Research Shows That Spiritual
Maturity Process Should Start at a Young Age
Three years of research regarding ministry
to children has revealed many surprising outcomes, according
to a new book by researcher George Barna. In discussing
that volume, entitled Transforming Your Children Into
Spiritual Champions, Barna indicated that the wealth
of research not only changed his personal perspective
on the importance of ministering to young children, but
also clarified why churches struggle to have significance
in our culture.
“Adults essentially carry out
the beliefs they embraced when they were young,” he
explained. “The reason why Christians are so similar
in their attitudes, values and lifestyles to non-Christians
is that they were not sufficiently challenged to think
and behave differently – radically differently,
based on core spiritual perspectives – when they
were children. Simply getting people to go to church
regularly is not the key to becoming a mature Christian.
Spiritual transformation requires a more extensive investment
in one’s ability to interpret all life situations
in spiritual terms.”
Barna’s research discovered that
a person’s lifelong behaviors and views are generally
developed when they are young – particularly before
they reach the teenage years. As evidence of this, Barna
provided research that showed four critical outcomes.
First, a person’s
moral foundations are generally in place by the time
they reach age nine.
While those foundations are refined and the application
of those foundations may shift to some extent as the
individual ages, their fundamental perspectives on truth,
integrity, meaning, justice, morality, and ethics are
formed quite early in life. After their first decade,
most people simply refine their views as they age without
a wholesale change in those leanings.
Second, a person’s response to
the meaning and personal value of Jesus Christ’s
life, death and resurrection is usually determined before
a person reaches eighteen. In fact, a majority of Americans
make a lasting determination about the personal significance
of Christ’s death and resurrection by age 12.
Third, Barna
showed data indicating that in most cases people’s spiritual beliefs are
irrevocably formed when they are pre-teens. Upon comparing
data from a national survey of 13-year-olds with an identical
survey among adults, Barna found that the belief profile
related to a dozen central spiritual principles was identical
between the two groups. Those beliefs included perceptions
of the nature of God, the existence of Satan, the reliability
of the Bible, perceptions regarding the after-life, the
holiness of Jesus Christ, the means of gaining God’s
favor, and the influence of spiritual forces in a person’s
life.
“In essence,” the researcher
noted, “what you believe by the time you are 13
is what you will die believing. Of course, there are
many individuals who go through life-changing experiences
in which their beliefs are altered, or instances in which
a concentrated body of religious teaching changes one
or more core beliefs. However, most people’s minds
are made up and they believe they know what they need
to know spiritually by age 13. Their focus in absorbing
religious teaching after that age is to gain reassurance
and confirmation of their existing beliefs rather than
to glean new insights that will redefine their foundations.”
Finally, the
research revealed that adult church leaders usually
have serious involvement
in church life and training when they are young. The
statistics gathered by Barna’s firm among a national
sample of pastors, church staff and lay leaders showed
that more than four out of five of those leaders had
consistently been involved in the ministry to children
for an extended period of years prior to age 13. One
implication is that the individuals who will become the
church’s leaders two decades from now are probably
active in church programs today.
Citing research
showing that a large proportion of church-going people
dropout of church between
the ages of 18 and 24, Barna stated that the research
underscored the importance of families, not churches,
taking the lead in the spiritual development of children. “In
situations where children became mature Christians we
usually found a symbiotic partnership between their parents
and their church,” he pointed out. “The church
encouraged parents to prioritize the spiritual development
of their children and worked hard to equip them for that
challenge. Parents, for their part, raised their children
in the context of a faith-based community that provided
security, belonging, spiritual and moral education, and
accountability. Neither the parents nor the church could
have done it alone.”
The studies
conducted by Barna’s
firm concluded that churches experiencing great influence
in children’s lives were motivated by the realization
that children are of special significance to God. Consequently,
those churches employed a long-term, multi-pronged strategy
that they tirelessly executed to facilitate the spiritual
growth of children.
The research
showed that at a typical Protestant church, more than
four out of every ten people
ministered to during the week are children, yet seven
out of every eight ministry dollars are spent on adults.
Barna was quick to point out, though, that simply spending
money on children does not produce great results. “The
most important resource, we believe, was the amazing
amount of prayer for children and parents that was evident
at the most effective ministries to children. Some money
is required to see serious life change happen, but the
more important resource is the commitment of adults to
the spiritual wholeness of the children – which
means sacrificing some of the emphasis upon the ministry
to adults.”
Barna has presented
the results of the research in more than 25 cities
around the country
so far this year and has been pleasantly surprised by
the positive reception the message has received. “Most
churches are doing the best they can based on what they
know. A lot of our findings represent the first ‘hard
data’ that these church leaders have seen showing
the relative impact of focusing upon children – and
have been shocked at the revelations regarding the importance
of getting to people when they are young. I have been
encouraged that so many churches have been willing to
reconsider how they allocate their limited ministry resources
in order to maximize their ministry impact.”
The researcher
admitted that the outcome of his studies produced a
significant turnabout in his
own views about ministry. “Since I became a Christian
two decades ago, I have always accepted the dominant
notion: the most important ministry is that conducted
among adults. But the overwhelming evidence we have seen
of the huge impact in the lives of kids and the relatively
limited changes in the lives of adults has completely
revolutionized my view of ministry. I have concluded
that children are the single most important population
group for the Church to focus upon. Many churches may
not go that far, but I do hope that they will at least
consider the research findings and place a greater emphasis
upon children. Such a shift in priorities could well
bring about the spiritual renaissance that many church
leaders have long been praying for.”
The data described
in this release are detailed in Transforming Children
Into Spiritual
Champions, written by George Barna. The research was
conducted from 2001-2003, and included nationwide surveys
among adults, among young people, and among church leaders
and pastors. The research also included in-depth studies
of Protestant congregations that have an enviable track
record of producing children who would be considered “spiritual
champions.”
The Barna Research Group, Ltd. is an
independent marketing research company located in southern
California. Since 1984, it has been studying cultural
trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.
If you would like to receive regular e-mailings of a
brief overview of each new bi-weekly update on the latest
research findings from the Barna Research Group, you
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