USA Today had an article about a survey of young adults produced for a conservative Christian organization. Some interesting statistics:

Even among those in the survey who “believe they will go to heaven because they have accepted Jesus Christ as savior”:

•68% did not mention faith, religion or spirituality when asked what was “really important in life.”

•50% do not attend church at least weekly.

•36% rarely or never read the Bible.

The headline is 72% of Millenials (i.e. 18-29 year olds) more ‘spiritual than religious’

Of course, for such a survey to be of real use, it should compare results across age cohorts, to see if these numbers have fallen over the decades. Other surveys have done so, and have detected a trend away from traditional religion and institutional Christianity.

Church growth gurus often recommend trying to get more relevant with worship or constructing a product that will sell in this market. But I think that may be misguided. Doing that may only change brand loyalty as it were; it won’t bring people into the store (church). I’ve noticed something interesting at Grace. When we open our doors to the public on Saturdays or during the week, all kinds of people come in. The curious, the tourists, et al. But often people come in, sit down, and stay a few minutes or longer, to pray, meditate, or simply enjoy the space. Who knows whether they will ever come back or what might have been on their minds, but for a few moments, we were there for them.