Summary4 min read

Breakpoint Podcast Summary

Episode: Evaluating the "Kirk Effect"
Host: John Stonestreet
Date: November 21, 2025

Overview

In this episode of Breakpoint, John Stonestreet explores the phenomenon being described as the "Kirk Effect"—the notable surge in religious interest, church attendance, and spiritual revival in the United States following the September 10 assassination of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA. Stonestreet evaluates whether this activity represents a lasting Christian revival or a temporary response, discussing societal reactions and the risks of misinterpreting or missing genuine spiritual movements.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Immediate Aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s Death

Observations of a "Spiritual Revival":
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth observed at Kirk's memorial that “Charlie started a political movement but unleashed a spiritual revival.” (00:15)
- Many pastors and religious leaders have reported a significant uptick in church attendance posthumously credited to Kirk.
Statistical and Anecdotal Evidence:
- Fox News reports a 15-30% increase in church attendance in churches across the U.S., with many new attendees citing Kirk's death as “a wake up call about their mortality and faith.” (01:11)
- JP DeGance (Communio) shares how multiple churches (especially in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Colorado) saw lapsed young adults returning to church. (01:55)
Surge in Bible Sales:
- Nielsen BookScan records a 36% increase in Bible sales in September, compared to the previous year. (02:33)
- Mark Schoenwald (HarperCollins Christian Publishing) attributes this spike to Kirk’s death, noting that “Kirk’s shooting awakened a lot of people.” (02:47)
Growth of TPUSA Faith:
- The organization's church network doubled to 8,000, and 200,000 more Christians became involved. (03:07)

2. Questioning the Longevity and Depth of the "Kirk Effect"

Evaluating Long-term Revival:
- Stonestreet notes, “The most substantial evidence of whether or not we’re in a time of Christian revival still remains to be seen.” (03:23)
- Ryan Burge, statistician, states, "There's no evidence of a massive return to religion, although it's too early to have all the relevant data." (03:49)
- Stonestreet draws a parallel to the post-9/11 spike in patriotism, cautioning against confusing short-term trends with lasting spiritual change.

3. Risks of Missing God’s Work

Potential for Misinterpretation:
- Stonestreet highlights two main ways to miss genuine revival:
  1. Presuming the Limits of God’s Work:
    - Criticism exists toward figures like Kirk for combining politics and evangelism. Stonestreet observes, "Many have presumed as much about Christians who are deemed to be too political, especially someone with the kind of public profile that Charlie Kirk had." (04:30)
  2. Pride and Self-Congratulation:
    - “The second way to miss God’s working in this moment is to spend all our time and energy saying some version of ‘I told you so’ rather than wait on the Lord with thankfulness and praise.” (05:10)
D.L. Moody Remark:
- Stonestreet invokes D.L. Moody to defend imperfect activism:
  
  “I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.” (05:00)

4. Revival: Substance, Not Hype

Nature of True Revival:
- Genuine revival is marked by “a growing awareness, most importantly of the glory of God and also of the seriousness of sin.” (05:55)
- Attempts to claim credit, seize the moment for self-promotion, or try to “manufacture” revival are bound to fall short.
Present Opportunities and Challenges:
- There is reason for encouragement: “There seems to be a growing awareness of spiritual things, a growing rejection of some of the worst ideas that have poisoned our culture, and a clear growing groundswell of courage among God’s people.” (06:28)
- The choice, Stonestreet argues, is whether Christians will faithfully join in this work and remain committed to what is “true and good.” (06:46)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Pete Hegseth:

"Charlie started a political movement but unleashed a spiritual revival." (00:12)
John Stonestreet:

"The most substantial evidence of whether or not we’re in a time of Christian revival still remains to be seen." (03:23)
“Many have presumed... that God could never work in the way that He is working.” (04:35)
“Mixing politics and evangelism as Charlie Kirk did is quite risky, and he did not always do it well. However, it seems obvious that as he matured and sought out mentors, Charlie became more Christian and more politically measured, even as he remained just as bold.” (04:43)
"I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it." (quoting D.L. Moody, 05:00)
“Revivals are fed by a growing awareness, most importantly of the glory of God and also of the seriousness of sin.” (05:55)
Mark Schoenwald:

"Kirk’s shooting awakened a lot of people." (02:47)

Important Segment Timestamps

00:01 – 03:20 — Explaining the immediate “Kirk Effect:” uptick in church attendance and religious engagement post-Kirk’s death.
03:21 – 04:25 — Cautious analysis: Is this really revival, or a fleeting cultural moment?
04:26 – 05:40 — Two risk factors in misinterpreting spiritual events (God’s unpredictable methods, pride).
05:41 – End — Emphasizing authentic revival, encouraging faithful, courageous Christian engagement.

