In this article The Barna Group compares the church model of leadership and measuring of success versus the business model that a lot of churches employ. Indicating the only way to really to emulate Jesus is to follow “two key principles: 1. you cannot get the right results from the wrong people; and 2. You get what you measure.”
The article discusses the Barna Group’s report of the State of the Church 2005 which found that “the Church has plateaued in all areas, including attendance, giving, evangelism, prayer, and Sunday school involvement.” “Christians are being affected more by culture than Christians are affecting the culture. Stating that most of the efforts churches employ toward adults are wasted and the resources should be invested in the young people or children.” 5 ways children develop their morals was discussed stating that children’s morals are developed by age nine, faith commitments solidified by age 13, and how kids are the most efficient ministers of the gospel, because of children their parents accept Christ and whatever you believe by age 13 is what you will die believing.
In this article the author indicated that “whoever gets to the kids first wins.” The challenge for the church is to get the children become serious spiritually and the church to measure not in the way that is happening now in the church but by measuring transformation which leads us toward leading like Jesus. Leaders in the church need to understand the principles that Jesus gave for discipleship and not to judge growth by the worlds standards.
Adapted from a presentation at the 2005 CMA conference by George Barna, Founder and Directing Leader of The Barna Group Ltd. He is the author of several books including Think Like Jesus and Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions. © 2011 Christian Leadership Alliance
After reading the ideas that you shared from the Barna Group, I cannot say that I agree with much of the conclusions from their research regarding adults and children in their acceptance of Christ. It is a bold statement to say that what a person believes at age 13 will be what they believe until they die. I also disagree with the statement that time spent on ministering to adults is wasted. Although I was baptized at age 13, I did not truly begin to develop my relationship with Christ until I was 23. Within the next ten years I studied other religions, stopped spending any time with God and rededicated my life to Christ. In addition some adults do not even accept Christ until their adult life which also combats the statement that what you believe by thirteen is what you die believing and that time spent on adults are wasted resources. I think that the research should be expanded because it does not seem indicative of what is occurring in the church I currently attend. On the other hand, there were some great points mentioned in this article that were not mentioned in the post so I think it does merit reading and critiquing.
ReplyDelete