Will Graham, executive vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the grandson of the late evangelist Billy Graham, said during a Monday interview on Sean Hannity’s radio show that he believes young people are increasingly hungering for faith and connection.
Speaking with guest host Rose Tennent, who said “there seems to be a great number of young people right now turning to God,” Graham agreed, noting some of the revivals that have broken out in recent years at various colleges such as Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, and Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.
“Some of these aren’t even Christian schools,” Graham said. “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.”
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“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,” he added.
Tennent recalled the story from last year when more than 60 students were baptized during a special on-campus service at Ohio State University that was led by several players from the school’s football team. She also noted how Bible sales are up, especially among young people.
Bible sales rose 22% in the U.S. through the end of October last year compared to the same time in 2023, according to book tracker Circana BookScan. Experts who spoke to The Wall Street Journal attributed the rise to people seeking meaning in their lives amid growing uncertainty.
“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,” Graham said. “And I think part of it is because they’re starving for truth.”
Tennent said she spoke to “a young Gen Zer” at one of Graham’s events, who told her his generation is facing unprecedented isolation.
“He said that 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 told Graham. “So this is something quite new for this generation, and I think they’re finally feeling that they want to be connected, not just physically and human relationships, but even spiritually.”
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.”
Graham added that other Christians coming alongside each other is a crucial part of the Christian life.
“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,” he said.
According to a new study part of Barna’s State of the Church 2025 initiative, commitment to Jesus has risen sharply among young men especially, jumping 15 percentage points between 2019 and 2025 among Gen Z men, and 19 percentage points among millennials.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
