Every week, millions of Americans attend local Christian churches for numerous reasons. But how effective are Christian churches in impacting the lives of those who attend? Well, one of the best ways to know what happens to people who go to church is to ask them. That’s what the Barna Group did through a survey, and the results were released earlier this week.
In this post, I want to zero in on two findings of the survey. The first has to do with the extent to which churchgoers said their lives had been changed through church attendance. According to the study, only one-fourth of all Americans who had been to church before said their lives had been changed or greatly affected thereby. Nearly half of all churchgoers said their life had not been changed at all as a result of church attendance.
The second area has to do with the insights churchgoers gained through church attendance. According to the survey results, 61% of churchgoers said they could not recall a significant or important new insight or understanding gained as a result of their last visit to church. Even among those who had attended church in the past week, relative to the time of the survey, half admitted they could not recall a significant insight they had gained.
Reflecting on the results of the study, I believe it is vitally important that we more effectively proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So many people today are searching for answers to the tough questions in life, and I know the gospel provides those answers. Also, many people desire a new lease on life, and I am pursuaded that the gospel provides that as well. These should be among the benefits of church attendance.
I wrote a previous post entitled, How Healthy are America’s Churches? Based on a very extensive study that had been done, it was found that the spiritual health of America’s churches are on a downward trend. Perhaps the findings of the Barna Group’s recent study shed some light on the problem. Why go to church if over time you don’t sense your life is being positively impacted, or if you don’t feel as though you are gaining any new insights for living?
Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
In this post, I want to zero in on two findings of the survey. The first has to do with the extent to which churchgoers said their lives had been changed through church attendance. According to the study, only one-fourth of all Americans who had been to church before said their lives had been changed or greatly affected thereby. Nearly half of all churchgoers said their life had not been changed at all as a result of church attendance.
The second area has to do with the insights churchgoers gained through church attendance. According to the survey results, 61% of churchgoers said they could not recall a significant or important new insight or understanding gained as a result of their last visit to church. Even among those who had attended church in the past week, relative to the time of the survey, half admitted they could not recall a significant insight they had gained.
Reflecting on the results of the study, I believe it is vitally important that we more effectively proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So many people today are searching for answers to the tough questions in life, and I know the gospel provides those answers. Also, many people desire a new lease on life, and I am pursuaded that the gospel provides that as well. These should be among the benefits of church attendance.
I wrote a previous post entitled, How Healthy are America’s Churches? Based on a very extensive study that had been done, it was found that the spiritual health of America’s churches are on a downward trend. Perhaps the findings of the Barna Group’s recent study shed some light on the problem. Why go to church if over time you don’t sense your life is being positively impacted, or if you don’t feel as though you are gaining any new insights for living?
Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
2 comments:
I been going to a church here in Kentucky that was just so draining! I felt that each time I left I learned nothing but how to get rich! LOL.
I sought out different services with different pastors;And Glory to God I finally found a Pastor that actually teaches the word of God and how to live for Christ!
Allot of pastor have forgotten that church is a place to build up the saints and teach them to be soul winners for Christ, equipping them to go into the world and reach the lost and hurting!
Instead we find lessons after lessons on being a millionaire. Now while prosperity is great, their is a major key that is forgotten, and that is that God`s word teaches us to seek him first and his kingdom and his righteousness and all those things shall be added unto us!
AS always Pastor frank Great post!
Great comment. It is true that too many of our preachers have gotten caught in the prosperity movement, and have failed to teach God's people how to live the victorious Christian life. It disturbs me when I meet Christians who can quote every verse in the Bible that they use, many taken out of context, to promote the prosperity message, and these same people know very little of the rest of the Bible.
Based on the study mentioned in this post, many people by their own words are saying that church attendance leaves them empty. Glad you found a church that teaches the Word of God and how to live for the Lord.
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