A genuine spiritual outpouring is happening among Gen Z this summer as thousands are hearing the gospel message, making professions of faith in Jesus Christ, and answering the call to ministry.
Clayton King, pastor and founder of Crossroads Camp in Anderson, South Carolina, told CBN News he “has personally seen more than 2,000 students give their lives to Jesus this summer.”
King saw the aisles flooded once again with spiritually hungry young people at Indiana Wesleyan University on Wednesday night.
He shared a video of their response to the Gospel message, saying, “I watched hundreds & hundreds of students repent and respond to the gospel. The tide is shifting. An AWAKENING is happening.”
This happened last night at Indiana Wesleyan University. I watched hundreds & hundreds of students repent and respond to the gospel. The tide is shifting. An AWAKENING is happening. pic.twitter.com/CHPr5kpydr
— Clayton King (@Clayton_king) July 17, 2025
Earlier this month, he saw more than 1,000 students worshipping and praising the name of Jesus.
Listen to 1,100 students worship the Son of the Living God.
The tide is turning.
AWAKENING IS HERE. pic.twitter.com/WziNd22hkE
— Clayton King (@Clayton_king) July 10, 2025
“This generation amazes me. They engage the scripture. They crave the truth. They respond to the Holy Spirit. And they celebrate the gospel,” he shared in a social media post.
King began the Crossroads summer camps in 1996, and this year the ministry celebrates 30 years of preaching the Gospel and discipling believers.
“We as a ministry are super focused on presenting the Gospel in a clear way and are actually telling kids how to get saved,” he said in a 2023 interview. “We not only preach the Gospel in clear and fun ways because it’s camp and kids are supposed to have fun…but we are also focused on giving clear Gospel invitations, just like Billy Graham.”
When asked Thursday if he feels like there have been more young people giving their lives to Christ now, more than in years past, he responded, “Yes. Absolutely.”
The pastor previously told CBN News the demographic of students coming to their six-week camps is entirely different, and that is why students are responding more readily to the Gospel invitation.
“This is a new generation of students,” he explained. “A lot of these kids that are coming to camp have either never heard the Gospel or they’ve only heard it once or twice, or they’ve never been told how they can be saved, and so I think that we are dealing with students now that are very different.”
“Ten years ago, most of the students that came to our camps came from a church background. Most of them came out of Christian families,” he added. “We have a generation of students coming to camp now that have not been exposed to the Gospel or Church.”
If the joy of the Lord is our strength then we’re pretty strong at Crossroads Camps this summer. pic.twitter.com/Wk7HBT9cYN
— Clayton King (@Clayton_king) July 15, 2025
Meanwhile, Shane Pruitt, national Next Gen director with the North American Mission Board, has been seeing the Spirit of God move during Falls Creek Oklahoma Youth Camp in Davis, Oklahoma.
During the first night of camps earlier this week, Pruitt posted on social media that there were 157 total decisions for the Lord and 91 professions of faith in Jesus for salvation.
He shared a post earlier this month about a powerful outpouring at another camp.
“We got to see 126 professions of faith in Jesus for salvation, 37 students called to ministry, & whole generation mobilized to make Jesus known back in their mission fields,” Pruitt wrote.
God did the miraculous this week at Sondays Camp at Mt Lebanon!
We got to see 126 professions of faith in Jesus for salvation, 37 students called to ministry, & whole generation mobilized to make Jesus known back in their mission fields!#revivalgeneration pic.twitter.com/sciZQbzSmK
— Shane Pruitt (@shane_pruitt78) July 12, 2025
Pruitt previously told CBN News that there was a major shift among Gen Z after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In probably the last three years of ministry to young adults, college students, and teenagers, I’ve seen more and more young people make professions of faith for Jesus in the last 3 years than in my previous almost 20 years of ministry,” he said at that time.
“The pandemic didn’t create new problems for Gen Z, but I think it poured gas on some problems that were already there. You have a whole generation who has come to the end of themselves at a much earlier age,” Pruitt explained. “They are looking for hope and they are looking for answers.”
Pruitt and King believe today’s youth are searching for truth and finding it in Jesus.
“It’s definitely a spiritual awakening,” Pruitt told CBN News.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
