Reasearch & ...

Free Grace Seminary / Free Grace Library

RESEARCH & STATISTICS OF CHURCH GROWTH

According to Christian researcher George Barna, the church in America has hardly grown at all since 1980. He says the proportion of Americans who claim to be "born again" has remained a constant 32% over that period of time. Barna says that studies indicate that 80% of the churches that are growing are doing so by transfer and not conversions.

"Is the church growing because of the church growth movement? Yes and no. Individual churches are growing, but the church is standing still. Though church growth pundits desire to win the lost usually what happens is they lose the found. Church growth techniques create a giant game of evangelical musical chairs" (Swimming Upstream - R. C. Sproul).

Barna Research Group - Barna Research Group, Ltd. (BRG) is a full-service marketing research company located in Ventura, California. BRG has been providing information and analysis regarding cultural trends and the Christian Church since 1984.

Generational Differences

Definition

Mosaics - those born between 1984 and 2002

Buster - those born between 1965 and 1983

Boomer - those born between 1946 and 1964

Builders - those born between 1927 and 1945

Senior - those born in 1926 and earlier

Activities

Busters are less likely than any other generation to volunteer time to their church (19% of Busters report volunteering). Conversely, 22% of Mosaics, 25% of Boomers, 31% of Elders (Builders and Seniors) have volunteered at a church in the past week. (2004)

Small group participation appears to be positively correlated with age, with 29% of Elders, 19% of Boomers, 15% of Busters and 20% of Mosaics reporting that they participated in a small group in the past week. (2004)

Compared to 71% of Seniors who have a "quiet time" during the week, 63% of Builders, 52% of Boomers and 36% of Busters do the same. (2001)

35% Mosaics, 30% of Busters, 49% of Boomers, 54% of Elders attend church on a given Sunday. (2004)

In a typical week, 33% of Mosaics, 37% of Busters, 44% of Boomers, 53% of Elders (Builders and Seniors combined) read the Bible. (2004)

Mosaics are the age group least likely than any other age group to pray to God. In a given week, we found that 69% of Mosaics, 78% of Busters, 86% of Boomers, 89% of Elders (Builders and Seniors) report praying to God. (2004)

Faith

Elders emerge as more likely and Mosaics as less likely than any other generation to be born again (20% of Mosacis, 32% of Busters, 42% of Boomers are born again, compared to 44% of Elders). (2004)

Busters are the least likely age group to inidcate that faith is a very important part of their life. Only 64% of Busters say their faith is very important in their life, compared with 68% of Mosaics, 76% of Boomers and 80% of Elders. (2004)

67% of Mosaics, 62% of Busters, 73% of Boomers, 75% of Elders believe that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator that rules the world today. (2004)

Self-Descriptions

Busters are more likely than the other generations to be searching for meaning in life: 44% of Busters compared to 32% of all others are searching for their purpose in life. (2001)

Busters are the generation most likely to feel “too busy.” Compared to 53% of Busters who maintain that they are too busy, 49% of Boomers, 32% of Builders and 27% of Seniors feel the same. (2001)

Older individuals are also more likely than younger individuals to describe themselves as a "born again Christian." 49% Seniors and 47% of Builders call themselves born again, compared to 42% of Boomers and 31% of Busters. (2001)

Financial comfort appears to come with age. We found that 38% of Busters say they are personally struggling with finances, compared to the 32% of Boomers, 23% of Builders, and 20% of Seniors. (2001)

Busters are almost twice as likely as are Seniors to indicate that they are stressed out (41% to 22%, respectively). Likewise, 32% of Boomers and 27% of Builders said that “stressed out” is an accurate description of them. (2001)