FellowshipPreaching/TeachingLeadershipCelebrate RecoveryDiscipleshipSmall GroupsEvangelismWorshipMinistry
The Epidemic of Bible Illiteracy in Our Churches
When was the last time you read a book? For almost 1 in 4 of us, it was more than a year ago, according to Pew Research. That's three times the number who didn't read a book in 1978. In America, we have a literacy problem. But more concerning to me, we have a biblical literacy problem. Americans, including churchgoers, aren't reading much of any book, including the Good Book.
The Sad Statistics
Christians claim to believe the Bible is God's Word. We claim it's God's divinely inspired, inerrant message to us. Yet despite this, we aren't reading it. A recent LifeWay Research study found only 45 percent of those who regularly attend church read the Bible more than once a week. Over 40 percent of the people attending read their Bible occasionally, maybe once or twice a month. Almost 1 in 5 churchgoers say they never read the Bible—essentially the same number who read it every day.Small groups are key to combating and changing the epidemic of biblical illiteracy.
Because we don't read God's Word, it follows that we don't know it. To understand the effects, we can look to statistics of another Western country: the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom Bible Society surveyed British children and found many could not identify common Bible stories. When given a list of stories, almost 1 in 3 didn't choose the Nativity as part of the Bible and over half (59 percent) didn't know that Jonah being swallowed by the great fish is in the Bible.
British parents didn't do much better. Around 30 percent of parents don't know Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, or the Good Samaritan are in the Bible. To make matters worse, 27 percent think Superman is or might be a biblical story. More than 1 in 3 believes the same about Harry Potter. And more than half (54 percent) believe The Hunger Games is or might be a story from the Bible.
But it's more than simply not knowing stories from Scripture. Our lack of biblical literacy has led to a lack of biblical doctrine. LifeWay Research found that while 67 percent of Americans believe heaven is a real place, 45 percent believe there are many ways to get there—including 1 in 5 evangelical Christians. More than half of evangelicals (59 percent) believe the Holy Spirit is a force and not a personal being—in contrast to the orthodox biblical teaching of the Trinity being three Persons in one God. As a whole, Americans, including many Christians, hold unbiblical views on hell, sin, salvation, Jesus, humanity, and the Bible itself.
There is little excuse for anyone living in Western Civilization, particularly Christians, to not know or read the Bible. Nine out of ten American homes have at least one Bible. The average American—Christian or not—owns at least three Bibles. And technology has put Bibles at our fingertips wherever we are—you can download the Bible for free on your smartphone.
In contrast, most Christians desire to become more mature followers of Christ. LifeWay Research found 90 percent of churchgoers "desire to please and honor Jesus in all I do." Almost 60 percent agree with the statement, "Throughout the day, I find myself thinking about biblical truths." It's striking that while most of us desire to please Jesus, few of us take the time to check the Bible to find out if we are actually doing it. Clearly, there's a disconnect.
How to Combat this Negative Trend
So how do we get people to pull the Bible off their bookshelves and put it into their lives? The research we've done indicates that several factors lead to a higher likelihood of someone engaging the Bible. In this case, we mean they will allow God, through his Word, to lead and change their life. Here are the eight predictors of biblical engagement:- Confessing sins and wrongdoings to God and asking for forgiveness
- Following Jesus Christ for years
- Being willing to obey God, no matter the cost
- Praying for the spiritual status of unbelievers
- Reading a book about increasing spiritual growth
- Being discipled or mentored one-on-one by a more spiritually mature Christian
- Memorizing Bible verses
- Attending a small group focused on Bible study
For growth to occur in the church, people groups must continuously grow and multiply.
As we wrote in the book, "God has supernaturally ordained community to sanctify his people to grow in Christ. A call to discipleship and spiritual maturity is a call to biblical community." It doesn't matter what you call small groups within your church community—life groups, Sunday school, discipleship classes, Bible study fellowships—the importance of them remains the same. It's impossible to make disciples apart from community. Groups might not be the only place transformation happens, but I'm convinced they're the primary place.
