Emerging Generations Resourced

George Barna on Small Churches and Emerging Generations

Friday, January 13th, 2006

A 2003 mailing from the Barna Group reveals as much about the Barna Group as about small churches. The heading downplays small churches because of their lack of fast growth. However we see some of the first signs of Barna’s engagement with an emerging disinterest in large churches.

Barna puts this down to two factors -

1. Early adults without children don’t need a program-style church.

2. Busters tending to be turned off by the impersonal nature of large Boomer-led organisations.

There are a few other reasons that Barna doesn’t put his finger on. Perhaps we’re seeing a growing cynicism over approaches to church that require seven days a week commitment to a campus-focused church rather than to family and local community. Large churches are often led by pastors who are highly driven to produce results - results measured in numbers attending worship and programs.

Small Churches Struggle to Grow Because Of The People They Attract
September 2, 2003
(Ventura, CA)

The United States is dominated by small churches, with the average church attracting less than 90 adults on a typical weekend. The greatest attention flows to large churches, especially the 2% of churches that attract more than 1000 adults in a typical weekend. A new study by the Barna Research Group, of Ventura, California, shows that there are both demographic and theolographic reasons why small churches stay small and large churches grow larger. While some church growth can be attributed to geographic location and population growth, the Barna study indicates that there are fundamental dynamics at work that keep small congregations from growing numerically as well as several basic factors that contribute to the numerical expansion of mid-sized and large churches.

Overall, the research found that the typical Protestant church has 89 adults in attendance during an average weekend. In total, 60% of Protestant churches have 100 or fewer adults on a typical weekend, while slightly less than 2% have 1000 or more adults. Examining the figures in terms of where adults attend, however, the statistics show that about four out of ten church-going adults (41%) go to churches with 100 or fewer adults while about one out of eight church-going adults (12%) can be found in churches of 1000 or more adults.

Demographic Drawbacks for Small Churches
Based on a study of the church-going habits of 4501 adults randomly sampled from the U.S., the Barna survey discovered that small churches (defined as average weekend attendance of 100 or fewer adults) are more likely than either mid-sized (301-999 adults) or large churches (1000 or more adults) to draw people who are not college graduates and are more likely to appeal to people with lower household incomes. George Barna, director of the study, suggested that a �downscale� demographic profile often correlates with less aggressive growth patterns in organizations and a limited number of effective leaders.

Surprisingly, the research showed that adults under 35 years of age are more likely than are older adults to attend small churches. Barna cited two dominant reasons for this pattern. The first is the relative absence of children among younger adults. This impacts one�s choice of a church because providing children with a quality ministry experience is one of the main reasons why many Americans attend a church, and larger churches typically offer more programs and opportunities for children. The second reason why younger adults are more likely to attend a small church relates to the Baby Bust generation�s disinterest in participating in Boomer-led organizations and in large-scale enterprises. Busters are more interested in being personally known and connected, which many believe is more difficult to accomplish in larger churches.

Theolographic Limitations in Small Churches
The study also found that small churches have some theolographic limitations � that is, their spiritual beliefs and practices reflect challenges that are less prevalent in larger congregations.
The data revealed that small churches have a lower proportion of attenders who are �spiritually active,� which was defined as individuals who attend a church service, read the Bible, and pray to God during a typical week. This paralleled a finding that showed small church attenders are less likely to claim that their religious faith is �very important� in their life.

In addition, the research showed that adults affiliated with small congregations are less likely to be born again, less likely to believe in salvation by grace alone (i.e., not by good deeds), and less likely to have an orthodox view of God (i.e., holy, creator, ruler of the universe, alive today). The report indicated that such views undermine a solid theological foundation for congregational growth and may suggest that other spiritual perspectives that conflict with the Bible are common in smaller churches.

Mid-Sized and Large Churches Attract Aggressors
Demographically, mid-sized and large churches attract a higher proportion of �upscale� adults � those whose education and income levels enable the church to take more risks, be more aggressive in marketing, and draw resources from deeper pockets and broader backgrounds. Barna also noted that upscale individuals are more often comfortable with leadership requirements and decision-making, and tend to be more excited about organizational growth. He pointed out that large churches, in particular, appeal to Baby Boomers � one-quarter of church-going Boomers (25%) attend churches of 500 or more adults, compared to just one-sixth of church-going Busters (17%) � and Boomers are infamous for equating success with growth and large-scale operations.

One of the most intriguing patterns emerging from the study portrayed mid-sized churches as having the highest proportion of born again believers. Barna suggested that many mid-sized churches grow numerically because their born again members actively invite non-born again people to the church. This often has the effect of swelling the church�s numbers so that it reaches the �large� category while simultaneously diluting its born again proportion.

