NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- When it comes to discipleship, those who
regularly attend church struggle with sharing Christ with
non-Christians, according to recent study of church going American
Protestants.
The study conducted by LifeWay Research found that
80 percent of those who attend church one or more times a month believe
they have a personal responsibility to share their faith, but 61 percent
have not told another person about how to become a Christian in the
previous six months.
These distressing results came from an
extensive discipleship research project focused on measuring spiritual
maturity in individuals. Overall, LifeWay Research found eight biblical
attributes consistently evident in the lives of maturing believers. Of
those eight, "Sharing Christ" has the lowest average score among
Protestant church attendees.
Three-quarters of churchgoers say
they feel comfortable in their ability to effectively communicate the
Gospel, while 12 percent say they don't feel comfortable telling others
about their faith.
Despite a vast majority believing it's their
duty to share their faith and having the confidence to do so, 25 percent
say they have shared their faith once or twice over the previous six
months, and 14 percent have shared three or more times during that
stretch.
The survey also asked how many times they have
personally, "invited an unchurched person to attend a church service or
some other program at your church?" Nearly half (48 percent) of church
attendees responded, "zero." Thirty-three percent of people say they've
personally invited someone one or two times, and 19 percent say they've
done so on three or more occasions in the last six months.
"Many
times we've been told new Christians are most active in sharing their
faith," said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research.
"In
reality people who have been a Christian longer have higher responses
for Sharing Christ than newer Christians. While new Christians may find
it natural to share their new experience, mature Christians do it
intentionally," Stetzer said.
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