A popular New York City pastor believes that the assassination of conservative and Christian commentator Charlie Kirk has sparked something truly surprising: revival.
“Anytime society goes into a desperate state — and I think we’ve been there for years — this desperation is increasing financially, economically, we’re feeling it, but also within our families,” Mike Signorelli, pastor of V1 Church, said on “God, Country and the American Story.” “People … start looking for answers.”
Mr. Signorelli, author of the new book “Fire Starters: Igniting Revivals and Sustaining Spiritual Awakening,” said this search for answers amid the desperation is leading many to discover Christianity. And Mr. Kirk’s murder only added to this quest for authentic faith and truth.
On the first Sunday after Mr. Kirk’s killing last month, the pastor’s church saw hundreds of people decide to become Christians.
“I pastor in some of the darkest cities across the United States, between New York City, Miami, Chicago,” the preacher said. “We saw an influx of thousands of additional people. We had over 500 people surrender their lives to Christ, and it’s just been absolutely insane.”
This also has led to mass baptisms, with Mr. Signorelli postulating that people were so shaken by what happened to Mr. Kirk that they started looking for answers in all the right places.
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“They’re desperate, they’re longing and … I think the assassination of Charlie Kirk awakened them to their own mortality,” he said. “I don’t suggest anybody watches the footage [of his death], but, unfortunately, many people did, and … their visceral response is, ‘I need to start thinking about life after life and what that looks like.’”
Mr. Signorelli is an expert on the topic of spiritual renewal and revival, which he covers in “Fire Starters,” a project he describes as a “field guide to modern revival.”
He said he hopes the project inspires people to think more deeply about the positive faith trajectory unfolding in America.
Since 2023, droves of young people on college campuses have been flocking to faith, with Gen Z now statistically the most likely to attend church services frequently. Bibles have been flying off shelves as well, with reports of increased religious fervor and curiosity.
“People of faith already know that the Holy Spirit is still speaking and that God is … in control,” Mr. Signorelli said.
He believes people will look back on this time and remember a truly stunning moment.
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“I truly just believe in this, and I believe that … despite all the naysayers, history will give account that this is one of the greatest revivals that America has ever seen,” he said.
He went on to discuss the importance of revival to the fabric of America, expressing his belief that the U.S. was “founded on a Judeo-Christian worldview.” Despite that history, Mr. Signorelli argued that American values have changed over time.
“As that worldview began to erode and people started to become what is called ‘secular humanistic,’ like, in other words, ‘I have my own personal truth,’ we started to see society erode and we started to see the marriages fall apart,” he said.
These crises extended into other areas as well, with the nuclear family and young people becoming the biggest casualties. Suicides, drugs and related issues have raged in recent years among Americans.
But Mr. Signorelli believes change is truly afoot, especially among youths.
“At a point of their greatest desperation, they’re saying, ‘I don’t know why these shootings keep happening, but I know something’s broken,’” Mr. Signorelli said. “And then what happens is, when they start reading the Bible, when they start going to church and hearing the truth being proclaimed, their spirit comes alive and they’re like, ‘I once was blind; now I see.’”
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