Most pastors agree groups are important to the life of their church, but there's a disconnect between the stated importance and the reality of what's happening in most churches. Our research found 92 percent of Protestant pastors believe their people are making significant progress in their spiritual development, but more than half (56 percent) admit they don't regularly assess their personal growth. In addition, less than half (42 percent) say their churches have a "well-defined" approach to group ministry. Without a clear plan for small groups, your congregation is missing out on God's tool for transformation and growth.
Transformational Groups
So what types of small groups do you need in place at your church? While a wide variety of group settings can work, there are particular aspects that lead to life change. Here are four important facets of small groups: 1. Connect: Small groups connect people in relationships. According to William Hendricks in Exit Interviews, one common reason given by people who leave churches is a failure to connect in relationship. In addition, LifeWay Research found 1 in 5 young adults who left church said they did not feel connected to the people at their church. Small groups must provide a comfortable environment for people to connect. 2. Reproduce: In human growth, multiplication allows a cell to become multiple cells, which allows change and growth to occur. Similarly, for growth to occur in the church, people groups must continuously grow and multiply. Small groups must multiply and reproduce so more and more people can experience one. 3. Assimilate: Small groups assimilate members to ministry through service. As people in small groups grow in relationship together, they will readily serve alongside others and integrate into ministry opportunities. Whether the small group serves together or helps group members find ways to serve on their own, small groups should launch people into ministry in and outside the church. 4. Transform: Small groups allow individuals to experience faster and deeper personal transformation through authentic community. With a focus on Bible study and applying God's truth to life, small groups help group members experience real life change. For seekers, small groups provide a safe setting to ask questions in a community of people who also wrestle and struggle. They also provide a safe place for Christians to wrestle with faith issues and apply God's Word. Small groups with these four characteristics connect people in genuine relationships in an environment where the Bible is taught, discussed, valued, and practiced. Having people in a large church gathering is great, but having them also involved in an intimate group setting is better. We must move people beyond merely sitting in rows in pews to sitting in circles in groups. It's there that people mature in their faith as they respect, appreciate, and hear those in community alongside them. Biblical illiteracy is best combated in those small group circles—whether they meet on Sunday morning in a church classroom or Tuesday night in a living room. Through groups, people are inspired to read the Bible more, not necessarily because it's an expected duty, but because they know the joy that comes from connecting personally with God through his Word. Groups matter—especially when it comes to how well we read, know, and live the Bible.Recent Articles
5 Reasons Church Covenants Work
Commitments are the secret sauce of spiritual growth. Think back to the key times of growth in your own spiritual journey, and you'll likely be pointing to times of commitment. For example:The moment you gave your life to Christ.The day you decided to get baptized.The season when you began reading your Bible regularly.If you want to see your congregation grow closer to Jesus, you need to help them make commitments to the purposes of God. At Saddleback, we’ve done that through a series of covenants where people commit to church membership, maturity, ministry, and missions. Spiritual Growth Begins with CommitmentSpiritual growth isn’t automatic. You can grow old without growing up. Growth is a product of commitment. Without commitments, we live in perpetual immaturity. Think about the growth that comes after you accept your first job, or when you get married. You grow up, too, when you have children. No one is ever “ready” for marriage or children. You get ready after you’ve made those commitments. The same is true in our relationship with God. That’s why, during my years pastoring Saddleback, we didn’t work toward spiritual commitments. We worked from spiritual commitments. That means we started with whatever commitments people had already made. Here’s what that can look like:When a person makes a commitment to Christ, we lead them toward baptism. Then it’s time for the membership class. In CLASS 101, new members sign a covenant where they commit to:Protect the unity of the church.Share the responsibility of the church.Serve the ministry of the church.Support the testimony of the church. Then those commitments lead to the commitments in the discipleship, ministry, and missions covenants. Why Covenants WorkThe most important part of a wedding ceremony isn’t the moment the bride walks down the aisle. It’s not when the pastor says the groom may kiss the bride. The most important part is when the man and woman exchange vows and make commitments to one another before witnesses. The same is true for church covenants. At Saddleback, our membership, maturity, ministry, and missions covenants are the most important parts of our CLASS system.Here’s why those covenants are so important. 