NRB Magazine - Christian Media Audience Surpasses Church Attendance
by NRB Chairman/CEO Glenn R. Plummer
     A Barna Research Group nationwide survey conducted in April reports that a greater number of adults experience the Christian faith through Christian media, such as radio, television or books, than attend Christian churches. This is a wake-up call for churches and Christian media distributors. In raw numbers, about 132 million adults attended a church service in the past month, while 141 million used Christian media.

Christian Radio
     More than half of the nation’s adults said they had tuned in to a Christian radio program during the past month. The most prolific Christian programming ¾ teaching, preaching and talk shows ¾ was sampled by 38 percent. In contrast, 43 percent reported that they had listened to the fastest-growing type of Christian broadcasting ¾ Christian music. When combined, all Christian radio programming reached 52 percent of the nation’s adults in the prior month, which translates into 109 million adults exposed to Christian radio content.

Christian Television
     The survey showed that 43 percent of all adults had watched some Christian programming on television during the past month, with an aggregate adult audience for Christian programming of 90 million people ¾ approximately the same number who attend Christian churches in any given week. In the past, the three largest secular broadcast networks (ABC, NBC and CBS) claimed more than 90 percent of the audience, which has been greatly fragmented due to the advent of countless cable and satellite channels.

Audience Analysis
     Women were generally more likely than men to use Christian media, while African-Americans were substantially more likely than any other ethnic segment to incorporate such media into their life. In relation to the spiritual inclinations of the public, the survey found that 96 percent of the evangelicals had been exposed to Christian media.
     Interestingly, researcher George Barna points out that many atheists, agnostics and adults aligned with non-Christian faiths intentionally absorb information from the Christian media. Of the 50 million adults who are not aligned with Christianity, more than 25 percent (15 million) had some degree of exposure to Christianity through these media.
     Despite this report, Barna sounded a challenge to the Christian community: “In essence, Christianity is about relationships ¾ a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ that is fostered through supportive relationships with other Christians. The Christian media is helpful in focusing people’s attention on things that matter. That focus is greatly enhanced when impersonal media presentations are made practical through supportive community. … The people factor must always be incorporated if Christianity is to be a genuine expression of God’s intent.”

Used with permission of the Barna Research Group LTD., 5528 Everglades St., Ventura, CA 93003.