What Pastors say the top barriers to evangelism are in today's culture

Last year, I worked with leaders of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board to conduct over thirty listening sessions held across the state with 750 pastors and church leaders participating representing 363 congregations. In addition, all Associational Missionary Strategists were invited to provide input in six regional listening sessions with fifty-three of those invited participating. We learned a great deal about the state of evangelism and gleaned great information that is guiding a major Evangelism Initiative in Georgia. I want to share some of the results and trust the information will assist you in being intentional with your evangelistic efforts.

Question: What are the barriers to evangelism in today’s context?

The pastors and church leaders were asked to identify what they perceive to be the greatest barriers to evangelism today? Here are the top ten responses.

The responses point to two distinct answers from the perspective of the work of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board staff. The first is the importance of prayer knowing that a “move of God” is critical in breaking through apathy, fear, inward focus, misunderstanding of roles/responsibilities, and opening eyes to lostness. The second is the importance of equipping pastors to address time management, training, leadership, cultural shifts, and vision that results in implementation. You will also note that nine of the top ten answers are not problems with the culture, though it is notably shifting and becoming more difficult.  If “seminary” were enough, effective evangelism would already be taking place. Knowing the barriers, how can you and your leaders reduce or eliminate some or all of these?