Study: Most churchgoers don't read Bible daily

[Mark]

Study: Most churchgoers don't read Bible daily

While the majority of churchgoers desire to honor Christ with their lives and even profess to think on biblical truths, a recent study found few actually engage in personal reading and study of the Scriptures.

"Bible engagement" is one of the eight attributes of discipleship identified in the Transformational Discipleship study conducted by LifeWay Research. The study produced the Transformational Discipleship Assessment, which measures an individual's spiritual growth in each of these areas of development.

The survey found 90 percent of churchgoers agree that "I desire to please and honor Jesus in all I do," and 59 percent agree with the statement: "Throughout the day I find myself thinking about biblical truths." While the majority agree with both statements, there is a significant difference in the strength of agreement. Nearly two-thirds of churchgoers (64 percent) strongly agree with the first statement, but only 20 percent strongly agree with the second.

However, when asked how often they personally (not as part of a church worship service) read the Bible:

-- 19 percent respond "every day."

-- 26 percent say a few times a week.

-- 14 percent say they read the Bible "once a week."

-- 22 percent say "once a month" or "a few times a month."

-- 18 percent say "rarely/never."

"Bible engagement has an impact in just about every area of spiritual growth," said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research. "You can follow Christ and see Christianity as your source of truth, but if that truth does not permeate your thoughts, aspirations and actions, you are not fully engaging the truth.

"God's Word is truth, so it should come as no surprise that reading and studying the Bible are still the activities that have the most impact on growth in this attribute of spiritual maturity," Stetzer said. "As basic as that is, there are still numerous churchgoers who are not reading the Bible regularly. You simply won't grow if you don't know God and spend time in God's Word."

The survey also reveals six actions that positively impact the Bible engagement scores of individuals:

1. Confessing wrongdoings to God and asking forgiveness.

2. Believing in Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven and the number of years one has believed this.

3. Making a decision to obey or follow God with an awareness that choosing to do so might be costly. Sixty-three percent of churchgoers say they have done this at least once in the last six months.

4. Praying for the spiritual status of people they know are not professing Christians.

5. Reading a book about increasing their spiritual growth. Sixty-one percent of churchgoers say they have done this in the last year.

6. Having been discipled or mentored one-on-one by a more spiritually mature Christian. Nearly half of churchgoers (47 percent) say they have been discipled or mentored.

"Bible engagement points people toward maturity and maturing Christians have practices that correspond to Bible reading. Almost all churchgoers want to honor God, but more than a third indicate obedience is not something they have done when it is costly to them," Stetzer said.

"The impact of the Word of God on people's lives is seen in the relationship between Bible engagement and turning from wrongdoings and choosing to obey God -- two indicators of higher Bible engagement scores," he added. "Such tangible life changes show the transformational impact of Bible engagement in the life of a disciple of Christ."

These findings on Bible engagement are part of the largest discipleship study of its kind. Results from each of the eight attributes of spiritual maturity will continue to be released over the coming months.

To help pastors, churches and individuals measure spiritual development, LifeWay Research used the study's data to develop a questionnaire for believers, called the Transformational Discipleship Assessment (TDA). This online evaluation delivers both individual and group reports on spiritual maturity using the eight factors of biblical discipleship. The TDA also provides helpful and practical suggestions on appropriate next steps for spiritual development.

To learn more about the transformational discipleship research visit LifeWayResearch.com. The TDA is available at TDA.LifeWay.com

For the study, LifeWay Research interviewed a demographically balanced online panel of American adults who attend a Protestant church at least once a month. A total of 2,930 surveys were completed between Oct. 14-22, 2011.

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[Psalm 51:17]

5. Reading a book about increasing their spiritual growth. Sixty-one percent of churchgoers say they have done this in the last year.

Uhm, can't say I agree with this assessment - on a few occassions, let's say if it's a book defending the KJV/exposing the perversions(ie-Gail Ripplinger documented almost every fine detail in "New Age Versions"), or short e-books posted on this forum exposing the New Age agendas the UN is ramming down/exposing the SBC, etc(as well as a former New Age insider like Randall Baer giving out warnings), I would have no problems recommending them b/c as Christians, it would be a good idea to be aware of our enemies, who can be very subtle.

However, on the many other occassions where people like Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, Charles Stanley, or any other "denominational" big-wig bloke writes book after book on how we can live by faith, increase our faith, etc...ultimately they end up coming off as very fleshly, and it's as if your have that "I feel better about myself" mentality when all is said and done. God gave us the SCRIPTURES to exhort, comfort, and edify us, and that is ALL. When these people start writing books over how to live by faith, they end up writing more about their own words of wisdom more than anything else, when the scriptures themselves have POWER.

[Christian40]

So i assume they lumped the KJV in with the Modern Bible Versions, how about doing a study on Christians who use the KJV as there one Bible and compare that to those "Christians" that use the Modern Bible Versions and no KJV? Since only using the KJV as my Bible that i use, i have found that i read it far more often than when i was reading the NIV. This modern approach where people believe they can be a Christian and right with God and not read the Bible is another strong delusion.

The Word of God and Jesus are One - John 1.

1 Peter 1:
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Luke 8:
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Matthew 13:
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

[Kilika]

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life." John 6:63 (KJB)