"Survey: Evangelicals Worry Most Over Health of Churches" UPDATED

When it comes to what changes are "absolutely necessary" for the United States to address in the next 10 years, the most likely answer among Americans pertains to children's future. Among evangelicals, however, the priority was much different, a new survey found.

Among various groups – including conservatives and liberals and blacks and whites – the latest Barna survey found that the most radical differences of opinion on what needs to change in America were between evangelicals and those who are not born-again Christians.

Overall, 82 percent of American adults said a change in the overall care and resources devoted to children is absolutely necessary in the immediate future. Evangelicals were 20 percentage points below in ranking that issue a top priority.

While enhancing the health of Christian churches was listed as the lowest priority among Americans (44 percent), evangelicals listed it among their highest priorities in changes that need to be addressed.

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070821/28993_Survey%3A_Evangelicals_Worry_Most_Over_Health_of_Churches.htm

Currently, evangelicals represent 8% of the national adult population. That projects to approximately 20 million adults.

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"Evangelicals" are people who meet the born again criteria (described below) plus seven other conditions. Those include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical is not dependent upon church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as "evangelical."

"Born again Christians" are defined as people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents are not asked to describe themselves as "born again."

http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&BarnaUpdateID=277