George Barna

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George Barna
Born	New York City, USA
Occupation	Researcher and author

George Barna is the founder of The Barna Group, a market research firm specializing in studying the religious beliefs and behavior of Americans, and the intersection of faith and culture. He leads seminars for church leaders, speaks at ministry conferences, has taught at seminaries, and has been a pastor. He has also written more than three-dozen books on contemporary Christian issues, with topics ranging from children to leadership. Barna has coined several terms, including Mosaic Generation, which he uses to describe those born between 1984 and 2002; theolographics, used to describe the theological perspectives and applications of people; and spiritainment, which describes the blending of spiritality and entertainment toward influencing people's spiritual perspectives.

In 2005, Barna joined with five colleagues to form Good News Holdings, an organization that produces and distributes media content in the form of feature movies, television programming, mobile content, Internet platforms and content, books, magazines, Internet Protocol Television technology and content, and music. Barna serves as Chairman of the firm, which is located in the Los Angeles area. (See www.goodnewsholdings.com.)

Polls produced by The Barna Group are the most quoted polls within Evangelical circles. They are generally interpreted from an evangelical perspective. His research has revealed "a radical gap between what we heard Christians professing they believed and the values and the lifestyle that grew out of the values."^[1]

George grew up a Catholic in Princeton, New Jersey and is now an Evangelical Christian.^[1] He graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a degree in sociology, and a minor in religion. He holds two masters degrees from Rutgers University. He married his high school sweetheart, and they have three adopted daughters (two from Guatemala, one from Russia). He has written more than three-dozen books. The bestsellers have been The Frog in the Kettle; The Power of Vision; Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions; and Revolution. He also regularly writes columns that appear on The Barna Group's website (www.barna.org) and on the Good News Holdings site (www.goodnewsholdings.com).

Barna is known for providing objective though not-always-flattering surveys regarding the Christian faith and the state of the church. Among his findings that have generated substantial interest or controversy in recent years are: children are the most important population segment to minister to because of their spiritual vulnerability; Protestant churches are generally ineffective vessels for evangelism and discipleship; most Protestant pastors are neither called to nor competent in leadership; less than one out of every ten born again adults possess a biblical worldview; every church engages in marketing, but few do it well; the mass media have the most dramatic effect on people's behavior and beliefs; house churches and other alternative forms of church life are growing rapidly; a growing group of spiritually devout people, known as Revolutionaries, is reshaping spiritual life in the U.S.; and most "church growth" is simply the recycling of church-goers from one congregation to another.