Larger Congregations Are More Conservative Spiritually
Adults attending mid-sized and large churches are more often people who are conservative in their theology as well as their social and political views. �Conservative people more often play by the rules,� commented Barna. �That helps to explain why mid-sized and large churches are often more solid on the theological foundations: those congregations are populated by people who want to know the biblical boundaries and expectations, and then are eager to work within them. Their energy and tangible resources are more focused and the result is more productive ministry.� The researcher also said that sociopolitical conservatives outnumber liberals by a three-to-one margin among church-going adults.

Hope for Small Churches
In spite of the obstacles revealed in the research, small churches have tremendous potential. �These insights simply identify some of the critical challenges that the average small church has to address,� the California-based researcher stated. �Small churches play an important and valuable role in the religious landscape of America. They reach millions of young adults who have no interest in a larger church setting. They have tremendous potential for building strong community, as well as spiritual foundations. And small churches often grow into larger churches once they develop significant internal leadership and creatively overcome their resource limitations.�

Barna also questioned the value of growth for its own sake. �Jesus did not die on the cross to fill up church auditoriums,� he cautioned. �He died so that people might know God personally and be transformed in all dimensions of their life through their ongoing relationship with Him. Such a personal reformation can happen in a church of any size. After all, the goal of every church should not be numerical growth but spiritual health and vitality.�

The tracking research conducted by Barna Research indicates that small churches will certainly remain prevalent in America for the foreseeable future. �Megachurches draw media attention, but they collectively account for less than one out of every four adults in church. Given the values and goals of people in the two youngest generations � the Busters and Mosaics � we anticipate mid-sized churches becoming a more significant force in the future, with many of those churches spawning new congregations rather than expanding to become megachurches. However, large congregations are here to stay and meet the needs of a specific segment of the population. If church leaders can maintain a focus on transformation rather than numbers, then we could enter an era of healthy churches at all sizes and shapes and shed the unhealthy spirit of numerical competition that currently distracts many churches.�

Research Source and Methodology
The data described above are from telephone interviews with several nationwide random samples of adults conducted from January 2002 through May 2003. In total 4501 adults were interviewed in studies that explored church attendance, spiritual beliefs and practices, and demographic correlates. Nine demographic factors and sixteen theolographic factors were compared across seven levels of adult attendance at Christian churches. The size levels examined were less than 50 adults; 50 to 100; 101-200; 201-300; 301-499; 500-999; and 1000 or more adults.

The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is �1.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level; the maximum sampling error for the subgroups of church size ranged from a high of �6.7 percentage points among those attending congregations with 201-300 people to a low of low of �3.2 percentage points among those attending churches of 50 to 100 adults. All of the interviews were conducted from the Barna Research Group telephone interviewing facility in Ventura, CA. Adults in the 48 continental states were eligible to be interviewed and the distribution of respondents coincided with the geographic dispersion of the U.S. adult population. Multiple callbacks were used to increase the probability of including a reliable distribution of adults.

The data regarding average church size was drawn from telephone surveys conducted by Barna Research among a national random sample of 1202 Senior Pastors of Protestant churches. That sample has a maximum margin of sampling error of �2.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

�Born again Christians� were defined in these surveys as people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as �born again.�

�Theolographics� refers to the spiritual practices, beliefs and self-identification of individuals.

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Barna Group on New Generation of Buster Pastors

Friday, January 13th, 2006

I’ll be posting a few reports from the Barna Group over the next week, taken from the bi-weekly Barna Update. George Barna’s work over the last twenty years has been dominated by Baby Boomer values, tied closely with conservative Evangelical theology, church growth principles and the principles of growing mega churches. However the Barna Group’s research among younger pastors and Christians has been leading George to rethink his approach. His latest book, Revolution, takes seriously alternatives to the traditional local church. More on that later…



A New Generation of Pastors Places its Stamp on Ministry
February 17, 2004

(Ventura, California)

Following the Baby Boomers has not always been easy for the Baby Bust generation. Busters (currently ages 20 to 38) have typically lived in the shadow of Boomers. But, according to a new study from the Barna Research Group, there are reasons to pay attention to the perspectives and practices of Busters who are currently serving as Senior Pastors of Protestant churches.

For one thing, Busters� presence in the lead pastor role is � pardon the expression � booming! The number of Busters who serve as senior pastors has doubled in just two years from about 22,000 to more than 45,000 (out of 324,000 Protestant senior pastors). Even more significant is their courage and creativity in charting new courses for the churches they lead. They are experimenting with communication methods, ministry priorities, education, and many other aspects of their church-based work.

The Barna study highlighted five ways young pastors are beginning to shape their church�s ministry differently than was done by preceding generations of clergy.

1. Young pastors are experimenting with approaches to effective communication.
In a world where image is king and attention spans are declining, the research shows that young pastors are more likely to experiment with new approaches to teaching and preaching. Compared with older pastors, Buster pastors are more likely to use drama (32% to 21%); more likely to show movies, videos, and DVDs (30% to 21%); and more likely to tell stories (28% to 13%). The study also indicated that young pastors more frequently use art, music, and interactive dialogue as part of their efforts to communicate biblical truths. These multi-media and experience-laden forms of communication appeal to younger, often postmodern people, who tend to reject external sources of authority in favor of relying on their own experiences and feelings to interpret reality.

