LONDON — On May 2nd in Hackney, over 2,000 people, most under 30, packed Saint Church in East London for an all-night prayer and worship gathering hosted jointly by Saint, King’s Cross, and Imprint Churches. The 12-hour event marked a powerful moment in what many are calling The Quiet Revival—a growing movement of spiritual awakening among young adults in the UK.
A Night of Worship, Repentance, and Awe
“There was a thick and heavy sense of God’s presence,” said Pastor Al Gordon of Saint Church, quoting Isaiah 55:6: “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”
Gordon offered snapshots of the night that felt more like a revival diary than a typical event recap. Upfront, he recounts, long queues formed outside to get into the gathering. During the night, there were many stories of healing, salvation, and deliverance. People were getting saved on the streets in the middle of the night.
He also wrote: ‘’7AM – STILL 500 young people who had prayed 12hrs through the night, but it could have gone on longer.’’ He furthermore describes waves of “extraordinary weight and glory”, with uncomfortable moments of deep repentance and sober weeping around 6:45AM.
There were also many spontaneous worship moments led by the congregation itself. He wrote: ‘’Many moments when the whole gathering felt compelled to get on their faces. A sense of holy awe. Hours where the band could not lead, but the singing continues. Spontaneous power falling on people. Sometimes profound silence. Other times shouts, groans, weeping.’’
Spiritual Hunger Across Generations and Nations
Pastor Dave Ferguson of Community Church in Naperville, Illinois, shares: ‘’One thing is certain: we are witnessing a profound and sovereign spiritual moment. If you will make room for the Lord, call on him while he is near, he will come and meet you. You can’t orchestrate this, all you can do is humble your heart, go low, cry out for the heavy rain, and he will come. And at the end of the day, the true sign of God at work is not numbers, or experience even, its lives transformed, made new, sent out.’’
On top of this, Revive Europe captioned their recap post: “It’s almost impossible to squeeze 12 hours of amazing worship, prayer, and encounter with Jesus into a reel. The Quiet Revival is perhaps not so quiet after all.”
