The founder of a respected evangelical polling company now works as a senior fellow with one of the most partisan evangelical advocacy groups in Washington, D.C. Although the Barna Group, which he founded in 1984 as Barna Research, still bears…
Most Christians don’t feel adequate for sharing their faith or making disciples
Feelings of inadequacy or a case of the jitters seem to be keeping many Christians from sharing their faith with others, according to a new report by Barna Research. “Not feeling qualified or equipped (37%) is the main barrier” to…
Gen Z non-Christians pay most attention to those who live out their faith rather than preach it
Their curiosity about spirituality but disdain for overt proselytizing makes today’s teenagers a challenging group for Christians who want to share their faith with others, new research shows. “According to non-Christian Gen Z, the most appealing evangelism occurs when Christians…
Survey says: Churches could do more on identifying and using spiritual gifts
Churches must be more determined and creative in helping Christians identify and use their spiritual gifts, according to a new survey affirmed by the observations of congregational health experts. Many local congregations “have a gap to fill when it comes…
Panel proclaims the power of today’s Black church to engage younger adults
A panel of African American Christian leaders expressed optimism that the Black church is emerging from the COVID-19 and a concurrent civil rights crisis as a robust social justice movement increasingly trusted by rising generations. “We’ve seen a lot of…
Amid the pandemic and racial reckoning, most Americans give clergy high marks
A majority of Americans, churchgoing or otherwise, believe pastors are trustworthy and aware of the challenges faced by their local communities, new research by Barna shows. Among U.S. adults, 59% either “disagreed strongly” or “somewhat disagreed” that local clergy are…
Gen Z Christians more open to share their faith than Millennials
Teenage members of Generation Z are much more open to sharing their Christian faith than their Millennial predecessors, but mostly by emphasizing behavior and personal example over traditional approaches to evangelism, new research by the Barna Group shows. The survey…
Bible use remains steady even as more Americans stop joining churches
Fewer Americans may be joining churches, but about the same number as before are reading the Bible, a new survey finds. The bar for determining who reads the Bible is fairly low by most Sunday school standards — pollsters define…
Barna: Racism a reality even in multiracial churches
Multiracial churches are growing in the U.S., which may seem like a good thing. Unless you are Black. “Almost three in 10 Black practicing Christians in a multiracial church (29%) say they have experienced racial prejudice on some level,” the…