In a presentation to a Church conference in January 2024, Hanna Salomäki, who heads the Institute for Research and Advanced Training, reported on a revival taking place among young men in Finland.
The study found that the percentage of young men aged 15 to 29 attending church has increased from 5% in 2011 to 12% in 2019, compared to only an increase of 3% to 4% for women the same age.
In a recent article for Fox News, Taylor Penley suggests that the same thing is happening in America as some are noting a growing interest in spirituality among young men here as well.
Penley was commenting on a recent article in the New York Times, where an analysis of attendance at Grace Church, a Southern Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, found that “four of the five musicians on stage and the majority of the college students seated in the pews were young men.”
“For the first time in modern American history, young men are now more religious than their female peers. They attend services more often and are more likely to identify as religious,” writes Ruth Graham in her article for the New York Times.
Phil Barnes who pastors Hope Church a new work in Robinson, Texas has noticed a similar trend.
“We’ve been talking about it from the beginning,” Barnes told the NY Times. “What’s the Lord doing? Why is he sending us all of these young men?“
But this trend towards increased church attendance by young men is also showing up in other areas.
In Finland, Salomäki noted that studies have found that the percentage of men between the ages of 16 to 29 who prayed at least once a week rose from 16% to 26% between 2011 and 2019. In stark contrast the percentage of women in that age group who prayed once a week actually declined.
In America, recent surveys suggest that young men are becoming more conservative in their outlook while, in contrast, women are trending towards liberalism and socialism.
This leads to an interesting question is the Holy Spirit moving in an unique way among just young men. This would be contrary to what the Prophet Joel saw happening in the end days, when he said the Holy Spirit would fall upon our sons and daughters (Joel 2:28).
Or is it possible that the Holy Spirit is moving among young women, but dark forces are also at work to hinder this (2 Thessalonians 2:11).