1. We become what we’re committed to.Our lives are a sum of the commitments we make. Sit down with someone and ask them what they’re committed to today, and you’ll know the contours of the rest of their lives (assuming those commitments don’t change). Commitments establish a person’s character. That means the key to leading people to grow spiritually is helping them commit to the disciplines that help Christians grow—such as commitments to worship, build meaningful relationships, read the Bible, pray, serve, and share the Good News. 2. Commitments define churches. Your church isn’t defined by its programs or the building it meets in or the pastor’s preaching. What really defines a church is the commitments the people in it make together.A motto Saddleback has lived out for decades has been, “A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission grows a great church.” During my years as pastor there, that commitment shaped every decision we made.3. People want to be committed to something that brings significance. I always told people in our membership class at Saddleback that they couldn’t do anything more important with their lives than join the church, grow in maturity, get involved in ministry, and begin fulfilling their mission in the world. Those investments would outlast anything else they might do in life. People want to give their lives to something important. They long for their lives to count. Intuitively, they know nothing else fits the bill—not their careers, not their hobbies, and not even their families. As a pastor, you have an opportunity to show people a commitment worth giving their lives to. 4. If you don’t ask, others will.Everyone seems to ask for commitments these days. Travel sports leagues want families to commit. Employers are pushing for more commitment. If you’re not asking the people in your church to make commitments, their schedules will get packed with everything else. As a pastor, part of your job is to guide people toward making the right commitments—ones that help them live out God’s purposes for their lives.5. Covenants clarify vision and values.When your church’s members sign on to your church covenant, they know your vision and values. The covenant reinforces the mission and values that drive your church—and ensures that new members understand them and will work toward them in the future.To learn more about how your church can use covenants to drive spiritual growth, check out the CLASS materials.
Learn From Failure
Every pastor makes mistakes; every pastor has defeats. Mistakes are a part of life. Sadly, so is sin. Not even a pastor can escape Romans 3:23: “All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (CEV).
None of us are perfect.
The difference between successful and unsuccessful leaders isn’t that the successful people don’t fail. The difference is that successful leaders learn from their failures.
I heard a story years ago about a young man who asked an executive, “What is the secret of success?”
“The secret of success is the right decisions,” the executive responded.
“How do you make the right decisions?”
“By experience.”
“How do you get experience?”
“By making mistakes.”
I always told my staff at Saddleback to call failure an education. We did more things that didn’t work than did. That means I had a highly educated staff!
But the important part was we weren’t afraid to admit our mistakes and learn from them. The road to success is paved with failure. But what’s critical is this: We need to learn from those failures.
You can read a good example of learning from failures in Joshua 7. After the Israelites’ great victory at Jericho, they came to the little town of Ai.
The Israelites had just taken on the greatest, most fortified city in the land—and had a resounding military victory. Then they got a little cocky and presumed upon God’s grace. Joshua sent only about 3,000 troops into the town to capture it—and his soldiers were defeated.
But take note of how Joshua responded. He threw himself onto the ground and prayed, and God told him he needed to take care of a problem in the community. A man named Achan had taken some spoils of war when God had clearly told them not to; the entire camp was suffering because of Achan’s sin.
God told Joshua to act, and that’s exactly what he did. Joshua could have defended Achan and refused to confront his sin. Instead, he admitted that Israel had sin in the camp.
He allowed himself to be corrected by his defeat—and that’s a mark of a great leader.
Pastor, be big enough to admit your error.
