Barna Both Alarmed, Encouraged by 'State of the Church'
by Allie Martin
April 20, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Christian researcher says church leaders need to look seriously at popular strategies which are used to reach people for Christ.Recently the Barna Group released its report titled "State of the Church: 2005." According to the survey, although nine out of ten Americans take part in some type of religious practice each week, many people who describe themselves as "born again" are not focused on influencing society for Christ and lack basic knowledge of scripture. In addition, the survey found that the number of unchurched people in American continues to increase, while church attendance continues to drop.
Despite those findings, George Barna, president of the Barna Group, sees reason for optimism. "While there may be fewer people in many respects who are attending a kind of traditional or congregational format of church where worship services and Sunday school classes take place, we're also finding that there's growth in areas such as people participating in house churches," he explains.
According to the researcher, that is an indication that people are still yearning for spiritual fulfillment. "So when you put all of this together, it's not suggesting that people are extricating themselves from acts of faith," he observes. "What we're finding simply is that they are looking for ways to experience and express their faith that is more meaningful to them."
Barna has been tracking yearly trends in the Church in America since 1991. That perspective has shown him that the modern phenomenon of the "mega-church" -- congregations consisting of thousands of individuals -- brings both positives and negatives.
"It's a mixed bag," Barna says. "There are some churches that have a phenomenal ministry going on -- it's really terrific, people get the big picture, they're really pouring themselves into other people's lives."
But there a potential downside to big congregations as well, he adds. "Other large churches essentially become places where you can hide, where you don't get challenged, where you can feel more comfortable," he says. While the pollster says there may be a time and a place for that protection for people who have been "wounded through past church experiences," he says "there is a bigger picture at stake here -- and we need to have greater balance in a lot of churches than we certainly see today."
Barna suggests that the proper balance can be achieved if churches refocus on bringing about lasting transformation in people's lives -- something he says will require bold and aggressive church leaders who are willing to take risks. (See related article)
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
