Signs of Revival: Christianity in Britain 'Died…and Has Risen Again'

A Muslim man on social media stands before an old British church, saying, "You'll be excused to think that this is a church, but as is the case across the UK, we took it over. It's now actually a mosque, a Masjid. Christianity is depleting, Atheism is unfulfilling. Islam is here and is here to stay."

For decades in Britain, interest in church was so low that thousands of historic church buildings were abandoned, with some turned into bars, skate parks, and mosques.

And in this officially Christian nation, where the King is prayed over and anointed with oil by an archbishop, polling shows that most British Christians experience 'hostility and ridicule' for their faith.

One Army veteran was convicted last year for a "thought crime" for his private prayer, and residents living near abortion clinics have been warned about praying inside their own homes. A public stand for Christ here could easily cost you your job or career. 

READ: Could New Scottish Law Ban 'Private Prayer' in Homes Near Abortion Facilities? JD Vance Thinks So 

In officially Christian Britain today, it is Bible-believing Christians who are the outsiders. They're the ones who are expected to keep silent and not offend others. 

The Rushmoor Borough Council, west of London, even proposed criminalizing public Christian prayer, singing and evangelism in the towns of Aldershot and Farnborough, before an intervention by Christian Legal Centre attorney Michael Phillips temporarily halted the move. 

Phillips told us, "It was literally banning almost everything. It would ban amplification, ban singing, ban street preaching if it is hostile towards people with 'protected characteristics.' It means the decimation of free speech. These are the kinds of threats that we're seeing across the country."

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One of the evangelists facing a ban is Jamie Broadey, who told us about one of his encounters with police.

"Some junior officers came, and they tried to shut off the microphone straight away," Broadey recounted. "So, I began recording them and I just tried to engage them in a discussion. And I said, 'Look, please, can you tell me what law you're acting upon?' She then called for backup. In the end, eight officers came." 

MORE: Is 'Orwellian' Britain 'Sleepwalking into a Totalitarian Future'?

When we asked Jamie if a new law against public preaching would stop him, he told us, "Much of the New Testament was written from prison, so, no." 

Andrea Williams of Christian Concern, which is helping Jamie, said, "This just didn't happen overnight. This has been happening for decades in this country."

Williams says while there are large, dynamic churches in the UK, anti-Christian hostility has caused many British Christians to 'self-censor,' to keep their faith private.

"There's a whole raft of self-censorship. It's as if we've become ashamed of the gospel, ashamed of our history, ashamed of who Christ is, so that we've removed him from the public space," Williams said.

Suddenly, after decades of both religious apathy and secular opposition, British newspapers are beginning to use the word 'revival.' British churches reported record attendance on Easter, and more British young men are going to church.

MORE: UK Experiencing a 'Remarkable Spiritual Shift'

Justin Brierley, the author of The Surprising Rebirth in Belief in God, said, "I think that's been the surprise for me is a real wave of interest, especially interestingly from young people in this country who it appears are returning to church again. Very often, these are young people who don't necessarily have any history with Christianity."

"This new generation that are rising up," Williams said, "they're growing up with no knowledge of Christianity. They don't even know if they're male or female. They've been given no idea of the beauty and value of marriage. When they've been told all of these things, they're confused, and that's why this new wave of Christians are generally quite radical about justice and truth because they've lived with the fallout."

Jamie Broadey, too, believes revival is near.  

"I can feel it," he said. "I can feel it in my fingers. He (God) is doing it. And I believe that in the UK we will see a significant revival. We will see it."

Jamie also says God has taken the attempt to silence his preaching and turned it around. 

"I have never seen more unity in the local area between the churches, and I've never seen more interest in evangelism," Bradey said. "God knows what He's doing." 

The British author G.K. Chesterton once wrote that "Christianity has died many times and risen again." 

It appears to be rising again in Britain.