Out-of-church Christianity

Interesting article clip from www.joelnews.nl on the church trend in North America...could it be a 2nd reformation?

3. TREND: Significant increase in out-of-church Christianity

A nationwide survey conducted by the USA based Barna Research Groupindicates that the number of unchurched adults in America continues to growby nearly a million people annually. Interestingly, many of theseunchurched people are spiritually active. One out of every five reads theBible in a typical week; six out of ten pray to God each week; and nearlyone million unchurched adults tithe their income - that is, donate at least 10% of their annual household revenue to non-profit entities.

The religious media play a part in their spiritual life, too, with four outof ten absorbing Christian content through television, radio, magazines orf aith-based websites during a typical month. In addition, one-quarter ofthem have conversations with one or more friends who held them accountablefor carrying out their faith principles.

Having studied church attendance patterns for more than twenty years,researcher George Barna suggests that the consistent resistance to churchlife in recent years is indicative of a historic shift in the nation'sspiritual vision. "A large and growing number of Americans who avoidcongregational contact are not rejecting Christianity as much as they areshifting how they interact with God and people in a strategic effort tohave a more fulfilling spiritual life. This suggests that we are on theprecipice of a new era of spiritual experience and expression."

Barna expects the percentage of adults who are unchurched to grow duringthe coming decade. "However, the emergence of a national body of spiritualleaders who are assisting unchurched people in their quest for spiritualdepth through means and relationships that are outside the usualinstitutional vehicles is significant. We anticipate substantial growth inthe number of people who are not connected to a congregational church but but who are committed to God and to their faith."

LINK: http://www.barna.org--

posted by Jaeson Ma @ 4/11/2005 01:51:00 PM