The Quiet Work that Supports the Quiet Revival

Revival, like many of you, is something I have been praying for over a long period of time. Many early morning prayer meetings, when I worked in the Prayer Department at HTB in the noughties, were spent with about a hundred others crying out for revival. At the turn of the millennium, HTB hosted an all-night prayer party, and we saw in the new millennia praying for revival, amongst other things. 

You can’t shake those kinds of experiences quickly and nor would I want to. I am immensely grateful for them and as a result, prayer and evangelism, shaped by time spent at the home of the Alpha Course, have become part of my ‘ministry DNA’. The iOS of my church leadership.

So, when we hear growing reports of a Quiet Revival, it’s hard not to feel both grateful and hopeful. It seems God may once again be stirring something in our generation.  

But as more people come to faith in Christ, are we ready for a growing focus on leadership development? While there is a lot of talk about a Quiet Revival today, do we also hear about a renewed focus on leadership development in our churches? 
 

A Growing Openness to the Gospel

I hosted a leadership webinar a few months back with James Lawrence and Sarah Pix at CPAS looking at the topic ‘Exploring the Quiet Revival’. In the webinar, James posits that what we are seeing now did not appear overnight but reflects a deeper shift that has been unfolding for a while. The Bible Society’s 2025 report The Quiet Revival¹ is perhaps the most widely recognised of a growing body of research published over the last five years.
 
You will have seen the statistics along with the rest of us. Secular press has picked up the story. A recent Sky News report drawing on YouGov data, noted that belief in a higher power among Gen Z rose from 29% in 2018 to 48% in 2024. Over the same period, church attendance increased from 7% to 23%. Articles published in the last couple of weeks, like this one in the Guardian which shows how Bible sales have risen by 134% since 2019. 

Taken together, these insights and observations all point in the same direction, that the spiritual landscape of our country has changed since 2020.

The Need for Leadership Development

New people seem to be turning up, and many churches are responding by hosting courses like an Alpha Course, a Hope Explored, or Speak Life’s new 321 Course. The principle is having something intentional and accessible for newcomers to engage with. 
 
All of this is good and wonderful and exciting. But I have a growing concern. A question that relates to the bit that comes certainly after any enquirer’s course, but maybe even during it. 
 
If we have more people coming in, shouldn’t we also expect and be ready for more people uncovering a leadership gifting and growing in it too? We hear about Bible sales, newcomers, discipleship courses, but why is no one talking about a rise in the number of leaders too? Anecdotally, nothing seems to turn up when I search for leadership development and the Quiet Revival. Is it because it isn’t happening? I can’t believe that. Is it because we collectively haven’t got to that part yet in this latest movement? No. What I suspect is happening, as so often with leadership development, is that it’s happening organically, but sometimes, if we’re honest, too reactively, and even a little haphazardly, leaving us on the back foot. 
 
It’s interesting to me that in surveys to the Lead On community or amongst leaders that we work with, ‘developing leaders’ is often one of the top rate challenges leaders currently face in ministry.² 
 
It’s important to be talking about leadership development and, if it isn’t already in place, creating a plan for it. Just as we are likely to have a plan or pathway for helping people grow in their discipleship, we need to be ready now with a clear pathway for developing leaders. 
 
What did Jesus say to his disciples in Matthew 9 when surrounded by the harassed and helpless crowds? ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’.

What do we see in the passage? A plentiful harvest (the lost); existing workers (the disciples); and prayer for more workers (new disciples). Where do these workers come from? The harvest, of course. We need to be ready, expectant, and praying for more workers during this harvest season and step up ourselves, just as the disciples did, modelling it in their own lives as they did in the next chapter of Matthew’s Gospel when Jesus sent them out. 

How Did Jesus Do It?

In Mark 1:14-17 we’re told ‘…Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come’, he said, ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’. As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Come, follow me’, Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people’. 
 
Before they have even started following Jesus, and certainly before Peter’s pivotal confession of faith in the identity of Jesus midway through the gospel (Mark 8:29), Jesus, in one sentence invites them to follow him, and gives them an indication about their leadership responsibility. Follow Jesus and fish for people. Isn’t this a call to discipleship and a call to leadership?  
 
How, Jesus? How can you be talking about leadership before they’ve even completed an Alpha course?  
 
When I was at HTB, I saw leaders invite people who had participated in an Alpha Course one term, to lead an Alpha group the next. This wasn’t random; it involved careful discernment, but the principle is such a good one. Where are the leadership gifts that God is uncovering right in front of us today? How can we begin to nurture and breathe life on the embers of leadership gifting today? 
 
A few chapters on in Mark 3:13-15, we’re told ‘Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach, and to have authority to drive our demons.’ This sounds like leadership development again, and like the Matthew 9 passage, this is leadership both in the context of discipleship (‘that they might be with him’) and in the context of mission ('that he might send them out'). Discipleship – Leadership – Mission. These three often work together synergistically. 
 

The Quiet Work

But did you notice what was happening to the volume levels in this encounter in Mark 3? Different to the hustle and bustle of the harassed and helpless crowds of Matthew 9, this was up a mountain. Close. Intimate. Conversational. A window into the working dynamics of Jesus and his relationship with the disciples. This was quiet work. The quiet work of leadership development. The quiet work of the Spirit of God that continues today, resting on people, anointing them to lead, to speak, to teach and other good things to equip God’s people for works of service (Ephesians 4:12). 
 
