Changes are happening across America and they are not all because of the radical America-first agenda being pursued by the politics of the White House of President Donald Trump.

The factors may interact but some are harder to explain than fights over tariffs, citizenship and illegal aliens and fraud.

For example, young people now are leading growing Christian church congregations on Sundays, and 2025 was the first time since Barna survey and research started tracking such activities that younger adults are attending church more often that seniors.

“Millennials and Gen Z Christians are attending church more frequently than before and much more often than are older generations. The typical Gen Z churchgoer now attends 1.9 weekend per month, while Millennial churchgoers average 1.8 times, a steady upward shift since the lows seen during the pandemic,” Barna’s recent report, cited by the Washington Stand, said.

“Not only are young people leading the growing congregations on Sunday morning, but 2025 is the first time ever since Barna first began tracking such activities that older people are not the most frequently seen people sitting in the church pews, the group found,” the report confirmed.

“These are easily the highest rates of church attendance among young Christians since they first hit Barna’s tracking,” Barna, which has been tracking church attendance since 1991, noted.

“This shift signals a new opportunity for ministry. Younger adults are showing spiritual curiosity and a desire for belonging, but even as they attend more often than older adults, they still attend less than half the time, so every touchpoint matters,” Barna observed.

Members of the Boomer generation, and the Elders, are attending only 1.6 weekends per month.

Leading the newcomers, apparently, are Gen Z men, the report suggested of the increase in interest in faith that has surged since COVID.

“According to Barna’s latest data, 66 percent of all U.S. adults say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important in their life today. That marks a 12-percent point increase since 2021, when commitment levels reached their lowest in more than three decades of Barna tracking,” Barna’s reports have noted.

“This shift is not only statistically significant, it may be the clearest indication of meaningful spiritual renewal in the United States. Commitment to Jesus was lowest in 2021 and 2022 when it bottomed out at 54 percent. Since then, the research shows a steady year-over-year increase in this key indicator,” Barna explained.

A recent impact was the assassination in September of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who delivered testimony of his Christian faith constantly.

His memorial was attended by President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and numerous other prominent political, media and entertainment figures. One hundred million people watched the broadcast.

Barna confirmed the impact of Kirk’s life and testimony has been continuing.

“His assassination … shocked the nation and sparked immediate questions about the intersection of politics, free speech, political violence and faith in American public life. Now a new Barna survey shows that Kirk’s death has prompted nearly three in ten Americans to take some form of action, with spiritual responses far outpacing political ones,” the analysis explained.

“Barna surveyed 5,003 U.S. adults roughly two months after Kirk’s death. While most Americans were familiar with Kirk before his passing, the data reveals his killing has sparked a wave of reflection and action, particularly among the younger generations he had worked to reach and among practicing Christians.”

The Stand report said, “Seventy-one percent of the respondents said they had taken no action since Kirk’s death, but among those who did, the vast majority of actions they took were spiritual in nature rather than political.”

Barna noted, “These responses were most pronounced among younger Americans and practicing Christians. Among Gen Z, 28 percent reported taking a spiritual action and 13 percent indicated taking a political action — proportions matched by Millennials.”

Bob Unruh

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is currently a news editor for the WND News Center, and also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially. Read more of Bob Unruh's articles here.