information for transformational people

Finding Jesus 246Identifying pathways to faith in adulthood 



From research by the Evangelical Alliance

Finding Jesus research - identifying pathways to faith in adulthood was launched by the Evangelical Alliance in June 2025. Here is a summary:

Much has been written about the decline of the church in the West. However, over the last few years, a different story has started to bubble up amongst non-believers, a surprising interest in Christian faith in all sorts of unlikely places. From celebrities and students, to those in prison and on the margins of society, many people are discovering and choosing to follow Jesus.

The Finding Jesus research was carried out try to understand what was going on in the stories of adults in the UK finding Jesus. They wanted to find out:

  • Who were they?
  • What prompted them to explore faith?
  • What happened in their journey towards Jesus?
  • Who was alongside?
  • What happened at the point of decision and what’s happened since?


From the stories of 281 individuals, followed up with hour-long interviews with twenty of these, the key findings were:

  1. People are wanting help with life. When asked what initiated people’s journey of faith 37% of our participants said it was because they wanted help with life, 34% were searching for meaning, and 32% said it was borne out of a place of pain – something that was proving challenging in their life.
  2. People observe and listen to Christians. 29% of participants said that their faith journey started as they saw how Christians faith impacted their life. 29% also said it was after a Christian spoke to them about their faith. 36% said it was time and conversations with a specific Christian friend that helped them.
  3. The impact of spiritual encounters. 28% of participants accounted for the fact that their faith journey was started by a spiritual experience and 39% of people said it was an experience of God that led to them actually making the decision to follow Jesus.
  4. The impact of previous encounters with the Church and Christian message. 72% of those surveyed spoke of some form of residual Christianity – i.e. they had received some form of Christian input previously, via a toddler group, Sunday school, holiday club, youth group/young adult ministry or similar. We should trust that what is sown in when people are young may result in them coming to faith in later life.
  5. The life-transforming impact of the Bible. 47% of participants said that the Bible was what helped them on their journey of exploring faith. 27% of people stated that the Bible was pivotal in the moment that they made the decision to follow Jesus.
  6. People are coming to faith quickly. Contrary to what many praying Christians might anticipate we saw that 59% of all participants surveyed said that they had explored the Christian faith and made a decision to follow Jesus within less than 1 year, 32% within 6 months. People’s stories showed us that the decision to follow Jesus was deeply impactful and real even where knowledge of the whole gospel was limited.
  7. People found reading the Bible and learning to pray most challenging. Since becoming Christians 49% of people said that it was learning how to pray that had proved the most challenging. A further 49% said it was making sense of the Bible. 36% said that changing aspects of their lifestyle was the hardest since coming to faith and 36% said dealing with the sometime negative responses or question from non-Christian friends/family members was deeply challenging.
  8. What drew people to the gospel? In a society of broken relationships and loneliness people’s desire to be loved was very clear. 48% of people said that it was the truth that Jesus loves me that drew them to the gospel. 46% of people (particularly those on lower incomes) said it was the promise of hope and wanting their lives to have meaning that drew them. 49% of those under 25 said that it was because the gospel was true, profound and beautiful.
  9. What people found helpful as they explored faith? Participants shared that, as they explored faith, what they most wanted or valued was: time with people, patient discussion, to see authenticity of how life and faith go hand in hand, generous hospitality, and practical kindnesses.
  10. The Church is doing a great job. 59% of individuals account for the fact that attending a local church helped them significantly on their journey to faith. Story after story in the research speaks of how individuals felt well-welcomed, valued, loved, listened to by people within church-based toddler groups, courses, and in conversation with Christians. As the church we need to recognise however the discipleship challenges around the messiness of transitions, especially with people coming to faith so quickly, and the challenges they often face with the reactions of close friends and family after they have decided to follow Jesus.

Phil Knox, Evangelism and missiology senior specialist at the EA remarked. "When I first read this report I wept with joy upon hearing the stories of so many changed lives. It is not only profoundly encouraging, but incredibly insightful. As well as some expected well-trodden paths, there are some glorious surprises. Our deep hope is that it inspires prayerful action and shapes fruitful mission in individuals, churches and organisations."

Download the full Finding Jesus report here.

Watch a 55 min video - presentation and discussion here:
 



Retweet about this article:

 

 

From research by the Evangelical Alliance, 23/09/2025

To submit a story or to publicise an event please contact us. Sign up for email here.