The real mark of leadership is the willingness to say to your people in your church, “I was wrong. I made a mistake.”
But do you know what’s better than learning from your mistakes? Learning from the mistakes of others. It’s wise to learn from experience, but it’s wiser to learn from the experiences of others. We don’t have time to make all the mistakes ourselves.
Of course, that means learning from people you know. When you see people failing, talk with them. Ask questions about what they’ve learned—and be alert to what they may still have to learn.
And do these things too: Read biographies. Be teachable. Pray for insight. Always be on the lookout for people who have failed and recovered.
Whatever you do, be corrected by your defeats and learn from the mistakes of others so you won’t have to make all of the mistakes yourself.
How to Find Joy in Your Relationships
Relationships are at the heart of every ministry. Whether those relationships are with your family, your congregation, or your community, you’ll be miserable in life and ministry if your relationships aren’t healthy.
God wants us to enjoy the people in our lives. In the book of Philippians, Paul models four principles to help us find joy in our relationships.
Be grateful for the good in people. “I thank my God for all the memories I have of you” (Philippians 1:3 GW).
Paul focused on the good memories instead of the bad ones. And if you recall in Acts 16, you’ll remember the bad memories Paul could have focused on while he was in Philippi, but didn’t. He was arrested, whipped, humiliated, and thrown in prison. While in prison, there was an earthquake. Then the Roman officials in the town asked him to leave. Paul had a rough time in Philippi, but he chose to focus on what he was grateful for.
To follow Paul’s example, we don’t need to deny the hurts in our lives. Neither do we need to excuse the weaknesses of others. Instead, focus on the good and emphasize the strengths of other people.
Practice positive praying. “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy” (Philippians 1:4 NIV).
Praying positively for people will change both your attitude and the other person’s. People may resist our advice, spurn our appeals, reject our suggestions, and not accept our help, but they are powerless against our prayers.
In Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV), Paul models four specific ways we can pray positively for others.
Pray they will grow in love. “Your love may abound.” (This phrase means to overflow, like a tidal wave.)
Pray they make wise choices. “Discern what is best.”
Pray they will do the right thing. “Be pure and blameless.”
Pray they will live for God’s glory. “The fruit of righteousness.”
Most of us are good at praying for people in crisis, but let’s commit to praying specifically and regularly for people who may struggle in these four areas. Doing so will transform our relationships with them.
Be patient with people’s progress. “God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won't stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 CEV).
Paul looked at people’s future, not just their past. He looked at their potential and was patient with their progress.
Mankind is a great starter but a bad finisher. Man leaves unfinished symphonies, unfinished buildings, unfinished books, and unfinished projects. Man doesn’t always finish what he starts, but God always finishes what he starts.
We should model God’s patience with people’s progress. To enjoy people, we must give them room to grow and develop, just as God does with us.
Love people from the heart. “God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:8 NLT).
Loving people begins with understanding why they act the way they do. You can’t love people you don’t understand. If you care, you’ll be aware.
You get understanding by asking questions and then listening to the responses.
Understanding people helps you love them better, but it still doesn’t get you to the love Paul described in Philippians 1:8. Paul said he loved the church of Philippi “with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus” (NLT). Only Jesus—working through you—can love people like that.
God’s love isn’t something you can force. It’s a gift that you get as you let the Holy Spirit work through you. “God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us” (Romans 5:5 GNT).
Life is too short to not enjoy the people in your life. If you don’t learn to enjoy those who God has placed in your life, you will be miserable. That’s why you need to learn how to respond to them the way Jesus did.
Why You Should Launch Mental Health Groups at Your Church
If you are reading this article then most likely you have a passion, burden or possibly a curiosity about mental health and the role the church can play in effectively caring for those affected by a mental health disorder.
The following are a few reasons why I got involved and took action to launch mental health groups at our church.
