Welcome to a World Where Family Discipleship Is Not the Norm

By Dr. Josh Mulvihill

It’s important for us to be honest about how things are going, and we can do that by looking at some research that helps us put a pulse on the discipleship of children and youth. I realize that numbers are not the most exciting thing, but good research helps us gain an accurate picture of reality. More than that, these numbers tell a story: They represent real people, with real beliefs, and they also help us to understand what is happening in churches and homes today. If you feel there are major changes happening in our world, you aren’t alone. We can feel it, but are we truly aware of the gravity of what is happening? I promise that I won’t bore you, but we need to have a bit of a family meeting about how we are doing in passing on faith to future generations by looking at a few research studies.

Biblical Worldview Studies

Every adult has a worldview, even if they aren’t aware of it. Children and youth are in the process of developing their worldview, which is one reason children, youth, and family discipleship is critical. Worldview is the culmination of our views and values that create our belief system. Worldview is simply what a person believes and how a person lives. It’s a way of seeing the world. A person’s worldview is shaped by how they answer the big questions of life such as “Why am I here?” “What is my purpose?” “Why is there evil in the world?” “What is the solution?” “How do I make the world a better place?” Our worldview shapes how we think about both mundane and major life issues, and it is our source for making decisions. Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe something.” Of course, that’s not true because what we believe does matter. Beliefs have real-life consequences. And that’s why worldview matters.

The Barna Group’s Biblical Worldview Survey

The Barna Group interviewed 1,000 people in five-year intervals beginning in the 1990s up to the present to measure their biblical worldview.¹ Quantifying biblical worldview is not easy and requires the researcher to identify a set of beliefs as “biblical.” For the purpose of the survey, a biblical worldview was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; that Satan is considered to be a real being, not merely symbolic; that a person cannot earn their way into heaven through good works; that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and that God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. Anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview. The research revealed that only 9 percent of Americans have a biblical worldview and that those in their teens and early twenties rarely possess a biblical worldview. One of the findings is particularly important for those who disciple children. Barna states,

“A person’s worldview is primarily shaped and is firmly in place by the time someone reaches the age of 13; it is refined through experience during the teen and early adult years; and then it is passed on to others during their adult life. Such studies underscore the necessity of parents and other influencers being intentional in how they help develop the worldview of children.”²

A child’s belief system is largely established by the time they reach the teen years. The childhood and middle school years are the time to do the heavy lifting with discipleship. Waiting until children are older to teach the truths of the Bible is a recipe for disaster. Children need to be taught the whole Scripture and core doctrines beginning when they are little. Of course, that is nothing new. The Bible has taught these principles for thousands of years. Paul says to Timothy, “and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15, emphasis added). Strategically, this means the early years are important, and this should be reflected in our discipleship efforts with children.

George Barna writes that the decline in biblical worldview from older to younger generations suggests parents are not helping their children develop a biblical worldview. He points out, “One of the challenges for parents, though, is that you cannot give what you do not have, and most parents do not possess such a perspective on life.” Churches have an incredible opportunity to help parents develop a biblical worldview, and in turn, parents will do the same for their children. Could it be that parents are abdicating their discipleship responsibility to the church in part because they have an underdeveloped biblical worldview and know they need help to teach their children the truths of the Bible? When a church fails to disciple parents, the church unintentionally encourages the parent to rely on the church and the church enables an unhealthy cycle. Parents are equally to blame in this process, but the church further disincentivizes parents by stepping into their role and discipling their children for them.

Arizona Christian University’s American Worldview Inventory

The American Worldview Inventory (AWVI) is an annual survey that evaluates the worldview of the US adult population (age eighteen and older). The AWVI is based on several dozen worldview-related questions that measure both beliefs and behavior within eight categories of worldview application. Researchers found that only 4 percent of American adults have a biblical worldview.³ For young adults ages eighteen to twenty-nine, the number drops to 2 percent.⁴ I want you to recognize what appears to be happening in America. The older generations are not transferring faith to younger generations, so with each new generation we see a shrinking number of individuals with a biblical worldview.

Perhaps even more surprising, researchers found that only 21 percent of individuals who attend an evangelical Protestant church have a biblical worldview.⁵ Let that sink in for a moment. Only one in five people who walk into an evangelical Protestant church on Sunday have a biblical worldview. What does this mean for your parents, volunteers, small group leaders, Sunday school teachers, and those who are teaching children and youth? It means that you must not assume they have a biblical worldview because many do not.

