Will Graham, the executive vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and grandson of the late evangelist Billy Graham, expressed his belief that young people are increasingly seeking faith and connection.
In a Monday interview on Sean Hannity’s radio show, with guest host Rose Tennent, she remarked, “there seems to be a great number of young people right now turning to God.” Graham agreed, referencing recent revival movements at colleges like Asbury University in Kentucky and Auburn University in Alabama.
Graham noted, “Some of these aren’t even Christian schools,” emphasizing that “most of these aren’t Christian schools, and that’s what’s really unique about this. This is where there’s just some Christians at school, praying that God would come to visit their school and to do a mighty work. And God’s been answering those prayers. And it’s still going on.”
He added, “And there are tens and tens of thousands of college kids coming to know Christ all around our country, and it’s just wonderful to see this taking place.”
According to a new study as part of Barna’s State of the Church 2025 initiative, “commitment to Jesus has risen sharply among young men especially,” with a jump of “15 percentage points between 2019 and 2025 among Gen Z men,” and “19 percentage points among millennials.”
Tennent recalled that over 60 students were baptized at Ohio State University during a campus service led by football players, and she pointed out that Bible sales have risen, especially among young people.
Graham commented, “Bibles are the number one seller in the world, and it’s an incredible book that changes lives, and we’re seeing young people gobble it up,” suggesting that “part of it is because they’re starving for truth.”
Tennent shared that she spoke to “a young Gen Zer” at one of Graham’s events, who told her “his generation is facing unprecedented isolation.” She said, “‘today’s youth are the most interconnected, and yet they are the most isolated, and they’re isolated to a degree that you and I and other generations were not,’” she relayed to Graham.
Graham agreed, noting, “There’s a great hunger in the souls of men and women very young, because they haven’t had that before. … They’re looking, they’re spiritually hungry, they’re looking for real relationships. And that’s found in the Christian faith and finding God, because He’s our creator, He’s the one that made us, He’s the one that changes us, He’s the one that gives us purpose and meaning in life.”
He emphasized that “other Christians coming alongside each other is a crucial part of the Christian life,” stating, “The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. It was meant to be lived with another group of believers. And so that’s what they’re finding, especially on college campuses.”
