The headlines from Virginia and New Jersey aren’t the whole story. What’s happening inside America’s churches is shaping the way people think, vote, and live far more than a single election night. We sit down with David Closson of Family Research Council to unpack new nationwide research on regular churchgoers—folks in the pews weekly—and the picture is both sobering and hopeful.

On the hopeful side, the data show an unmistakable hunger for worldview training. Large majorities want clear, Bible-based teaching on religious freedom, social and political responsibility, human sexuality, and the value of life. Gen Z and millennials are showing up more, streaming worship music, and downloading spiritual apps at record rates. People are searching for truth and meaning, and they’re walking through church doors to find it.

The sobering side: core doctrine is slipping. Only 61% of frequent attenders affirm an orthodox view of God, and a growing share substitute new-age “higher consciousness” language for biblical truth. Even more alarming, support for abortion has risen among regular churchgoers over the past two years. We talk candidly about why this is happening—years of pastoral silence on contested moral issues, syncretism from cultural influences, and the assumption that attendance equals discipleship. Then we lay out a better way: chapter-and-verse clarity on issues Scripture addresses directly, coupled with pastoral courage and congregational ownership of spiritual growth.

You’ll leave with practical resources: FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldview, Summit Ministries for students and young adults, the Colson Center’s programs and media, and David Closson’s book Life After Roe, which integrates theology, history, and strategy for the pro-life cause. The thread through it all is simple and urgent—formation beats slogans. If we teach and live the whole counsel of God, public witness follows and civic choices change.

If this conversation sharpened your thinking, share it with a friend. What topic do you want us to tackle with chapter-and-verse clarity next?

https://churchleaders.com/state-of-the-church/2207444-barna-young-adults-lead-church-attendance.html

Support the show