Consequently, many of these young pastors also focus not just on communication techniques, but also on the communication environment. Some of these leaders even tinker with the lighting, with the look and feel of the room, with the seating, and with relational interaction to create a setting that better facilitates their efforts to communicate.

2. Young pastors� perspectives about their churches and their ministry skills are different than their predecessors.

Another area in which young pastors seem to differ from older pastors is in how they describe their churches. Young pastors are more likely than Boomers to describe their churches as seeker-driven (45% to 33%) and as theologically conservative (93% to 80%), while less likely to depict their churches as fundamentalist (33% to 40%).

Young pastors are also more likely than their predecessors to say that their primary skill in ministry is leadership, administration, or management (18% of Buster pastors identified one of these skills, compared to 12% of Boomer pastors and 5% of Builder pastors). They also gave themselves above-average marks for motivating people around a vision, which is an activity closely related to leadership ability.

On the other hand, these young leaders gave themselves comparatively poor ratings when it came to pastoring, shepherding, and counseling. Both Boomer and Buster pastors described themselves as particularly ineffective at fundraising and at evangelism.

3. Young pastors are less likely to pursue traditional seminary education.

Despite their self-identified characterization as �theologically conservative,� Buster pastors are not taking the conventional path of ministry education. Less than half of Buster pastors (46%) currently have a seminary degree, compared to two-thirds of Boomers (62%). Part of this gap stems from the fact that some pastors obtain their seminary degree later in life.

However, many young pastors are avoiding seminary due to their growing skepticism about its necessity and relevance to their ministry. Past studies have also shown that a growing number of large churches are training congregants for full-time ministry from within, rather than sending people off-campus for more traditional academic training for ministry. Many of those church-trained leaders apprentice within the mother church, then are sent off-campus to plant a church. By staying within the nurturing framework and support system of the mother church, the nascent leader has no compelling reason to attend a seminary.

4. Young pastors are more attuned than are older pastors to the cultural battle for the hearts and minds of young people.

Another mark of Buster pastors is their heightened sensitivity to the cultural bombardment facing kids and teens today. The research showed that young pastors were significantly more likely to affirm that children are being influenced by magazines, by their peers, by television (including special mention for MTV), and by the political domain. In comparison, Boomers and Builder pastors were more likely than were Buster leaders to believe the church has significant influence in the lives of children and youth.

5. The ministry priorities of young pastors have shifted from those of their predecessors.

Perhaps because of their increased sensitivity to media influence, Buster pastors (46%) are more likely than are Boomer pastors (30%) to prioritize ministry to families, youth, and children. The study showed that Buster pastors are also focusing more attention than do their predecessors on spiritual growth, discipleship, and Bible study (37% to 27%).
However, many of the ministry priorities of Buster pastors are quite similar to those of the Boomers: both groups are equally likely to prioritize teaching and preaching, evangelism, and worship.

Out With the Old?

David KinnamanDavid Kinnaman, Vice President of Barna Research and director of the study of young pastors, commented on the findings. �Young pastors are basically cutting and pasting from fresh ideas as well as from established wisdom to form a new, era-appropriate portrait of church leadership. A handful of the young leaders are making huge changes in their ministry approaches when compared to older pastors, but most Buster pastors are simply tinkering with the style � not the substance � of ministry.�

Kinnaman noted that Buster pastors have embraced some new practices related to worship: for instance, they are less likely to use choirs or organs, and more likely to use a turn-and-greet portion of the worship service. However, few Buster pastors have implemented much change in relation to music style. Only one in four Buster pastors offers contemporary music, while most use traditional or blended worship, which is similar to the proportion of Boomer-led congregations using those styles. Kinnaman explained, �Many young pastors seem to struggle to find balance in worship and music. They admit they do not always see eye to eye with their worship leader. And their expectations about what facilitates true worship � and even how to assess whether true worship has occurred � seems to be in a state of flux. The bottomline is that young pastors have to identify God�s unique vision for their church�s worship and music, rather than trying to cater to people�s preferences or their church�s traditions.�

�Another challenge facing Buster pastors is the fact that even as they work to cover the basics, many may be allowing other important priorities to slip. Young pastors are actually less likely than average to say their church prioritizes community, missions, service, social action, or prayer. Surprisingly, the �missing� priorities of young pastors are some of the exact elements to which members of the young generations (Busters and Mosaics) gravitate.� Kinnaman observed that �without increased emphasis on these areas, many churches � even those led by young pastors � will find it very difficult to appeal to young people who deeply desire relational authenticity, service to the poor and disadvantaged, globally minded activity, and spiritual depth through prayer.�

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