September 2025 Research Radar

The Global Flourishing Study

📋 Longitudinal Study 📅 2025 📍Global

#mentalhealth #youngadults #global

In a world where well-being is often reduced to happiness scores or income levels, the Global Flourishing Study (GFS) is asking a bigger question: what does it mean to live well in every sense of the word? With more than 200,000 participants across 22 countries, this five-year study is mapping flourishing across six dimensions—happiness, health, meaning, character, relationships, and financial stability.

The first wave of findings paints a complex picture. While some countries report high financial stability but low fulfillment, others with fewer resources lead in meaning, relationships, and overall flourishing. Young adults emerge as a particularly vulnerable group, often reporting strong physical health but lower mental well-being, weaker financial security, and less satisfaction in relationships. Faith and community ties consistently appear as powerful supports for flourishing across contexts.

This global snapshot raises both concerns and opportunities. Are today’s young adults simply passing through a difficult stage of life, or does this represent a generational shift with lasting consequences? The GFS offers a rare chance to explore these questions on a worldwide scale—and it’s only the beginning.

Read the full review here.

Read our Overview

What You Can Do with This Research

Use clear categories: The GFS makes a complex idea—human flourishing—measurable. Churches and ministries can apply these categories to better assess holistic spiritual and social well-being in their own communities.
See the global picture: The study highlights both common youth experiences and the unique challenges in different cultural contexts. This helps leaders design ministry that is locally grounded yet globally informed.
Explore key drivers of well-being: Marriage, work, early life experiences, and cultural norms all show significant influence. How might your church or ministry strengthen these areas of life for those you serve?
Track the long game: With repeated waves of data, the GFS will reveal whether current patterns are temporary or lasting. Churches can adapt strategies over time, staying responsive to how human flourishing unfolds globally.

Read our Review

The Quiet Revival

📚 Bible Society 📅 2018 & 2024📍UK

#unitedkingdom #faithcommunity #youngadults

In a surprising shift, new research from the UK Bible Society reveals that church attendance in England and Wales is on the rise—led by young adults. The Quiet Revival study shows a 56% increase in regular churchgoers since 2018, with 18–24-year-olds now the second most likely group to attend monthly. Even more striking: young men and ethnically diverse communities are driving much of this growth.

The findings go beyond numbers. Young adults report higher levels of prayer, spiritual curiosity, and openness to church invitations. Churchgoing is also closely tied to stronger well-being, from life satisfaction to mental health—especially among young women. Bible engagement is also increasing, but questions of relevance and confidence remain a challenge.

This moment of renewal raises important opportunities for discipleship, intergenerational connection, and relational outreach. Could the UK be seeing the early signs of a generational turn toward faith?

Check out the full review here.

What can you do with this research?

Track the trend: UK church engagement is ticking upward. While it’s too soon to call it permanent, churches can watch closely and learn from what’s fueling the shift.
Leverage the hunger for Scripture: Younger generations show fresh interest in authentic engagement with the Bible. How can churches equip and create space for that desire to grow?
Capitalize on the moment: The UK—long seen as a bellwether of secular decline—now offers signals of renewal. What practices could be adapted for your own context?
Think globally: These findings aren’t just about England and Wales. They raise questions for other Western contexts: how can churches seize similar opportunities for renewal and human flourishing?

Read our Latin America Report

Read our Western Europe Report

Insights from the Field:

The Chosen Alongsiders Research

🌐 OneHope Partnership 📅 2025 📍Latin America & Western Europe

#discipleship #youth #TheChosen #Alongsiders

About the Research:

OneHope partnered with Alongsiders International to create a resource that helps young people engage with The Chosen series. Designed as a discipleship tool, the program brings youth together around a shared meal, a watch party, and a guided discussion. In Latin America and Western Europe, groups gathered to eat, watch episodes, and reflect on the themes together. To better understand the program’s impact, surveys and leader feedback were collected, offering insight into how it resonates across different cultural contexts.

Shared Key Questions

Does The Chosen resonate with youth across cultures as a discipleship tool?
How does the meal, media, and reflection format impact engagement and faith growth?
What improvements could support leaders and strengthen the experience?

