ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY’ S AMERICAN WORLDVIEW INVENTORY The American Worldview Inventory( AWVI) is an annual survey that evaluates the worldview of the US adult population( age eighteen and older). The AWVI is based on several dozen worldview-related questions that measure both beliefs and behavior within eight categories of worldview application. Researchers found that only 4 percent of American adults have a biblical worldview. 3 For young adults ages eighteen to twenty-nine, the number drops to 2 percent. 4 I want you to recognize what appears to be happening in America. The older generations are not transferring faith to younger generations, so with each new generation we see a shrinking number of individuals with a biblical worldview.
Perhaps even more surprising, researchers found that only 21 percent of individuals who attend an evangelical Protestant church have a biblical worldview. 5 Let that sink in for a moment. Only one in five people who walk into an evangelical Protestant church on Sunday have a biblical worldview. What does this mean for your parents, volunteers, small group leaders, Sunday school teachers, and those who are teaching children and youth? It means that you must not assume they have a biblical worldview because many do not.
The American Culture & Faith Institute( ACFI) is particularly valuable for a discussion about family discipleship because the survey purposely measured the biblical worldview of parents of preteens as well as that of pastors. The study found that only 8 percent of born-again parents of preteens have a biblical worldview. 6 The ACFI suggests that most Christians hold to syncretism, a smorgasbord of beliefs from other worldviews such as New Age spirituality, secularism, or even Islam, and blend some of these ideas into their Christianity to create a customized belief system. These are the parents in our churches and schools, and their views and values are being passed on to their children.
The other finding worth noting is the biblical worldview of pastors. Among senior pastors, 41 percent have a biblical worldview; associate pastors, 28 percent; teaching pastors, 13 percent; only 12 percent of children’ s and youth pastors have a biblical worldview, and executive pastors came in at 4 percent. 7 If this research is correct, then it is shocking. Much like parents, children’ s and youth pastors cannot pass on what they do not have.
CONCLUSION Eventually, the balance sheet will reveal the problems. The last thing I want is to discourage anyone, but we do have to address the dire reality of where we are. I’ m not trying to cast blame on anyone, just point out that the results aren’ t good. In fact, they’ re pretty bad, and we need to have enough intellectual honesty and emotional maturity to admit that.
Now, in one sense, the failure of Christian parents to pass on faith to future generations isn’ t a modern phenomenon.
It’ s as old as the Old Testament. Judges 2:10 states,“ There arose another generation after them that did not know the Lord or the work he had done for Israel.” In another sense, something new is happening. The culture is rapidly changing and that is making it more difficult than ever to pass a lifelong faith in Jesus to the next generation. Children are now immersed in secularized views and values every day— and they’ re absorbing beliefs and lifestyles that do not align with the Bible.
Christians should have a biblical worldview, but many do not. Christians increasingly have a sincere faith but think and live in unbiblical ways. Many Christians have absorbed the secular views of culture and have integrated them into their belief system. The problem is that every worldview, other than a Christian one, is completely at odds with the Bible. They cannot coexist, which means Christians often think and live like secularists without knowing it. Christian parents are having their views and values shaped by culture in unbiblical ways. A large part of the church’ s job is to disciple parents with a biblical worldview so that they can disciple their children, while also prioritizing the worldview training of staff and volunteers under our care.
This article is an excerpt from the book Family Ministry: How Your Church Can Shepherd Parents and Grandparents to Make Disciples.
Dr. Josh Mulvihill is the Executive Director of Church and Family Ministry at RenewaNation. He served as a pastor for nearly twenty years and serves on the board of Awana. He holds a Ph. D. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of Biblical Grandparenting, Preparing Children for Marriage, Biblical Worldview, and 50 Things Every Child Needs to Know Before Leaving Home. Josh is married to Jen, and they have five children. Josh blogs at GospelShapedFamily. com.
1. Barna Group,“ Changes in Worldview Among Christians in the Past 13 Years,” Barna, March 9, 2009, accessed February 27, 2024, https:// barna. com / research / barna-survey-examines-changes-in-worldview-among-christiansover-the-past-13-years. 2. Barna Group,“ Changes in Worldview Among Christians.” 3. George Barna,“ America Needs Spiritual Renewal More Than a Political Majority,” February 19, 2024, accessed February 27, 2024, https:// arizonachristian. edu / wp-content / uploads / 2024 / 02 / CRC-Release-AWVI-1- February-19-2024. pdf. 4. Barna,“ America Needs Spiritual Renewal.” 5. American Culture & Faith Institute,“ Dangerously Low Percentage of Americans Hold Biblical Worldview,” March 24, 2020, accessed February 27, 2024, https:// arizonachristian. edu / 2020 / 03 / 24 / inaugural-crc-studydangerously-low-percentage-of-americans-hold-biblical-worldview.
6. George Barna,“ Improving Parents’ Abilities to Raise Spiritual Champions,” George Barna, accessed February 27, 2024, https:// arizonachristian. edu / wp-content / uploads / 2022 / 04 / AWVI2022 _ Release _ 04 _ Digital. pdf.
7. George Barna,“ Shocking Results Concerning the Worldview of Christian Pastors,” George Barna, accessed February 27, 2024, https:// arizonachristian. edu / wp-content / uploads / 2022 / 05 / AWVI2022 _ Release05 _ Digital. pdf.
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