still participate in church gatherings about three times per month.
“The changes to church life we are witnessing are not evenly distributed, and beyond the findings of this research more is needed to understand how different denominations are faring, how churches in different parts of the country are growing or declining,” wrote Webster.
“What is clear is that in the UK people are coming to know Jesus as His good news is confidently shared. It is an encouragement for us to continue to follow Him, and help others come to know Him.”
See the full report here.
