George Barna - Findings

Findings

Barna is known for providing extensive surveys regarding Christianity and the state of the church. Among his findings that have generated substantial interest or controversy in recent years include:

• children are the most important population segment to minister to because of their spiritual teachability and developmental vulnerability;
• God transforms people's lives in connection with a 10-stop journey that is surprisingly consistent across people groups
• Christian churches in the United States have been generally ineffective vessels for evangelism and discipleship;
• most Protestant pastors are neither called to nor competent in leadership;
• less than one out of every five born again adults possesses a Biblical world view;
• every church engages in marketing, but few do it well;
• mass media has the most dramatic effect on people's behavior and beliefs;
• alternative forms of church life — including house churches — are growing rapidly;
• a growing group of spiritually devout Christians, known as Revolutionaries, are embracing a post-congregational narrative that is reshaping spiritual life in the U.S.;
• most "church growth" is simply the recycling of church-goers from one congregation to another.
• divorce rate amongst born-again Christians is significantly higher than that for atheist/agnostics. A more recent 2008 Barna report shows a closer divorce rate gap between born-again Christians (32% had been divorced) and atheist/agnostics (30% had been divorced).

Barna considers Maximum Faith to be his most significant book. Others that he cites as being especially valuable include Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, Think Like Jesus, The Power of Vision, and Revolution. Since 2009 he has been a writer for hire, penning books such as The Cause Within You, for Matthew Barnett, which became a New York Times bestseller in 2011.