Changing the mission for young people

Sam Donoghue, Head of Children and Youth for the Diocese of London, reflects on the exciting findings of the latest research from Youth for Christ.

Youth for Christ has released the results of Z-A: Growing Spirituality, its third research project into young people (today’s 11–18s) in the UK’s openness to faith and perceptions of the church. It’s the latest report we’ve seen recently that points to a more positive outlook, following the likes of the Bible Society’s Quiet Revival.

Obviously, we cannot get too excited, the positive data around young people who say they are a Christian (35%) and who say they go to church regularly (8%) is yet to be reflected in the data that churches report, but that does not mean there are no signs of hope.

Some notable findings from Z-A: Growing Spirituality include:

48% of the young people asked said they believe in God, only 28% said they did not 

96% are open to the idea of a spiritual experience, and 19% say they have had one

In 2016, 56% of young people asked if they would be interested in finding out more about God said ‘no’. That number has dropped to 26% in 2025