The latest information from the Barna Group reveals some amazing facts about the faith and religious practices in various areas of America. We are not surprised that the most religious cities where individuals claim to be Christians are in the southern states (Shreveport—98%; Birmingham—96%; Nashville—95%). At the other extreme are San Francisco—68% and Portland, Oregon—71%. Of interest to those of us in South Florida, Miami has 78% who describe themselves as Christians.
West Palm Beach also appears in the study when we look at individuals who describe themselves as atheists (those who do not believe there is a God) or agnostics (those who say there is no way to decide if God exists). The highest number of such skeptics in the survey is found in Portland, Maine with 19%, New York is at 12% and Miami is at 8%. West Palm Beach has 10% of adults who are agnostic or atheists.
The study also counted the percentage of individuals who had not attended a religious service in the past six months. Portland, Maine headed the list at 43% followed by Portland, Oregon—42%, Albany—42%, Boston—40%, and West Palm Beach having 37% as “unchurched” adults.
What does this mean about your life as a Christian and the challenges confronting Palm Beach Lakes? The obvious answer is that with such ungodliness around us, we must not let up. It’s like the story of two shoe salesmen who were sent to a third world country. One reported back that the situation was hopeless because no one wore shoes there. The other reported that the opportunities were great, and the future was bright because everyone there needed shoes. The fact that Christ is not in the lives of so many enables us to see everyone as a prospect!
One other important implication of this study is that we must not assume that those we contact have the same attitude we do toward God, the Bible and the importance of the church. Think about the fact that more than one-third of the people we know almost never worship God. The way we approached people in past years may not be as effective now that the attitude of people have changed. The truth of the gospel message must never be changed, but we must realize that we are at a different beginning place. Paul’s sermons in the synagogues were not the same sermons he preached in Greek market places. They were designed to end at the same place, but their starting places were so different.
How blessed we are! Everyone we meet is a prospect!