Fox News host Jesse Watters credits the way Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk lived and died with sparking in him a desire to learn more about Jesus Christ.
Kirk was vocal about his Christian faith, saying months before he was assassinated in September 2025, “If I’m to be known for anything, I want to be known for being courageous for my faith.” He launched TPUSA Faith, with events all over the country featuring prominent Christian leaders.
In that spirit, the organization has been hosting its “Make Heaven Crowded Tour” this year, making a stop in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday at Cielo Vista Church, which featured an interview with Watters.
He first shared a little of his faith background with the audience, saying, “I was a C and E Christian. We only went to church on Christmas and Easter. My father was Episcopalian, my mother was Congregationalist, and they raised me in an all-black Presbyterian church in Philly.”
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Watters noted that he did not like Sunday school. “The only thing I remember from Sunday school were the danishes. When I see a pastry, it actually makes me think of God,” he joked.
“And I just wasn’t connecting to God all growing up, and I married a Catholic, still not connected,” Watters said.
“And then when Charlie was shot, there was something inside of me that just yearned to learn more about Jesus Christ. And that’s how the whole country felt. The whole country was awakened and wanted to experience a reawakening,” he said.
As I argue in my book, “We Hold These Truths: The Two Beliefs That Still Hold the Power to Transform the Nation and the World,” spiritually, the United States needs a revival and a reformation to achieve greater unity and put liberty back on solid ground, and there are signs an awakening is happening.
Kirk, in life and in death, has had a massive impact on America’s faith landscape, which I also chronicle in the book. Bible sales spiked by 36 percent in September 2025 following his assassination. Sales of the Good Book overall hit a 21-year high in 2025, with 19 million sold.
Some 200,000 attended his memorial service on site, both inside and outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and 100 million more tuned in to watch online.
They heard the gospel of Jesus Christ presented multiple times, including from Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance spoke meaningfully about Kirk’s faith in Jesus, and prominent Christian music artists, like Chris Tomlin, Brandon Lake, Kari Jobe, and Phil Wickham led the attendees in Jesus-centered worship.
Rubio conveyed the entire message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in less than 90 seconds.
The U.S. may, in fact, be in the midst of a revival.
In April 2025, Barna polling reported that 66 percent of Americans said they had made a personal commitment to Jesus, which marked a 12 percent increase since 2021.
The population of America in 2025 was 342 million, meaning there could have been about 40 million new professing believers.
“This shift is not only statistically significant — it may be the clearest indication of meaningful spiritual renewal in the United States,” Barna said.
I spoke about Kirk’s impact both spiritually and politically in a podcast with The Western Journal in July.
Watters told the crowd at TPUSA’s event on Saturday in El Paso that what he finds encouraging is that Jesus is at your side: “And you can talk to Him — and He can kind of talk to you — and say exactly what you feel, and you can be your true self, and He knows exactly what’s in your heart.”
He said it has created a sense of purpose and tranquility in his life that affects how he treats others.
“I can tell you that ever since I found God, my life has gotten better, materially, professionally, my family. Like, I can tolerate my family now, my sister, my crazy mother. I have so much more patience than I used to. I’m so grateful that I’ve found God,” Watters said.
And, no doubt, Charlie is grateful, too.
This article originally appeared on The Western Journal and is reposted with permission.
