A new Lifeway Research study shows that churchgoers say they want to share their faith, and many are praying for opportunities — but far fewer are taking consistent steps to actually do it.
The State of Discipleship report found that “sharing Christ” ranked last among eight signposts used to measure spiritual maturity among U.S. Protestant churchgoers, with an average score of 54.8 out of 100. More than a quarter of churchgoers (27%) reported they had not shared their faith story with anyone in the past six months. Most of those who did share said those conversations happened only once or twice during that time.
Check out more research stories on faith and culture.
“The findings from Lifeway Research confirm what many pastors already sense — believers are often eager, but not intentional, about sharing their faith,” said Steve Foster, evangelism catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. “The greatest obstacle isn’t willingness; it’s a lack of intentionality. Without it, we naturally drift away from evangelism rather than toward it.”
‘Bolder on a survey’
Brad Marchman, a Georgia Baptist Mission Board evangelism consultant, said the numbers align with what he hears repeatedly in conversations with pastors across the state.
“I am actually surprised, and somewhat skeptical, the numbers are as high as they are,” Marchman said. “I believe in general, people are bolder on a survey than they are in real life. Based on working with churches and talking to pastors, I would say that most Christians are not sharing their faith and don’t see it as a part of their lives.”
Fewer than half of churchgoers (48%) said they intentionally spend time building friendships with non-Christians for the purpose of sharing Christ with them, and only 45% said they have developed significant relationships with people outside their church with evangelism in mind.
Marchman believes that’s what happens when evangelism gets treated as an occasional program instead of a defining culture.
“First, in many churches, evangelism has gone from a first-place position of importance to a secondary place,” Marchman said. “We don’t talk about it enough. Many times, our evangelism plan is to have an outreach event during the year and maybe have a training here and there. While this may yield some baptisms, it will never get people fully committed to the mission of reaching their community or the people God has placed in their lives.
“Secondly, people have come to see church as a destination to go to,” Marchman said. “We show up on Sunday and do all of our spiritual stuff and then leave and go back to our ‘normal’ life. We don’t, for the most part, scatter with the gospel on our hearts. For many, being a witness is not even on their radar.”
Foster said the remedy is deliberate leadership that helps church members build evangelistic habits.
“Church leaders must focus on cultivating a culture of evangelism — one that disciples believers to live missionally, develop evangelistic curiosity, and share the gospel with purpose,” Foster said. “The good news is that every believer can take simple, practical steps: pray for lost people by name, intentionally build relationships, invite others into community, and be ready to share the gospel. When intentionality becomes the norm, evangelism moves from occasional to everyday.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Henry Durand and originally published by Georgia’s The Christian Index.
