Lutheran Hour Ministries has partnered with Barna Group to better understand how faith is impacting people in America during the 21st century.
The Households of Faith research surveyed 2,347 practicing Christian adults and teens to “learn from households that appear to be exceptionally engaged in communal and consistent faith expression in the home.” In its monograph, Households of Faith: The rituals and relationships that turn a home into a sacred space, Barna developed a custom metric that sorts households by reports of collective, frequent engagement in key behaviors:
* Spiritual Practices-defined as praying every day or two and reading the Bible weekly all together;
* Spiritual Conversations-defined as talking about God and faith at least weekly all together; and
* Hospitality-defined as welcoming non-family guests regularly, or at least several times a month
While the research offered some timely, high-level insights, it also only scratched the surface of fostering a vibrant home. In his book titled The Spiritually Vibrant Home, author Don Everts shares that the research findings sparked a profound curiosity: What do spiritually vibrant households look like? And can households armed with that knowledge strive to become more spiritually vibrant?
In this book, Everts invites us to contemplate what the Bible says about households and consider what this research project has revealed by pulling back the curtains on everyday households of faith. The research shows that some of the healthiest, most vibrant homes extend beyond the nuclear family and include people that may not be biologically related but feel like family. These households have vital practices of spirituality, hospitality, and community that make them delightful places for living and thriving.
The journey begins by exploring the spiritual significance of everyday, mundane happenings at home and then addresses the somewhat surprising way the Bible talks about homes. The book then takes a deep dive into the three elements that spiritually vibrant homes have in common by offering a twist on the definitions and several examples of application:
Messy Prayers
Loud Tables
Open Doors
“This book provides Christians with a roadmap to developing intentional rhythms that nurture their spirit, honor their heavenly Father, and pass on their faith to the next generation,” says Brooke Hempell, senior vice president of research for Barna Group.
“This whole process has given me hope for my own household and steps to take toward spiritual vibrancy,” says Everts. “That gives me the courage to invite you along for this journey to see what God’s Word proclaims and the latest research confirms about we humans and our homes.
“In the end you might just be surprised by how God wants to work in and through your household,” he continues. “And you’ll have practical steps for nurturing a vibrant household of faith, no matter what stage of life you are in.”
The Spiritually Vibrant Home: The Power of Messy Prayers, Loud Tables, and Open Doors is big on ideas that can help transform anyone’s household into a place that’s warm, open, and inviting. Backed by Barna Group research in partnership with LHM, readers will find dozens of ways to make their homes an oasis to others and a delight to those who live there.
To learn about additional research done in partnership with Barna as well as available resources on these topics, visit www.lhm.org/barna.