UK Church Revival Momentum Vis-à-vis Nigeria -By Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi

It’s a striking oxymoron that while Churches in Nigeria are acquiring old warehouses and event centers, revamping them into worship centers, Church buildings in the United Kingdom are being converted to flats, offices, restaurants, and bars. Hallelujah, the tide is about to turn in resemblance to what obtains in Nigeria. Here’s a case in point: In January this year, the Port Harcourt branch of a prominent Pentecostal church reportedly acquired Atrium Event Centre in a multi-billion-naira deal. They went ahead to invest a billion naira in renovating the facility within a three-month timeline.

This has quietly been happening in major Nigerian cities as Churches buy up disused properties without care for the cost. They don’t just lease the sprawling spaces but purchase them outright. When told in July 2025 that “some areas marked as industrial estates in some large cities in the country have been taken over by churches,” President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Wale Oke, responded by saying: “It is a mark of a great revival in our nation. God has opened the heavens upon us graciously and has poured the Holy Spirit upon us, poured His word upon us, and many are turning to the Lord, and the Church is growing.”

If this is the case, it then means that a similar revival is brewing in the United Kingdom without citizens and denizens realising it yet. Apparently, some persons with a burden for that clime must have been mourning for a spiritual awakening. They have now got the attention of the Ruler of the Universe, who has stirred a property tycoon and millionaire by the name of Samuel Leeds, to act in a way that will ripen the revival. Words of faith and prophecy will always require a corresponding action to come to pass. This catalytic action doesn’t necessarily have to come from the prophet or the supplicant making the proclamation of faith.

In 2 Kings 7, the effrontery of the four men with leprosy in storming the camp of the Aramean soldiers was all God needed to actualise the prophecy by Elisha that spells an end to the harrowing famine in Samaria of those days. Such requisite action is now being reenacted in the United Kingdom with the resolve of Samuel Leeds to buy up church buildings that are on the verge of packing up — in order to retain them as places of Christian worship.

With thousands of churches closing across Britain in recent years, Leeds says protecting them now could help prepare for what he sees as an impending revival of Christianity in the UK. In his words, “I believe we are seeing the beginning of a revival in this country. We need to keep our churches open and ready for when that happens.” Disclosing that property agents frequently offer him churches to redevelop, the real estate mogul would rather that church buildings dedicated to Christ be preserved to serve that purpose. After making an offer for Darlaston Methodist Church in Wednesbury – worth an estimated £250,000, Leeds wrote on Facebook, “To those asking how they can donate to the cause, I don’t want any money. I want you to attend Church on Sunday and donate to your local Church.”

Despite this consciousness of the need for congregations, netizens have continued to dwell on that point. Some mockingly challenge Leeds to go beyond buying up church buildings to attracting people who would worship there afterwards. For some others, a more appropriate use of the chapels and cathedrals would be to convert them into public pools and community centers. You can imagine the duplicity of commenters who lost their voices when the Church buildings were being turned into flats and business premises, to now recommend: “Make them sanctuary places for the homeless and ex-military, then let charities feed them.” For all their tantrums, the naysayers fail to see what Leeds is seeing – a revival that would cause Britons to enthusiastically return to Church without needing any persuasion to worship the Almighty in the Sanctuary.

Apart from making places of worship available, there are other tell-tale signs that affirm this inevitability. Recent polling by YouGov indicates an increasing belief in God among young adults, with faith among 18 to 24-year-olds recording a significant upsurge in recent years. The data firm, NielsenIQ BookData reported last week that the number of Britons buying Bibles jumped by 19 per cent last year – taking the total to its highest since 1998. This was corroborated by Christian publisher SPCK Group, which disclosed that Bible sales reached £6.3million in Britain last year – more than doubling since 2019. There is also the Make Great Britain Christian Again Conference coming up later in the year, which organisers say will be “Two full days of worship, preaching, teaching, music and prayer to revive the nation!”

Meanwhile, there is the concern that this spiritual awakening in the UK may eclipse Nigeria’s season in the sun as the world’s headquarters for Pentecostalism. Since the days of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, Nigerian clerics have taken the Gospel of Christ to various parts of the world, complete with healings and other signs and wonders. There is no Christian cleric of international acclaim who has not featured in programmes in this country or collaborated with leading Nigerian pastors in doing the Lord’s work. It is a testament to Nigeria’s global prominence in Christendom that the Head Church and founders of local evangelical missions are designated Global Headquarters and Global Lead Pastor. Some others attach “Worldwide,” “… of All Nations,” “Global or International” to their brand name, not entirely for vainglory but out of mandate. If still not convinced, be minded that Nigeria is home to the most widely distributed daily devotional in the world, which is published in over 7,000 languages and circulates billions of copies across 242 countries and territories.

But just like the sun radiates the brightness of day wherever it faces, causing dusk on its flipside, revival is usually asynchronous (Acts 2, Psalm 102:13, Ecclesiastes 9:11, Acts 1:8). The faithful in Nigeria must therefore make hay while the sun shines – if you don’t mind the cliche. There remain a lot more grounds to cover. Nigerian Fathers of Faith with massive global reach and influence must introspect to see if God’s reason for shining His light from Nigeria has been realised or He is shifting attention elsewhere as a result of our people’s dereliction or compromise. It will be a Woe if we as a nation do not recognise or miss our time of visitation (Luke 19:44).

Nigerian Christians must not be complacent on the basis of the 1986 prophecy by Pa S. G. Elton that: “Nigeria and Nigerians will be known all over the world for corruption. Your name Nigeria will stink for corruption, but after a while, a new phase will come a phase of righteousness. Many shall take hold of him, that is a Nigerian saying; we will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” This prophecy may have run its course or remained perpetually hanging because the country hasn’t produced a Samuel Leeds who would take the corresponding action that would bring it to pass! For what it’s worth, the UK is deserving of the impending Glory as a country that, for over 1,500 years, was built on Christian values. These have shaped the British laws, morals, calendar, institutions, charities, and national character — from Magna Carta to modern human rights practices.

In the final analysis, the threat to Nigeria’s epicenter status in the Move of God should concern every Nigerian. As Bishop Oke told The Punch newspaper in the interview referenced above: “The spiritual controls everything; If our people are spiritually sound and healthy, they will impact this nation very positively. Nigeria would have been a hell but for the presence of Christians who are praying, who are living righteously, who are living godly. And I tell people that all we need to do for Nigeria to collapse is for the saints of God to stop praying. If the Christians in this nation stop praying, the nation will collapse.” Need I say more?

VIS Ugochukwu is a Sage, Narrative Architect and Brand Strategist who can be reached @sylvesugwuanyi on X