As I look back to leading my own church, leadership development was quiet work. It was in 1-2-1 conversation. Coffees. Reading the bible together. Feedback. Encouragement. Growth. 
 
During this season of heightened ‘harvest awareness’, where people are growing in their discipleship, Jesus continues this beautiful and often quiet work of calling people into leadership. The question for us is, are we ready and are we joining in with this quiet work that may well indeed support the Quiet Revival? What if people coming to faith today are the workers that bring in the harvest tomorrow? 
 
Maybe leadership is going to be a core feature of this current and coming wave of discipleship. With many now coming with social media platforms and sizeable audiences to whom they can voice their views, in the context of a generation that sees the power of collective responsibility, the importance of action, and the instability of the world around them. I think people coming to faith will be ready to step up and speak out and lead in a way that we might not have seen for a while. 
 
James Lawrence in the CPAS Webinar ‘Exploring the Quiet Revival’ picks this up from the research. ³ He reflects that the younger generation are up for a challenge, even something that demands something from them. This is the idea behind the phrase Full Fat Faith that was coined recently. Not watered down, but a Christian faith that makes a difference to them and the world around them. Isn’t this what is means to follow Jesus? 
 
I think we’re going to be talking much more about this quiet work of leadership development in the coming months and years. Comparing notes. Refining our practises. Recapturing a fresh vision for the priority of leadership. 
 

Four things we can do today 

In light of all this. Whether the quiet work of leadership development is quiet because it doesn’t quite exist yet in your context, or whether leadership development is integral to your church culture, here are four things we can all lean into during this season: 

1. Pray
Jesus reminds us to ‘ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into the harvest field’. We need to make sure prayer is a priority in this quiet work of leadership development. It’s funny, those early morning prayer meetings at HTB were often quite noisy. We took note of the early church who ‘raised their voices in prayer to God’ (Acts 4:24). Sometimes we need to get passionate about seeing God’s kingdom break into our own communities and contexts. We don’t want to whip anything up, but how are the noise levels of your prayers for workers, for leaders, for disciples, for people coming to faith in our time? It makes me wonder if my prayers have become a bit too quiet recently.

Let’s pray for new leaders. 

2. Discover the Energy and Vision
At another recent CPAS Leadership webinar ‘Spiritual CEO or Pastor?’ , we focussed on oversight ministry and leadership of multi-parish benefices. Simon Butler (Winchester Diocese) shared his experience of leading multiple churches and mobilising leaders, describing the need for leaders to be an ‘encourager of vision’ and ‘discoverer of energy’. I think in my own quiet work of leadership development, spotting vision and energy, and the willingness to serve and support are all part of that essential discernment process. Notice those who are stepping forward. Notice where God might be at work.

Let’s discover new leaders. 

3. Start a Conversation 
In our context in West London, there was a lot of transience. We were constantly saying ‘hello’ to people and ‘goodbye’ to people. We worked out that on average people were with us for about two years. This meant that we had to get good at identifying and developing leaders quite quickly. This began not with a big fanfare or trumpet sound, but with a welcome lunch and a ‘SHAPE’ assessment form which we nabbed from Saddleback Church. Rather than seeing gaps in rotas, we saw people that God was bringing to us and we wanted to get behind what God was doing in their lives. The SHAPE form was the beginning of the conversation because it helped to identify giftings, skills, passions, and experiences very early on.

Let’s start a conversation about leadership. 

4. Spread a leadership Canopy
Like an umbrella that stops the bearer from getting wet, our role as leaders is to create a canopy under which things can be sheltered, thrive, and grow. Think of new seedlings, new leaders, who need space and time to be nurtured and to grow, under our canopy of leadership, which itself is lived out under the canopy of God’s grace and calling (Isaiah 4:5). Where do we need to give permission? Where do we need to say ‘yes’. Where do we need to encourage and nurture and give space?

Let’s get good at creating an environment where leadership grows. 
 

The Invitation Before Us

Why not start making space in our own thinking and praying for this quiet work of leadership development. It happens through prayer, conversation, discernment, and patient investment in people. This is how Jesus worked, and it’s how leaders are discovered and grown. 
 
As new people come to faith, we should expect that among them are future workers for the harvest. The invitation before us is simple but demanding: to pray for leaders, to notice where God is already at work, and to create space where others can step into responsibility and grow. In doing so, we may find that the quiet work of leadership becomes one of the enduring features of this moment and movement. 

February 2026 Lead On article by Matt Hogg, CPAS Leadership Enabler.

References

1. From the 2022 ‘Talking Jesus Report’, to EA’s ‘Finding Jesus’, and YFC’s ‘Z-A Growing Spirituality’.

2. ‘Recruiting and developing leaders’ was joint second in a survey we published in Lead On last month, in response to the question: ‘What are the top three challenges you currently face in leadership and ministry’

3. Watch the CPAS ‘Exploring the Quiet Revival’ webinar from 12.40mins to watch the relevant section.