EDITORIAL
Barna Trends | David Kinnaman
The church’s mission is to spread the message of the saving, sacrificial love and ultimate hope that Jesus commissioned his followers to proclaim.
But sharing the gospel in the U.S. has hit stiff cultural and demographic headwinds that have led to unprecedented challenges. Our research shows there is cause for concern and hope about the state of evangelism in the U.S.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
In Reviving Evangelism, a study we at Barna did in partnership with Alpha USA, findings revealed that a majority of practicing Christians do not consistently support evangelism, and 47% of millennial Christians believe it is flat-out wrong to evangelize. This stems largely from the idea that it’s inappropriate to try to persuade people of something they don’t already believe, but that’s the very essence of evangelism.
In their defense, though, younger Christians are more personally aware of the cultural temperature around spiritual conversations. Among practicing Christians, millennials report an average of four close friends or family members who practice a faith other than Christianity. Most of their baby boomer parents and grandparents, by comparison, have just one. Young Christians’ reticence is at least partly understandable: Society today casts a negative light on proselytization. In our study Spiritual Conversations in the Digital Age, 2 out of 3 Christian millennials (65%) believe that people today are more likely than in the past to take offense if they share their faith.
A Deeper Yearning
Our recent Spiritually Open study, however, revealed some good news: Roughly 3 out of 4 (74%) adults say they want to grow spiritually. The same proportion (79%) say they believe in a higher power. Across every generation, we see an unprecedented desire to grow spiritually, a belief in a spiritual or supernatural dimension and a belief in God or a higher power.
This widespread openness to a spiritual life should be cause for great hope for the church. If American Christians can respond to this evangelistic moment with agility while retaining their core distinctiveness and message, the gospel will take root, no matter the culture’s trajectory.
People’s need for Jesus hasn’t changed. Many today are missing a sense of purpose and meaning. They are asking deep questions of identity. Who am I? What does it mean to be human? Our message of new life in Christ must connect to the inner yearnings of a potential Christian for abundance, forgiveness, purpose, meaning or relationship. That connection is where the best questions are asked and where the truest answers are found.
Better Listening
Evangelism is quintessentially relational, a fundamental act of vulnerability and radical openness. It necessitates good, active, loving listening. According to non-Christians and non-practicing Christians (people who identify as Christian but don’t prioritize or practice the faith), a Christian who is a good listener is more precious than rubies—and nearly as hard to find.
If we took time to listen, to get clear on the unanswered spiritual questions that our neighbors, friends, colleagues and family are carrying around—how would our evangelism efforts change? At the very least, we’d become better listeners and more convinced that talking about Jesus is worthy of our everyday conversations.