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Something interesting's come out of a study conducted by the Evangelical Alliance, who surveyed over 17,000 professing Christians (self-identified evangelicals and self-identified non-evangelicals).
Here are the headline figures:
“Evangelicals” are more likely to see the Bible as their supreme authority (83% as opposed to 43%), and read it each day (52%-26%). They're more likely to talk about their faith with non-Christians (58% at least once a month, compared to 38%). They're far more likely to see sex outside marriage as wrong (62%-26%).
So far, so unsurprising. One thing that did strike me is the difference between younger and older evangelicals:
Young evangelicals (16-24) are less likely than their elders to:
And they're more likely to talk to non-Christians about their faith.
One interesting quote in the report from Andy Frost, Director of Share Jesus International, on this younger age group: “For many, beliefs have been shaped by good youth work and summer festivals, rather than personal devotions.
“One of the greatest challenges is to enable this age group to take responsibility for their own discipleship amidst busy, media saturated lives.”
Do these stats reflect your experience in your church? How can we as older Christians help those younger ones to spend time with God in his Word and in prayer? And do let us know: how can we as a publisher help you “on the ground” to do this?
Carl is Editorial Director at The Good Book Company and is a member of Grace Church Worcester Park, London. He is the best-selling author of The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross and God's Big Promises Bible Storybook, and also serves as series editor of the God's Word for You series. Before joining TGBC, he worked as a journalist and then as a teacher, and pastored a congregation in Hull. Carl is married to Lizzie, and they have two children. He studied history at Oxford University.
