One purpose of the August 1996 Presbyterian Panel survey on "Evangelism" was to ascertain individual priorities for churchwide resources and energies. How would members, elders, and ministers want the denomination to spend the dollars available for outreach to the unchurched?
From a list of eight possibilities (see the figure), Presbyterians on both sides of the lay-clerical divide show the most interest in efforts to prepare Presbyterians to be better able to communication their faith to others. In fact, 97% of pastors, 92% of elders, and 83% of members are either "extremely interested" or "moderately interested" in this focus. Tellingly, however, enthusiasm is much greater among pastors (i.e., the trainers) than among laypeople (i.e., the trainees): While 71% of pastors are "extremely interested" in preparing individuals to share their faith, only 40% of elders and 29% of members are "extremely interested."
Most pastors (81%) also express interest in the related task, preparing Presbyterians to witness to colleagues in their workplaces. Lay enthusiasm, however, is relatively muted. While it's true that a majority of elders (55%) and a large minority of members (44%) show some interest in this focus, only 13% of the former and 10% of the latter express "extreme interest." Perhaps a widespread belief that religion is not a proper workplace topic in pluralistic America explains the drop off in enthusiasm from general faith-sharing to this specific instance.
Many Presbyterian laity express support for evangelism efforts through media ministries, although enthusiasm is limited. While overall 53% of members and 55% of elders express some interest in efforts aimed at broadcasting a Sunday worship service from a PCUSA congregation on national radio or TV, only 14% of laity are "extremely interested" in putting resources toward this goal.
Similar proportions of members (52%) and elders (59%) also express interest in the related idea of providing media materials (print/radio/TV) so congregations can promote the PCUSA through their local outlets. Even larger majorities of pastors favor church facilitation of both types of media ministry. Still, enthusiasm is sparse: the share of "extremely interested" responses among pastors is limited to 21% for a national broadcast, and 32% for supporting local media promotions. (Of course, if resources were developed to facilitate congregational use of local media and "only" one-third of all PCUSA congregations used them, the potential audience would be huge!)
And yet . . . Presbyterians of all stripes seem practically ecstatic about fostering media-based evangelism when compared to their opinions on more revivalistic approaches. Less than four in every ten members, elders, and pastors show any interest in encouraging large-scale evangelistic campaigns, with only 5%, 8%, and 8%, respectively, showing "extreme interest." Similar results are found for holding local/regional evangelism rallies and having presbyteries hire evangelists to assist congregations in their evangelism programs. (Among pastors, interest in this last option is a bit higher than for the other two, although the share expressing "extreme interest," 15%, is still low.)
In sum, more pastors than laity favor each of several possible denomination efforts in evangelism, but even among the clergy, enthusiasm for each is generally subdued. When it comes to specifics, the modest interest overall is greatest for teaching skills in individual faith sharing (as long as these skills are not intended for primary use in one's place of employ), least for sponsoring revivals and mass evangelism rallies, and intermediate for facilitating use of mass media.
For more: Order a copy of the complete results from PDS at (800) 524-2612 and request the August 1996 Presbyterian Panel Report on "Evangelism" (#70360-96210). The cost is $5.00. Or, read the complete Evangelism Summary (August 1996) online. Or, visit the home page of the Officof Evangelism and Church Development.
Email the author: Jack Marcum
Research Services