New trends from State of the Church reveal discipleship opportunities for Christians and ministry leaders alike
BOULDER, Colo. — Gloo and Barna Group have released the latest State of the Church research findings exploring the vital topic of discipleship and how it is practiced, perceived and prioritized across generations.
The release covers key questions around ways older adults can serve as mentors while experiencing spiritual vitality as disciples themselves, parental views on their role as disciplers, and the distinct discipleship needs across generations. The study also sheds light on ways ministry leaders can engage in discipleship more practically within their communities.
The research comes from the State of the Church Initiative, which includes new research every month and tools to help leaders measure the state of their own communities. Research from the initiative is also featured in an ongoing virtual event series to help leaders get an early peek at and better understand ecosystem trends. The initiative’s church health tools are freely available to help leaders better know the sentiments and health of their communities.
This month’s findings around generational discipleship include the following themes:
- The untapped potential of older adults in church discipleship
- The connection between family and church in child discipleship
- Who Gen Z trusts with spiritual questions
- Younger generations feeling out of place in small groups
- (Re)introducing the way of Jesus to churchgoers
“This new research provides invaluable insights for leaders committed to fostering discipleship,” said Brad Hill, chief solutions officer at Gloo. “As the Church grows older, it’s vital that we continue to prioritize and support every generation’s discipleship. While many older Christians feel their pastor understands their needs, that sense of connection tends to wane in younger populations — just when it’s most crucial. Unpacking these trends will help ensure people of all ages are effectively discipled and fully supported.”
Key highlights:
- While 35% of Christian adults ages 55+ say their church is “very effective” in helping them grow spiritually and caring for their spiritual needs, only 18% say their church is “very effective” in helping them create relationships with other generations.
- Ninety-five percent of children’s ministry leaders say the home should be the primary environment for children’s discipleship, but only 55% of churched adults agree.
- When it comes to spiritual questions, Gen Z is most likely to turn to the Bible (39%), their moms (34%) and pastors, priests or ministers (28%) as trusted sources.
- Compared to older generations, younger generations are more likely to say they aren’t in a small group because they don’t think they would fit in, are intimidated, fear getting hurt and worry people wouldn’t like them.
- Older churchgoers share a strong desire for “others to see Jesus reflected in their words and actions.” Meanwhile, younger churchgoers are focused on the idea of “finding a way to follow Jesus in a way that connects to the broader culture they live in.”
Additional research trends are scheduled to be released by Barna and Gloo in March. The detailed findings of this month’s release are available on Barna Access Plus, Barna’s all-in-one research library. Leaders can learn more about the largest initiative for the Church at stateofthechurch.com.
###
Gloo is the technology platform connecting the faith ecosystem. Gloo connects ministry leaders to values-based AI, resources, insights and funding so their people and communities flourish and their organizations thrive. Gloo enables trusted exchange between organizations and people, so they can collaborate with greater confidence. Gloo serves over 80,000 churches and over 1,000 resource partners. Gloo is based in Boulder, Colorado.
Barna Group is a leading research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture. Since 1984, Barna has conducted more than two million interviews over the course of thousands of studies and has become a go-to source for insights about religion, leadership, vocation and generations. Barna is an independent, privately-held, nonpartisan organization based in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas.
Contact:
Sarah Bunyea
Gloo
571-205-1931
[email protected]
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RNS or Religion News Foundation.