Latin America:

🧑‍🏫 255 youth and 41 leaders

📍 5 countries

Western Europe:

🧑‍🏫 85 youth and 17 leaders

📍 2 countries

Latin America Findings

Youth rated The Chosen 4.7/5 stars and most wanted to watch more episodes.
Leaders praised the meal, watch, and reflect rhythm as culturally relevant and spiritually engaging.
22% of leaders felt the program was too long; many recommended shorter clips or flexible formats.
Youth requested more interactive and creative elements (games, activities, visual aids).
Leaders asked for simpler questions and stronger biblical context to guide discussions effectively.

Western Europe Findings

Youth rated The Chosen 4/5 stars, with enthusiasm highest among older teens.
Meal times were highly valued, fostering connection and comfort.
Younger teens (under 14) often struggled with comprehension and found reflection difficult.
Reflection feedback was mixed. Some said it deepened their understanding of Jesus, others found it unclear or too abstract.
Leaders affirmed the program’s potential but requested shorter episodes, clearer discussion guides, and contextual support for teaching.

Overall Insights

Across both Latin America and Western Europe, The Chosen Alongsiders program demonstrated strong promise as a discipleship tool. Youth responded positively to the series itself, often reporting fresh perspectives on Jesus and a desire to see more episodes. The shared meal emerged as a universal strength, creating space for community and openness to spiritual reflection. At the same time, pacing and accessibility remain critical: shorter sessions, simplified guides, and contextual helps will be key to sustaining engagement, especially for younger teens. Ultimately, the research affirms that when paired with thoughtful facilitation, The Chosen can be a powerful catalyst for discipleship and community growth across diverse cultures.

Evangelism in a Changing Landscape

As churches experience a hopeful, quiet revival, evangelism remains a critical part of this mission. Yet the way it is understood and practiced is shifting in response to cultural and generational changes. Understanding both the challenges and the emerging opportunities is essential for effective witness today.

Evangelism today is less about scripted approaches and more about genuine relationships, lived-out faith, and meeting people where they are. By embracing new approaches, both relational and digital, we can share Christ’s love in ways that resonate with the questions and needs of our time.

Thanks for reading!

That's it for this edition of the Research Radar! If you have any questions about the research featured here contact us at research@onehope.net

Know of an interesting research study, article, or book we should be reading? Send it our way! We would love to take a look for a future edition of the radar.

In this edition:

Good research always cites its sources, and so do we! Here are the articles and authors featured in this edition of the Research Radar:

Bible Society. The Quiet Revival: Gen Z Leads Rise in Church Attendance. Bible Society (British and Foreign Bible Society), April 2025. https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/research/quiet-revival

Global Flourishing Study. What Contributes to a Life Well-Lived? Global Flourishing Study Report, April 2025. Gallup, in collaboration with the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard, the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, and the Center for Open Science. https://globalflourishingstudy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GFS_Report-1.pdf

1 Barna Group. Almost Half of Practicing Christian Millennials Say Evangelism Is Wrong. Barna Group, February 5, 2019. https://www.barna.com/research/millennials-oppose-evangelism/

2 Stetzer, Ed. “7 Reasons Evangelism Has Declined in the Church.” Outreach Magazine, December 8, 2022. https://outreachmagazine.com/features/51409-7-reasons-evangelism-has-declined-in-the-church.html

3 Brumley, Jeff. “Most Christians Don’t Feel Adequate for Sharing Their Faith or Making Disciples.” Baptist News Global, January 28, 2022. https://baptistnews.com/article/most-christians-don’t-feel-adequate-for-sharing-their-faith-or-making-disciples/

4 Barna Group. Missions in Review—Trends Impacting Global Missions & Evangelism. Barna Group, August 25, 2021. https://www.barna.com/research/missions-evangelism/

5 Barna Group. Actions, Invitations, Storytelling—How Gen Z Approaches Evangelism. Barna Group, July 27, 2021. https://www.barna.com/research/gen-z-evangelism/

6 Barna Group. Year in Review: Barna’s Top 10 Releases of 2023. Barna Group, December 27, 2023. https://www.barna.com/research/year-in-review-2023/

7 Brumley, Jeff. “Most Christians Don’t Feel Adequate for Sharing Their Faith or Making Disciples.” Baptist News Global, January 28, 2022. https://baptistnews.com/article/most-christians-don’t-feel-adequate-for-sharing-their-faith-or-making-disciples/

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