The ACFI is particularly valuable for a discussion about family discipleship because the survey purposely measured the biblical worldview of parents of preteens as well as that of pastors. The study found that only 8 percent of born-again parents of preteens have a biblical worldview.⁶ The ACFI suggests that most Christians hold to syncretism, a smorgasbord of beliefs from other worldviews such as New Age spirituality, secularism, or even Islam, and blend some of these ideas into their Christianity to create a customized belief system. These are the parents in our churches and schools, and their views and values are being passed on to their children.

The other finding worth noting is the biblical worldview of pastors. Among senior pastors, 41 percent have a biblical worldview; associate pastors, 28 percent; teaching pastors, 13 percent; only 12 percent of children’s and youth pastors have a biblical worldview, and executive pastors came in at 4 percent.⁷ If this research is correct, then it is shocking. Much like parents, children’s and youth pastors cannot pass on what they do not have.

Conclusion

Eventually, the balance sheet will reveal the problems. The last thing I want is to discourage anyone, but we do have to address the dire reality of where we are. I’m not trying to cast blame on anyone, just point out that the results aren’t good. In fact, they’re pretty bad, and we need to have enough intellectual honesty and emotional maturity to admit that.

Now, in one sense, the failure of Christian parents to pass on faith to future generations isn’t a modern phenomenon. It’s as old as the Old Testament. Judges 2:10 states, “There arose another generation after them that did not know the Lord or the work he had done for Israel.” In another sense, something new is happening. The culture is rapidly changing and that is making it more difficult than ever to pass a lifelong faith in Jesus to the next generation. Children are now immersed in secularized views and values every day—and they’re absorbing beliefs and lifestyles that do not align with the Bible.

Christians should have a biblical worldview, but many do not. Christians increasingly have a sincere faith but think and live in unbiblical ways. Many Christians have absorbed the secular views of culture and have integrated them into their belief system. The problem is that every worldview, other than a Christian one, is completely at odds with the Bible. They cannot coexist, which means Christians often think and live like secularists without knowing it. Christian parents are having their views and values shaped by culture in unbiblical ways. A large part of the church’s job is to disciple parents with a biblical worldview so that they can disciple their children, while also prioritizing the worldview training of staff and volunteers under our care.

This article is an excerpt from the book Family Ministry: How Your Church Can Shepherd Parents and Grandparents to Make Disciples.

Dr. Josh Mulvihill is the Executive Director of Church and Family Ministry at RenewaNation. He served as a pastor for nearly twenty years and serves on the board of Awana. He holds a Ph.D. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of Biblical Grandparenting, Preparing Children for Marriage, Biblical Worldview, and 50 Things Every Child Needs to Know Before Leaving Home. Josh is married to Jen, and they have five children. Josh blogs at GospelShapedFamily.com.

ENDNOTES

1. Barna Group, “Changes in Worldview Among Christians in the Past 13 Years,” Barna, March 9, 2009, accessed February 27, 2024, https://barna.com/research/barna-survey-examines-changes-in-worldview-among-christians-over-the-past-13-years.

2. Barna Group, “Changes in Worldview Among Christians.”

3. George Barna, “America Needs Spiritual Renewal More Than a Political Majority,” February 19, 2024, accessed February 27, 2024, https://arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/CRC-Release-AWVI-1-February-19-2024.pdf.

4. Barna, “America Needs Spiritual Renewal.”

5. American Culture & Faith Institute, “Dangerously Low Percentage of Americans Hold Biblical Worldview,” March 24, 2020, accessed February 27, 2024, https://arizonachristian.edu/2020/03/24/inaugural-crc-study-dangerously-low-percentage-of-americans-hold-biblical-worldview.

6. George Barna, “Improving Parents’ Abilities to Raise Spiritual Champions,” George Barna, accessed February 27, 2024, https://arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AWVI2022_Release_04_Digital.pdf.

7. George Barna, “Shocking Results Concerning the Worldview of Christian Pastors,” George Barna, accessed February 27, 2024, https://arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/AWVI2022_Release05_Digital.pdf.