For years, demographers and Christian commentators and podcasters have lamented the demise of the American church, postulating that the church was “going the way of the European church”. And for years, I have disagreed with them, though the statistics have reinforced their narrative. US church attendance has been in decline for two decades. US Bible reading has been in decline for well over a decade. But that is changing….
The decline in church attendance has been primarily in the mainstream denominations, especially in the less Biblical, more political focused church movements. My observation was that among US churches focused on proclaiming Jesus Christ and holding the Word of God in high esteem, growth continued, despite the cultural headwinds. It has felt more to me a skimming away the dross of cultural church attendance to refine the American church to a core of actual believers. Practically speaking, what has happened in the US church has helped clearly delineate actual believers from those who still need a relationship with Jesus.
So let me both encourage you and challenge you with some startling new demographics from Barna, which you can read here: https://www.barna.com/trends/bible-reading-trends/ US Bible reading has spiked from 30% of adults in 2024 to 42% in 2025. This remarkable shift crosses all generations but is being primarily driven by young adults. Half of Millennial and Gen Z’ers are reading their Bibles! And more men are reading their Bibles than women, which is a complete change in demographics going back decades. Correspondingly, church attendance is on the rise in the US, driven by the next generation. That’s the encouragement. Here comes the challenge.
Reading a Bible does not automatically confer belief. It is merely the start of a process, which can be a very long process for some. And many next generation Bible readers are more attracted to the personhood of Jesus Christ than they are to the Christian church. Some of that perhaps is driven by cultural education they have received that the church is something to be avoided, but perhaps some of that perspective is earned as the church has not always reflected well the love of Jesus Christ. This generation grew up largely NOT attending church, but exploring Jesus is the best starting place.
This implies a steady spiritual movement toward Christ in our country rather than a sudden revival. This movement calls for a renewed effort to disciple people in their spiritual exploration and early faith. There is a 50% chance that a young couple down the street from you is reading a Bible but they may know little about His church and the basic tenants of faith. God is opening an enormous opportunity, but it requires us to share our own faith and become better disciplers.
I don’t have to explain to a group of Bible Givers what the implications of this movement toward Christ means for our Bible giving ministry. Our domestic Bible ministry is greatly needed right now. Last month, I shared our crazy plans to again double the number of Bibles IBG distributes in 2026 and asked you to pray for God to provide the $800K we need this year, as well the $8M we need over the next few years to deliver 1 million Bibles. In the past 4 weeks, God has provided through the generosity of his people almost one quarter of what we need for this year, through gifts or commitments, and I’ve really not even started fund-raising. God is moving. The Holy Spirit is moving. Keep praying for resource, for our ministry partners in hard places, and for continued renewal.
Give Hope! Give Life! Give Bibles!
Chuck Hayes