By Gavin Calver, Evangelicals Now. (Photo: Ruxandra Mateiu/Unsplash)
Much has happened over the past year to expand imagination, expectations and hope around what the Lord may be doing in the UK at this moment.
For more than 25 years I have travelled the length and breadth of the nation preaching the gospel and encouraging Christians and churches to reach out to those around them. For much of that time, it’s often felt like swimming against the cultural tide. But in 2025, something changed.
For the first time, it felt as though the wind was at my back rather than in my face as I shared the gospel. Stories of people coming to faith – both miraculous and ordinary – increased significantly. Additionally there was a growing body of encouraging research and an increasing number of public figures openly professing faith in Jesus. From social media to individual conversations over coffee, there is a tangible sense that we are living in a new season in the UK. To borrow an image from Narnia, it feels as though winter is over, spring has arrived, and we are praying this season will mature into summer.
These experiences led me into 2026 with deep and authentic hope. I find myself believing afresh that the Lord is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph.3v20). This renewed hope was further strengthened by recent research revealing that the much-publicised 87% rise in UK Bible sales was more conservative than the reality. Bible sales in the UK have actually increased by an astonishing 134% over the past five years.
This surge has been widely reported across the media. From the Daily Mail to The Guardian, Sky News to ITV News, and in discussions on mainstream programmes such as This Morning. This is the highest level of Bible sales since records began. Last year alone, UK Bible sales reached £6.3 million, compared with £3.16 million in 2019.