According to a 2006 Barna survey there is a wide discrepancy between the Pastor's perception of the spiritual health of his congregation and the perception of the members themselves. The primary reason for this gap is the different criteria used by the clergy and the church members to describe spiritual vitality. The most disturbing revelation from this survey, as it relates to evangelism, follows.
Barna concludes that "evangelism is not a priority in most churches, so the fact that most churched adults do not verbally share the gospel in a given year is not deemed problematic. Only one out of every eight churches bothers to evaluate how many of their congregants are sharing their faith in Christ with non-believers."
"When pastors described their notion of significant, faith-driven life change, the vast majority (more than four out five) focused on salvation but ignored issues related to lifestyle or spiritual maturity. The fact that the lifestyle of most churched adults is essentially indistinguishable from that of unchurched people is not a concern for most churches; whether or not people have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior is the sole or primary indicator of 'life transformation,' regardless of whether their life after such a decision produces spiritual fruit."
Read the entire article at the link provided below.
Read the entire article at the link provided below.
Excerpted from “Surveys Show Pastors Claim Congregants Are Deeply Committed to God But Congregants Deny It!” by The Barna Group (www.barna.org), January 10, 2006. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