Tone and Language

Stonestreet adopts a sober, hopeful tone, urging discernment, humility, and faithfulness—acknowledging the complexity and unpredictability of spiritual movements. He gently critiques both excessive skepticism and triumphalism, calling listeners to reflect, participate, and avoid the pitfall of self-congratulation.

Note: This summary omits appeals for donations and other non-content sections, focusing strictly on the episode’s analysis and reflections on the “Kirk Effect.”

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Transcript1 lines

[00:01]
A
Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stonestreet. During the memorial service for Charlie Kirk, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, Charlie started a political movement but unleashed a spiritual revival. Well, many people have in fact been using that word revival to describe what's happened, especially among young people, since the September 10 assassination of the founder of Turning Point USA. According to a Fox News article published just a few weeks after his death, pastors and religious leaders across the United States, including Arizona, where Kirk was based, have reported a 15 to 30% increase in church attendance, and many of the new attendees referred to Kirk's death as a kind of wake up call about their mortality and faith. JP DeGance, the founder and president of Communio, a ministry that helps churches strengthen marriages, told the Christian Post this there's been a lot of anecdotal feedback from churches in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Douglas County, Colorado reporting that they've seen an increase in attendance over the last two Sundays. There's one church in Michigan that said a number of young adults who were raised in the church but hadn't been there and people who hadn't seen them for years showed back up. Also, Bible sales in the month of September were about 36% higher than the previous year around, according to Nielsen BookScan. Mark Schoenwald, president and chief executive of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, was one of several book publishing experts who attributed the surge of Bible sales to Kirk's death. As he told Decision magazine, Kirk's shooting awakened a lot of people and of course every single aspect of the Turning Point organization has seen an incredible surge of interest in the wake of Kirk's death. That includes TPUSA Faith, a group that helps churches put their faith into action. Its church network has essentially doubled to 8,000 churches, and an additional 200,000 Christians are now involved with the organization. But the most substantial evidence of whether or not we're in a time of Christian revival still remains to be seen. Specifically, it remains to be seen whether what many are calling the Kirk Effect will prove to be only short term, kind of like the wave of patriotism that that followed 911 last month, statistician Ryan Burge told the Daily Signal there's no evidence of a massive return to religion, although he also stated that it was too early to have all the relevant data. If there is a significant work of the Lord that's brewing in our country, well, there are two sure fire ways to miss it. The first is to presume that God could never work in the way that he is working. Many have presumed as much about Christians who are deemed to be too political, especially someone with the kind of public profile that Charlie Kirk had in life and even more in his death. Now, to be sure, mixing politics and evangelism as Charlie Kirk did is quite risky, and he did not always do it well. However, it seems obvious that as he matured and sought out mentors, Charlie became more Christian and more politically measured, even as he remained just as bold. To those who think that Christianity must never be mixed with political activism, there are the words of evangelist D.L. moody, who once told a critic of how he evangelized, I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it. The second way to miss God's working in this moment is to spend all of our time and energy saying some version of I told you so rather than wait on the Lord with thankfulness and praise for working in our midst. Revivals are fed by a growing awareness, most importantly of the glory of God and also of the seriousness of sin. All the attempts then to seize a platform or to claim credit or to manufacture some internal change will never achieve the eternal ends that religious revival will. Now we can certainly rejoice that there seems to be a growing awareness of spiritual things, a growing rejection of some of the worst ideas that have poisoned our culture, and a clear growing groundswell of courage among God's people. Our choice now is whether we will join this work or faithful to what is true and what is good. The Colson center is committed to helping Christians live with this kind of faithfulness and courage in this cultural moment. The daily breakpoint commentaries provide clarity amidst the confusion and confidence in the truth. The Colson Fellows Program equips Christians to serve their churches, their families, and their Christian schools. And Truth Rising is challenging Christians across America and around the world to engage this civilizational moment with hope. Would you consider joining us in this mission to advance a Christian worldview with a generous year end gift? Thanks to a $500,000 match, every single gift before the end of the year will have double the impact. So please give today@colsoncenter.org November that's colsoncenter.org November for the Colson Center. I'm John Stonestreet with Breakpoint.