A new, heartening grassroots movement is sweeping across our country as Gen Z lace up their sneakers and choose faith over the emptiness of woke culture. What began in Columbus, Ohio, as a simple run club has exploded into a nationwide enterprise, now reported to be in more than 80 cities across five countries, with tens of thousands of young people gathering each week to run, worship, and hear the Gospel. This is the kind of organic, faith-driven energy Washington elites and cultural gatekeepers cannot manufacture or control.
The face of the movement is a young man named Will Garinger, who started Run With Christ to deepen his own faith and has seen it grow into a phenomenon that proves young Americans still hunger for truth. Garinger’s story — a 19-year-old seed that took root and spread — is exactly the sort of citizen-led revival our nation needs, born out of conviction rather than institutional agenda. Conservatives should celebrate that leadership and grassroots organizing, not dismiss it as a passing trend.
The image of thousands of worshiping young people gathering at the Lincoln Memorial should stir every patriot’s soul: a generation reclaiming public spaces for God and country, not for political slogans or empty spectacles. That moment at the nation’s capital is symbolic — a reminder that faith and America’s founding ideals still belong together in the public square. It’s a rebuke to those who say religion has no place in civic life and a testimony that liberty of conscience is alive and well.
On-the-ground reports describe more than weekend runs; they describe lives changed — people saved, prayed for, and connected to local churches — the kind of measurable spiritual fruit that secular institutions pretend cannot happen. This isn’t nostalgia or marketing; it’s revival-style ministry meeting people where they are, with exercise, fellowship, and the Gospel. When young people find authenticity in Jesus instead of the hollow promises of progressivism, conservative communities should do everything they can to support and amplify that work.
The momentum is real and organized enough to sell out leadership gatherings and a homecoming weekend in Columbus, showing the appetite for discipleship and community among young Americans. Events that bring thousands together for prayer, worship, and leadership development are not the province of big institutional churches alone; they are proof that faithful, decentralized movements can flourish. If conservatives want to win the next generation, we should stop lecturing and start building more spaces where young people can meet Jesus and belong.
It’s time for pastors, families, and conservative leaders to recognize and celebrate what these young people are doing: choosing accountability, community, and Christ over despair and cultural nihilism. Encourage local churches to partner with initiatives like this, to provide pastoral care and discipleship, and to make room for the next generation to lead without gatekeeping. The left’s cultural machines have had their turn; now we’re seeing a powerful, faith-first response that speaks to the heart of America.
This movement is a reminder that hope in our nation does not come from government programs or celebrity activists but from ordinary young Americans daring to put Jesus at the center of their lives. Stand with them, support them, and let their revival be the beginning of a broader return to faith, family, and freedom across this land.
