Throughout Barna’s Spiritually Openseries, we’ve found that there is a lot of talk about Jesus—even non-Christians have a generally positive view of Christ. But, if non-Christians are looking for things that Jesus provides, have a positive opinion of Jesus and are hearing about Jesus from Christians … then why don’t more people identify as Christians?

In this article, an excerpt from our final Spiritually Open release, we’ll explore how resilient faith might be the missing ingredient to helping non-Christians pursue a walk with Christ.

Just 20% of U.S. Christians Are Resilient Disciples Over the course of the Spiritually Openseries, we’ve focused on interpersonal interactions about faith and spiritual curiosity, especially between Christians and non-Christians. You may recall that the public, including non-Christians, holds generally warm feelings toward Jesus. People tend to have a positive opinion of Jesus and his teachings, but those warm views don’t always lead to a personal commitment to Jesus.

Our research suggests that the most likely reason for this disconnect is the hypocrisy non-Christians witness among Christians. This means that the biggest challenge to the effectiveness of our spiritual conversations may lie in how people—and the Church at large—embody Jesus. Satisfying the spiritual curiosity of non-Christians and equipping Christians to share their faith will be shortsighted if these efforts are not ultimately about holistic, whole-life discipleship.

At Barna, we sometimes talk about building resilient disciples. At the moment, just  20 percent of U.S. Christians meet Barna’s definition of a “,” meaning they are: Christians who (1) attend church at least monthly and engage with their church more than just attending worship services; (2) trust firmly in the authority of the Bible; (3) are committed to Jesus personally and affirm he was crucified and raised from the dead to conquer sin and death; and (4) express desire to transform the broader society as an outcome of their faith.