Illustration results for commitment to christ
Staff Picks of the Week:
Memorial Day 2013
Memorial Day 2013 Preaching Bundle »
Greater Love Video Illustration »
Everlasting God Worship Music Video »
Sabbath
Sabbath Preaching Bundle »
1 Outta 7 Video Illustration »
Before The Throne… Worship Music Video »
Barna Research Group reports that 31% of U.S. adults (10 million people) have not attended a Christian church service in the past 6 months. This is up from only 17% just 18 months earlier. The jump is attributed to growing numbers of Baby busters, men and non-white adults not attending church. This group is more common in the West and Northeast (40%) than in the South and Midwest (25%). Younger, politically liberal, and unmarried people are much more likely to be in this group. Interestingly, 40% of the unchurched people assert that their religious faith is very important and 62% call themselves Christian. 35% claim to have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important to them. Barna concludes the American public is saying, “Make Christianity accessible and practical or don’t expect their to participation.” (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing, 3/5/99)
More than 10 million born again Christians are unchurched. (Foster Letter 4/15/01)
41% of adults are born again Christians. (Foster letter 4/15/00)
Younger Children 800% More Likely To Receive Christ: Barna Research reports teens between ages 14 and 18 have only a 4% likelihood of accepting Christ compared to kids ages 5 through 13 who have a 32% probability. This challenges the widely held notion that the teen-age years are a prime time for evangel-ism. This should prompt churches to reconsider child-ren and youth ministry priorities and strategies. Children and ...
Church Planting Prompts Evangelism Dr. Greg Fell, Rocky Mountain District Superintendent of the Evangelical Free Churches of America reports “Churches in their infancy have a 1 to 3 ratio of commitments to Christ per church member. By the time a church is 10 years old, the ratio drops to 1 to 75.” (Pulse, Summer ’00)
Born Again Beliefs: The number of people born again varies widely by denomination. Using this definition, “they have made a personal commitment to Christ that is important in their life today and say that when they die they know they will go to Heaven solely because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior,” Barna Research has discovered the following:
Born Again & Evangelical Christians by Denomination
Born Again Evangelical % of U.S. Population
All Adults 41% 8% NA
Adventist 37% 5% 1%
Assembly of God 81% 33% 2%
Baptist 67% 14% 17%
Catholic 25% 1% 22%
Church of Christ 56% 12% 2%
Episcopal 30% 1% 22%
Lutheran 48% 6% 5%
Methodist 49% 4% 6%
Mormons 34% 1% 1%
Christian non-denominational 76% 29% 5%
Pentecostal/Foursquare 82% 27% 2%
Presbyterian 54% 8% 3%
(Barna Online 6/26/01)
Conversion Age: A new Barna study indicates that 43% of Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their savior do so before reaching age 13, and that 64% of born again Christians made that commitment before age 18.. 13% made their profession of faith while 18 to 21 years old and 23% after their 21st birthday. Catholics who become born again tend to do so before reaching high school. Among those currently associated with a Catholic church and who are born again, 66% accepted Christ before age 13; 21% did so from 13 to 21; and the remaining 13% made the decision as an adult. In contrast, Protestants make that choice at an older age: 40% did so as children, 35% between 13-21, and 25% as adults. (Barna Online 10/11/04)
/
Four Key Reasons kids become more committed to Christ. (1) Parents: 36% of youth report parents are their top influence (or at least 2nd or 3rd influence) when it comes to helping them grow in Christ. (2) Struggles: 1 in 7 kids claim a difficult struggle stimulated spiritual growth. Another 10% identified crises as catalysts. Youth need strong, Christian adults who will help them face their life struggles and crises. (3) Friends: Almost 14% of youth point to friendships that encouraged them to grow deeper in their Christian commitment. Another 19.6% say friends are “their #2 or #3 growth influencer.” Parents often have a more powerful influence on teens’ fundamental values, but friends dictate how those values will be lived out. (4) A Leader: Youth point to a youth pastor or other adult leader as impor...
38% of all U.S. adults and 33%of all teens, an estimated 98 million adults and children, have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. (Foster Letter 10/25/04)
/
43% of American Christians “accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior “before reaching age 13. 64% did so before age 18. (Foster Letter 12/10/04)
/
