On October 11, 2026, Télé-Québec, the province’s public broadcaster, released a 52-minute documentary on YouTube titled “Faites du bruit pour Jésus” (“Make Some Noise for Jesus”), by journalist Clément Hamelin (no relation to the author).
At the time of writing, the video had 341,000 views, or almost 4% of the entire population of Quebec (which does not include those who saw the live broadcast on Télé-Quebec). The journalist set out to answer a question about a peculiar phenomenon happening in the most secularized society in North America: why are young Quebecers, fellow Gen-Zers like himself, giving their lives to Jesus Christ?
The contrast between generations is striking. In the 1960s, during the Quiet Revolution, the Boomers (born 1946–1964) left the Roman Catholic Church in unprecedented numbers. But now, their grandchildren, Gen Z (born 1997–2012), are spiritually curious and many are manifesting a deep desire to be rooted in evangelical Christian faith.
The film made headlines when the journalist and two of its evangelical participants appeared on “Tout le monde en parle” (“Everyone’s talking about it”), a prime-time talk show on Radio-Canada, the French-language arm of the Canadian Broadcasting Corportation (CBC). For context, this weekly Sunday night talk show is watched live by 11 to 15% of all Quebecers. There is no show in English Canada or the US today anywhere near that level of reach and cultural impact. One would have to go back to the 1950s-era Ed Sullivan Show for an American equivalent.
So why would such a small group—evangelical Christians—provoke such a stir? Why are journalists and public figures suddenly interested, and worried about, les évangéliques?
The Moon and the Finger
The answer lies in the angle the documentary takes. The young journalist received generous cooperation from churches and ministries across the evangelical community, yet his editorial choices, in both form and substance, revealed a clear bias. As the adage goes: when the wise man points at the moon, the fool looks at the finger. Instead of looking at the light the “moon” reflects, the film trains its spotlight on the “finger”, the loudest influencers and their statements most likely to offend Quebec’s cultural sensibilities.
The film says little about what evangelical faith actually teaches or how it shapes the daily lives of new believers. It offers a socio-psychological reading of conversion, backed by university experts. Meanwhile, it asks the most vocal influencers for short answers on the usual flashpoints: homosexuality, conversion therapy, transgender issues, public prayer and evangelism, the role of women, abortion, and deconversion.
The problem is not that these subjects are raised. It is how they are raised, and to whom. Asking a recent convert to answer, in a few seconds, a question the church has wrestled with for centuries is a reliable way to get a memorable clip that fits the narrative. But to understand the answer, and why it is anchored in Scripture, one must listen to pastors and theologians. The film gives such voices less than five minutes.
At one point the journalist tells an interviewee, candidly, “I feel like we’re two deaf people talking to each other.” Precisely. A dialogue of the deaf can be avoided only if the conversation moves from hot-button issues to the theological premises beneath them. That is where a viewer could weigh competing worldviews. Television, unfortunately, rarely allows the time.
How Evangelicals Responded
The immediate result of this unprecedented public attention has been a chaotic mix of angry denunciations, derision and mockery, and genuine curiosity.
Anticipating the film’s slant, evangelical leaders mobilized. The Réseau évangélique du Québec (REQ), the Quebec equivalent of an evangelical alliance, published a statement that drew more than 80,000 views in a week. SOLA, the Quebec French-language platform of TGC, published articles with more than 20,000 views, nearly 80% from non-subscribers.
The REQ and influencer Samuel Plante (Sam’Parle) also produced a two-hour, two-part podcast panel unpacking the film (Part 1; Part 2). Its wide circulation (190,000 combined views at the time of writing) shows that the initiative met a real need.
According to Corentin Messina, editor-in-chief of SOLA and the REQ’s communications director, the episode shows that Quebec evangelicals must build their own media ecosystem. This is underlined by the fact that much of the recent growth in Gen Z evangelicals has come through social media influencers chronicling and sharing their conversions with their followers, bypassing traditional media completely. Evangelicals may still seem marginal to Quebec society, but they are here to stay.
Young people’s hunger for spiritual roots should not be dismissed as a passing trend driven by social media. It is a constant of the human soul at the start of life’s journey. Believing the gospel will mean swimming against the current, and for that, leaders must build local communities and institutions that can endure.
Quebec is a preview of what a post-Christian culture can look like, and what it looks like when the gospel takes root there anyway. Wherever evangelicals are a minority, journalists will increasingly tell their story for them.
Standing With the Quebec Church
The evangelical church in the rest of Canada has a long history of supporting the work in Quebec through prayer, missionaries, and ongoing support. As the church in Quebec navigates this moment of challenge and opportunity, Christians across Canada and the world should consider how they can help. The two types of responses are prayer and support.
Pray for the hearts of Quebecers to be opened to the gospel, and for French-speaking believers who are now in the public eye to have the wisdom to face this challenge and the boldness to make the most of this opportunity. Consider signing up for the 10:02 prayer initiative from Mission Quebec.
In terms of support, there are a number of organizations doing good work in Quebec who always need support of various kinds. The one we are most closely aligned with is SOLA, but there are denominational and mission organizations you may be aware of that would be grateful for a word of encouragement, a donation, a short-term trip, or other kinds of support.
Although the journalistic presentation of evangelicalism was deeply flawed, many beautiful elements of the gospel shone through regardless. As Paul reminds us, if “Christ is proclaimed,” even through an imperfect lens, for that we can rejoice (Phil. 1:18).
In the last few weeks, Quebec has been confronted with the fact that the name of Jesus, thought by many to be little more than a historical artifact of the province’s Roman Catholic roots, is still in the hearts and on the tongues of a vibrant and growing minority.
