Throngs of praise: Gen Z's embrace of Christian cool

As a new report suggests the number of young churchgoers has quadrupled in a spiritual revival, Helen Coffey asks why the next generation is more likely to be keeping the faith

- Helen Coffey

It's 10am on Sunday, and people are already starting to filter through the doors of Harbour Church. Sun streams through the windows there's an air of anticipation as congregation members greet each other and catch up on the week just gone. Soon, the room is filling up, the sound of gentle chatter swelling as the throng grows and people take their seats. The five-piece worship band strikes up; the crowd gets to its feet; the air vibrates as more than a hundred voices sing praises to God.

There’s no special occasion to pin the numbers on – it’s not Christmas or Easter on this particular Sunday, nor is there a wedding dress, christening gown or coffin in sight. It’s just a regular, run-of-the-mill service at this church in Folkestone, Kent.

It was a different story 25 years ago when church leaders Sarah and Gareth arrived. Back then, 15 people would show up on a Sunday morning; these days, there are somewhere between 150 and 180 attendees every single week. This, in itself, feels a miraculous feat amid a wider trend that has seen Christianity in modern Britain stuck on a constant downward trajectory. But perhaps the most surprising thing of all is the number of young people who are going against the secular grain. Looking around on a Sunday morning, the demographics are wildly different from the expected cluster of silver-haired worshippers – instead, there’s a diverse spectrum comprised of teenagers, young adults and extended families with toddlers and kids zooming around, as well as people in their thirties, forties and every decade beyond.