Learning is an important part of church. Becoming a Christian and staying a Christian both require learning, growing and living out what we learn.

So what are the best ways to teach so people get the knowledge they need and learn how to put it into practice?

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What pastors have learnt

The Barna Group says 85% of pastors in the US believe “one-on-one conversations with fellow Christians” are one of the most effective ways to learn about Christian faith and deepen understanding.

This contrasts with only 35% believing that reading the Bible on one’s own is effective for learning, and only 27% believing attending church is effective.

Barna recommends asking thoughtful questions, attentive listening and learning people’s backstories as important parts of these conversations, and recognises that people will learn better if they are motivated and spiritually curious.

It makes me think ….

1. It makes sense

Barna’s findings agree with many studies showing that sermonising is not an effective way to teach nor to encourage growth. People learn better when they are motivated, when they self learn or learn from their peers. Conversations are important parts of learning and applying new information.

There are practical ways to apply these understandings in church communities.

2. What are pastors doing about this?

If so many pastors know this, have they stopped preaching, or at least changed how they preach? Surely change should follow this realisation?

• Sermons could stop being long monologues, and become shorter, more engaging, include discussion and feedback and cover the topics people are motivated to learn about.
• Instead of sermons, pastors could teach people how to learn better, and how to better read and understand the Bible.
• Churches could actively train their members to be capable of leading small groups and having helpful one-on-one conversations.

3. What does this say about the Bible and the Holy Spirit?

Many Christians believe that the Bible contains all that is necessary for salvation and Christian maturity. And most believe the Holy Spirit is given to us to help us understand scripture.

So why do so few pastors believe we can learn by reading the Bible alone?

Maybe the Bible isn’t exactly what doctrine says it is. Or maybe Christians haven’t learnt how to depend more on the Holy Spirit?

Is it time to re-think some of this?

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Photo by Christina Morillo.

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