Who Do People Want to Talk about their Faith to?

A question I get a lot is “how do we get more young people into our church?”. This question inevitably leads to a brief conversation about advertising through social media, emails, or even the newspaper.

I’m a fan of media, but I still believe that a personal invite is always the best way to go.

Interestingly, only 2% of people in their church say that they’ve invited someone in the last year. Check out this link by Rich Birch on Invitability.

Recently I came across this Infographic from The Barna Group's research department showing preferred partners for spiritual conversation.  Although friends topping the list of people to talk to for Christians and non-Christians alike isn't a surprise, having such a small percentage of respondents who would prefer talking to a clergy member was worth observing. 

Interestingly, clergy gets beat in almost every category when it comes to non-Christian respondents.  When I consider the young adults in my life that I regularly interact with, I think this survey could be representative of their feelings or 'go to' people as well. This data should challenge us and our way of thinking when it comes to who and how we’re reaching people with the name of Jesus.

Building disciples and equipping your congregation to share the message of Jesus is going to be necessary going forward if we hope to reach the next generation with the message of Jesus. Gone are the days where we can say “shouldn’t the pastor do that.” The time for all church members to bring the good news outside our buildings is here!  

How do you interpret this data? 

Do you think that the role of a clergy member is changing in the 21st century?

How do you think clergy should change to adjust to this new normal?

Let me know what you think by starting a conversation wherever you see this posted, or emailing me directly! I’d love to hear your story!