Response to the August cover story in Christianity Today concerning George Barna flooded the California-based researcher’s digital and physical mailboxes. Public reaction to the article and its representation of Barna ran both hot and cold – as did Barna’s reaction to the article that described his two-decade odyssey in conducting research for ministries and his change of plans for the future.

In a recent conversation regarding the content and impact of the article, Barna stated that he was “grateful to hundreds of people who wrote to express encouragement, or to describe how our work has helped them, or to resonate with my frustrations.” The most gratifying response, he said, was the scores of people who volunteered to partner in the pursuit of the moral and spiritual revolution that Barna longs to foster. “Honestly, some of the letters from people brought tears to my eyes. It was so energizing to hear from other servants who are similarly passionate about restoring the Church and renewing America.”

Sources of Significant Influence

A brief section of the article alluded to Barna’s future thrust: understanding and impacting the “sources of significant influence,” which Barna consistently refers to as SSI. While he is still conducting research regarding the identity and impact of those sources, he revealed that the early returns from a year of research show the leading influencers in American society to be movies, television, the Internet, books, music, public policy and law, and family. The Christian church, his research shows, is not among the top dozen influences these days – a far cry from the way things used to be. He hopes to provide information to be used for developing a strategy that will enable Christians to have greater effect on society through those sources of influence.

“I’d love to correct the mistaken impression some people got from the article that my interest in SSI means I am turning my back on the local church,” the New York-born father of two explained. “At the moment, for instance, we’re conducting more than a quarter-million dollars-worth of research in preparation for next year’s seminar tour that is geared to help churches in four specific areas of felt need. We will continue conducting our tracking studies among pastors, adults and teenagers. And I’d love to add more research about pre-teens to the slate, if we can afford it. The local church may not be terribly influential today but it has tremendous potential and I certainly have no intention of abandoning it.”