#117. Cultural Shift or Spiritual Revival

And How To Make The Quiet Revival Last

A few weeks ago, our ACTS 11 team hosted a webinar on the subject of faith transmission between generations in the diaspora. It was one of those conversations that made me realise the significance of the issues we wrestle with in the Project. We had quite a few people talk briefly about a research project that we carried out in partnership with St Peter's Saltley Trust, Missio Africanus, Church Mission Society, University of Roehampton, and Durham University. Here is a short excerpt from the presentation.

One of our volunteer staff, Angelina Quamina reflected on it briefly on her recent ACTS 11 newsletter here.

John Root attended the webinar and went on to write about it on his newsletter. It is a very thoughtful and critical piece. It is well worth the few minutes you will spend on it.

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A Thought I Can’t Shake Off

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This is my third reflection on the quiet revival. If you have followed my thoughts so far, you will know that I believe revivals do happen—largely because I have seen one myself. Revival is not just an abstract theological idea for me; it is something I have witnessed up close, where God stirs hearts, awakens prayer, brings repentance, and draws people into mission. Because of this, I am watching the current moment with a cautious hope, praying that what we are seeing may be the early signs of something deeper God is doing.

I am cautious because it looks different. When people talk about it, there is often an emphasis on what they describe as a cultural shift (generally speaking, across the Western world)—a slow but noticeable openness to religion. Many have observed that people who were once dismissive of religion are now more curious, willing to ask questions, or at least less hostile towards Christianity, Islam, and other religions. Christians have optimisitcally called if it a revival. Some describe this as a hunger for meaning, a disillusionment with secular narratives, or a longing for community in an age of loneliness. But I find myself asking: is it simply that—a cultural shift—or is there something deeper happening beneath the surface?

Cultures, in general, are shaped by deep spiritual forces and longings. In many African communities, for example, religion and culture are so closely woven together that they cannot easily be separated. Worship and daily life flow naturally into one another, with faith permeating every aspect of community life. This makes me wonder whether, in Western contexts, we often describe what is happening as “cultural change” because our language—and perhaps our collective imagination—struggles to recognise and articulate the movements of the Holy Spirit. Could it be that we speak of a cultural shift simply because we lack the theological vision and spiritual discernment to see and name what God is doing in our midst? Whatever it is, I wonder is the Christian community itself in the UK can handle a revival. (Historically, spiritually hungry people have not thought of the church as a place to find what they need).

This question of cultural or spiritual shift matters deeply. If what we are witnessing is only a cultural shift, as some suggest, it will remain only until the next wave of cultural change moves it aside. Trends rise and fall, and today’s curiosity about spirituality may be replaced tomorrow by new distractions or ideologies. If that is the case, then the opportunities presented in this moment are fragile and temporary, and the church must respond with urgency while the door remains open.

However, even if this moment is primarily a cultural shift, Christians can still engage it faithfully. Cultural openness can become fertile ground for mission and witness if the church is prepared to meet people where they are with humility and courage. But we cannot settle for merely riding a wave of curiosity about spirituality, assuming it will automatically translate into deeper spiritual renewal. To truly participate in what God may be doing, we need to translate this cultural moment into a spiritual one.

This requires prayerful attentiveness and theological imagination. It calls us to ask God to open our eyes to where His Spirit is moving in our neighbourhoods, workplaces, and cities. It challenges us to equip the church to engage spiritual hunger with depth, offering more than shallow religious answers and instead inviting people into transformative encounters with Jesus. It requires us to create communities where questions are welcomed, where faith can be explored honestly, and where seekers can discover God’s love in tangible, relational ways.

If we can do this, what appears to be merely a cultural shift may become, by God’s grace, a genuine spiritual awakening. The quiet revival we sense might grow into a movement that transforms lives, churches, and communities, leaving a lasting legacy of faith. But this will only happen if we, as the church, are willing to move beyond observation into participation—praying, listening, discerning, and acting in alignment with what God is doing in this moment.

It is also important to remember that the Spirit often moves quietly, beneath the noise of culture, politics, and trends. Revival does not always announce itself with grand gestures. It often begins in the hidden places of prayer, in the quiet conversations over coffee, in small acts of faithfulness, and in the persistent hope of God’s people. Our calling is to be attentive to these small signs, to celebrate them, and to nurture them with prayer and obedience.

Whether this moment is a temporary cultural openness or the early signs of revival, our task remains the same: to faithfully follow Jesus, to love our neighbours, and to share the hope of the gospel with humility and boldness. We do not control revival, but we can prepare for it. We can pray for it. We can posture ourselves and our churches to be ready to receive the harvest that God may bring.

My prayer is that we will not miss what God is doing because we are only watching cultural patterns without seeking spiritual depth. May we have the eyes to see the quiet revival unfolding around us and the courage to join God in His work, allowing this moment to become more than a cultural shift—a season of genuine spiritual renewal that points to the presence and power of God in our world.