Lutheran Hour Ministries is pleased to announce that Outreach Magazine has named our Spiritual Conversations in the Digital Age monograph produced in partnership with Barna Group as a Resource of the Year for Evangelism. The recognition is featured in the March/April 2019 issue of the magazine.
"The acknowledgment of our research by a widely respected Christian publication like Outreach is a testimony to the timeliness of the research as well as its relevance to a wider Christian audience," says LHM President & CEO Kurt Buchholz.
The magazine's 16th Annual Resources of the Year bring deserved attention to resources that can help churches better engage in effective outreach to share the Gospel and reach communities for Christ. More than 170 resources published between Nov. 1, 2017 and Oct. 31, 2018 were submitted for consideration and placed into 11 categories. An expert in each category, ranging from evangelism to leadership and spiritual growth to theology and biblical studies, evaluated the resources and chose what they considered to be the best.
"These are unique days for the church in North America as it learns how to flourish in a post-Christian era, and Spiritual Conversations in the Digital Age delivers pertinent information for reaching people in the modern world," says evaluator Peyton Jones, a church planter, trainer, and author of Reaching the Unreached: Becoming Raiders of the Lost Art. "The importance of data like this may drastically challenge the conclusions we've made about evangelism, and change our approach to it."
Because technology and rapid cultural shifts have changed the culture, Spiritual Conversations explores how we define evangelism, how sharing faith is perceived, and what a good evangelist looks like. The content is broken into four parts: "Sharing Faith: Then and Now" examines not only how evangelism has changed over time but also how Christians' view of sharing their faith has altered; "Digital Faith Interactions" looks at the impact social media and online avenues have had on spiritual conversations; "Spiritual Conversations from Both Sides" takes a deep dive into what both the sharer and hearer of the Gospel perceive; and "Eager to Share" offers a glimpse into what today's evangelist looks like.
"There is much to unpack in this study and plenty of implications for how we can encourage more and better spiritual conversations," says Rev. Dr. Tony Cook, LHM's vice president of Global Ministries. "But perhaps the most potent finding is that the less people think about God, the less they talk about God; and, simply put, people are thinking about God less and less. It may sound dire, but there is also good news. The more people think about God, the more they want to talk about God, about their beliefs, and about their faith experiences. Active and engaged Christians remain eager to discuss spiritual matters, even as society around them grows increasingly reluctant to do so."
The research included in this monograph helps churches come alongside believers and empower them with confidence to talk about their faith. In doing so, Christians can begin to make the connections between their everyday, ordinary life and the faith that sustains them—and to tell others the Good News of Jesus.
You can purchase your own copy of Spiritual Conversations in the Digital Age, as well as the recently released Households of Faith monograph based on the LHM/Barna research theme for 2019, by visiting shop.barna.com.
Started in 2002, Outreach Magazine serves as a fresh stream of practical resources and tactics for pastors, church leaders, volunteer leadership, and laity who are passionate about outreach by sharing the innovations, research, and insights practiced in thriving ministries.