1. I Needed It!
My wife and I have been in ministry almost 30 years, serving in several different pastoral roles. However, we never imagined that we would be serving in our current role at our church now. We are the Restoration Life Group Pastors at New Life Church in Little Rock, AR, overseeing small groups for individuals impacted by mental health, addiction, grief, abuse, or trauma.
"When we were experiencing those dark times over and over again without any end in sight, it began to drain us."
My wife grew up in a family that was impacted by addiction and—unknowingly—mental health disorders. Little did we know that we would walk a dark and lonely journey for many years in our own family. Approximately four years ago, it would come to a critical crisis moment that would change the path and direction for our family of four. As pastors, Kim and I were used to caring for others and supporting them through difficult times. However, when we were experiencing those dark times over and over again without any end in sight, it began to drain us. Existing and making it through each day seemed to be the goal. Passions, dreams and vision seemed to fade and the goal of seeing joy and happiness return within ourselves and our children was the target. Everything else seemed insignificant.
Who can we talk to?
Who can understand and will listen without giving their opinion or unsolicited counsel?
Where is a place that is safe and where we can share our fears, pains, struggles, anger, grief, helplessness and even hopelessness?
Then in 2014, we heard about Grace Alliance for the first time as we listened to Dr. Matthew Stanford speak on the live stream of the Mental Health and the Church conference (The Gathering by Saddleback Church). Not long after, I contacted the Grace Alliance. After sharing my story and hearing about the hope of the Grace Alliance, I contacted others in our church who had similar stories and we started a Family Grace Group in our church. We have completed four cycles of the curriculum with possibilities for more in the future! The stories of hope and encouragement are a consistent testimony within our members.
2. To Offer Hope to Others.
Something that seemed to be launched out of our need has now proven to be a beacon of hope for a growing number of others in our church and community. We knew that there had to be many others who shared our experiences and were also in need of support.
"Since launching the groups, it has been remarkable to see the impact that the group has had on us and others who have attended."
Many attend for the first time feeling timid, broken, exhausted, overwhelmed, stressed, confused, angry, fearful or even relieved, excited to find others in similar circumstances with familiar storylines. The stories are heartbreaking, but the encouragement and hope found within those stories is nothing short of God’s faithfulness and grace extended.
We’re building a network of support that goes much further than a weekly meeting.
It has become a community of friendships that understand and encourage one another.
3. To Provide a Resource for Our Staff and Leaders.
Our Family and Living Grace Groups have become a resource for our pastors and ministry leaders to now be able to refer family members who are struggling with a teen, spouse, or a loved one with mental illness or battling addiction.
During a past life group launch, a pastor sought me out and introduced me to a man who was in a serious crisis with a family member. I spent the rest of the evening listening to him and sharing a portion of my journey. He started attending our Family Grace Group and was able to find a Christ-centered ministry recovery center for his daughter. The Grace Group provided vital encouragement for the parents during their daughter's time away. A few months after she returned, she attended our group and shared what God did—and is doing—in her life. Needless to say, the entire group shed some tears of joy and celebration!
Our church staff can now easily connect individuals and families to a place where they know they will be supported. This equips and empowers our staff to effectively care for those who enter our churches.
I knew when we launched our support group that it would be our goal to see these groups implemented at all of our New Life campuses across the state of Arkansas. We currently have 12 campuses with the vision of 50 statewide.
As a pastor, I highly recommend every church implement some form of mental health group or ministry.
The Grace Alliance is an amazing resource to assist you with training, materials, and support.
This article was originally published by The Grace Alliance and is reposted here with permission.
Dale Hull | Restoration Pastor, New Life Church, Little Rock, AR
CATEGORIES
TOPICS
MORE RESOURCES
CUSTOMER SERVICE
© COPYRIGHT 2025 Pastors.com All rights reserved.
PO Box 80448 Rancho Santa Margarita, California 92688
At Pastors.com, our passion is to have healthy pastors leading healthy churches for the global glory of God.