I’m taking a break from my series on art to address a question I’ve been asked several times in just the past few days. Because I speak and write on evangelism, I’m invited to do radio and podcast interviews and the following question has been posed a lot lately:
“Have you seen the new Barna research saying that millennials don’t believe in evangelism?” Sometimes the interviewer simply mentions it as established fact and asks me what we can do to reverse this horrible trend.
Stated succinctly, I’m not convinced the research is valid. Or, if I need to tone that down a bit, I don’t think it’s all that helpful. Here’s why:
First, the research seems unhelpfully vague. Toward the beginning of the report, we read: “Among the major findings in this report is the revelation that Christian Millennials feel especially conflicted about evangelism—and, in fact, almost half believe it is wrong to share their faith.”
If you read further down in the report, you find out who they define as “Christian Millennials.” They are “Practicing Christians” who “identify as Christian, agree strongly that faith is very important in their lives and have attended church within the past month.”
In my opinion, that’s too vague and broad of a definition to be helpful. This group could easily include nominal Christians who attend liberal Protestant or Roman Catholic churches, which teach that Jesus is not the only way to salvation. It could include people who have little discipleship or unclear thoughts about theology.
It would have been far more helpful to limit the research to “millennials who regularly (more than once a month!) attend churches committed to evangelical theology – churches that hold fast to the authority of the Bible and preach unwaveringly that people are lost apart from Christ.” If those millennials doubted the validity of evangelism, that would be good to know. As the research stands, we just don’t know how evangelical millennials compare to non-evangelicals. Such a distinction is not mere semantics or the splitting of hairs.
Second, the report seems unnecessarily alarmist. The header on the Barna website declares: “Almost half of practicing Christian Millennials say evangelism is wrong.”
(I’ll only mention that I think it is unfair to lump all millennials together. They’re not as monolithic a group as many seem to think and as Barna seems to reinforce.)
I’m grateful I get to spend a fair amount of time interacting with and teaching quite a few millennials. The ones I know would want to ask a great deal of clarifying questions about the survey they’re taking. The wording of the questions boxes them into a corner, allowing for only yes or no responses. They are reticent to use some old methods of evangelism that just don’t connect to today’s audience. I am too.
I find millennials to be very willing to engage in conversations with people of other perspectives – about religion, lifestyle, politics, sexuality, and many other topics. I’ve even heard of non-Christian millennials thanking Christians for bringing up the topic of faith because “that’s being authentic.”
Third, the research seems unjustifiably expensive. Barna’s website only presents a summary of the research findings. To read the full 112-page report, you’ll need to buy it for $39. In the world of academic research, reports can be found for free or for a minimal subscription rate – certainly a lot less than $39 for 112 pages. In the world of Christian ministry, research findings are often offered for free on websites open to anyone.
I admit I have concerns about millennial Christians. Secular culture effects them far more than it should. They wrestle with foundation-shaking challenges to their faith. And many cave under the pressure. But many do not. I’m more impressed than depressed about them and the future of the church. Older Christians need to disciple them with greater depth, equip them with more rigorous theological instruction, and serve them with better resources than this report.
