THE STATE OF CHURCHED CHRISTIANSAccording to George Barna in his book ‘Revolution’, Page 30 

Regarding Worship… 

·         The biweekly attendance at worship services is , by believers own admission, generally the only time they worship.

 

·         8 out of every 10 believers do not feel they have entered into the presence of God, or experienced a connection with Him, during the worship service

 

·         Half of all believers say they do not feel they have entered into the presence of God or experienced a genuine connection with Him during the past year.

 

·         Only 1 out of every 4 churched believer says that when they worship God, they expect Him to be the primary beneficiary of their worship.  ( Most people say they expect to get the most from the experience.)

 

 

      Regarding Faith Based Conversations… 

·         The typical church believer will die without leading a single person to a life saving knowledge of and relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

·         At any given time a majority of believers do not have a specific person in mind for whom they are praying in the hope that the person will be saved.

 

·         Most churched Christians believe that since they are not gifted in Evangelism, such outreach is not a significant responsibility of theirs.

 

 

       Regarding Intentional Spiritual Growth… 

Only 9 percent of all born again adults have a biblical worldview – meaning that less than 1 out of every 10 Christians age eighteen or older believes that absolute moral truth exists, believes that such truth is contained in the Bible, and possesses a handful of core beliefs that reflect such truth.  Those beliefs include a certainty that the Bible is accurate in its teachings:  Jesus lived a sinless life on earth; Satan is real, not symbolic; all believers are responsible for sharing their faith in Christ with others; the only means to salvation is through God’s grace; and God is all – knowing and all powerful creator of the universe who still rules it today.  The other 91 perccent of born-again adults possess a patchwork of theological views and rarely rely upon those perspectives to inform their daily decisions.

 

 

 

 

• Although the typical believer contends that the Bible is accurate in what it teaches, he or she spends less time reading the Bible in a year than watching television, listening to music, reading other books and publication, or conversing about personal hobbies and leisure interests.

 

• When asked what constitutes success in life, few believers define success in spiritual terms.  Most describe outcomes related to professional achievement, family solidarity, physical accomplishments, resource acquisition.

 

• When given the opportunity to state how they want be known by others, fewer than one our of ten believers mentioned descriptions that reflect their relationship with God.

 

 Regarding Resource Investment… 

·         Churched Christians give away an average of about 3 percent of their income in a typical year- and feel pleased at their “sacrificial” generosity.

 

·         Fewer than one 1 out of every 10 churched Christians donates at least ten percent of their income to churches and other nonprofit organizations. (More than one-third claims to do so)

 

·         When asked to explain their understanding of biblical stewardship, less than one out of every twenty includes resources such as time, relationships, ideas, or skills in their assessment.

 

·         Most believers are unable to identify anything specific they have ever donated money to that they would describe as producing life-changing outcomes.

 

Regarding Servanthood… 

·         In a typical week, only one out of every four believers will allocate some time to serving other people.  Most of that time is dedicated to volunteering in church programs that serve the congregants; little effort is invested in serving needy people outside the congregation.

 

·         Most churched Christians admit to having seen homeless or hurting people in their community or travels during the past year; a very small percentage says they interacted with any of those disadvantaged individuals.

 

·         The typical believer would rather give money to an organization to allow it to do good deeds in society than personally assist in alleviating the needs of disadvantaged people.

 

 

 

       Regarding Spiritual Friendships… 

• Fewer than one out of every six churched believers has a relationship with one another believer through which spiritual accountability is provided.

 

• The most significant influence on the choices of churched believers is neither teachings from the pulpit nor advice gleaned from fellow congregants; it is messages absorbed from the media, the law, and family members.

 

Regarding Family Faith… 

• A large majority of churched believers rely upon their church, rather than their family, to train their children to become spiritually mature.

 

• In an average month, fewer than one out of every ten churched families worships together outside of a church service; just a few pray together, other than at mealtimes; and the same minimal numbers study the Bible together at home at home or work together to address the needs of the disadvantaged people in their community.

 

• The likelihood of a married couple who are born-again church goers getting divorced is the same as couples who are not disciples of Jesus.

 

• Apart from church – based programs, the typical Christian family spends less than three hours per month in endeavors designed to jointly develop or apply their faith.

 

• Most Christian parents do not believe they are doing a good job at facilitating the spiritual development of their children.