Gallup Poll Says Church Is Losing Ground (but Jesus' Evangelism Can Turn It Around)
- Randy Loubier
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
A hard look at the latest Gallup data… and a hopeful path forward.
If you feel like the American Church is “on the brink of revival,” the latest Gallup data will stop you in your tracks.
According to a global survey of 142 countries, the United States has experienced one of the largest drops in religiosity in the entire world—a staggering 17-point decline in just ten years. Religion as “an important part of daily life” fell from 66% to 49%. Our trend line now mirrors heavily secularized Western Europe.
That should unsettle every pastor, every parent, every believer.
This is not what spiritual renewal looks like.
We can talk about worship nights, packed conferences, prayer chains, stirring sermons, and how many of us feel revival in the air. But the data tells a different story:
People are walking away from Christianity faster than any time in U.S. history.
And even more concerning:
We don’t seem to know why.
Church leaders offer explanations—politics, technology, entertainment culture, moral decline, screens, busyness, lack of discipleship. But what if those aren’t the real reasons? What if something much closer to home is driving the mass exit?
This is where the early chapters of Faith Forward Gospel make a surprising claim:
The gospel isn’t the problem. Our presentation of it is.
Let’s be very clear:The salvation story—the gospel itself—is exactly right. Jesus died to pay the wages for our sin. Jesus rose from the grave. We are saved by grace through faith.
Nothing about that has changed, and nothing in Faith Forward Gospel tries to change it.
The issue is not what we believe. It’s how we’ve been taught to talk about it.
We don’t need a new gospel. We need to share the gospel the way Jesus did.
The Real Crisis: We Lost Jesus’ Evangelism Method, Not His Message
Across decades and denominations, we’ve inherited an evangelism pattern that is almost entirely “Sin-Forward”—starting with human failure, separation, guilt, and fear.
But that is not how Jesus approached unbelievers.
We begin with: “You’re a sinner.” “You’re separated from God.” “You’re headed for hell because of your personal sin.”
Jesus began with: “Your faith has saved you.” “Peace be with you.” “Take heart.” “I came to give life.” “The kingdom is at hand.”
He proclaimed good news first. He offered relationship first. He invited trust first.
Yes, He addressed sin — but far less often than we imagine, and almost always with people who already believed in God.
So the issue isn’t that we have the wrong gospel.
We have the right gospel, told in the wrong order.
People Aren’t Rejecting Jesus. They’re Rejecting Our Framing of His Message.
This is what the Gallup numbers reveal if we’re courageous enough to see it:
People aren’t rejecting Jesus. People are rejecting the tone, the sequence, the feel, and the presentation of the gospel they hear from us.
They’re rejecting the “Sin-Forward” method — not the salvation story.
They’re hungry for meaning, hope, mercy, purpose, peace, and a God who is near. But many of them have never heard the gospel presented as Jesus presented it:
relational
invitational
peaceful
hope-filled
non-accusatory
faith-forward
In Faith Forward Gospel, I show example after example of Jesus doing exactly this. Every interaction with unbelievers is dissected and analyzed.
The Seven Myths That Quietly Changed Everything
Without spilling all the details, the first section of Faith Forward Gospel exposes several quiet missteps that shaped the American Church:
Myth 1: The gospel must begin with sin.
Jesus began with invitation and faith.
Myth 2: Unbelievers must understand the cost of their sin before they can believe.
Jesus repeatedly led people to faith before He addressed deeper issues.
Myth 3: Fear is the most effective motivator.
Jesus never used fear to call unbelievers to Himself.
Myth 4: It’s our job to convict.
Scripture says the Spirit convicts. We proclaim. We love. We invite.
These myths didn’t change the gospel — but they profoundly changed how we talk about the gospel.
And that shift has consequences.
When you trace these myths forward into the Gallup decline, everything snaps into focus:
We haven’t lost the culture. We’ve lost the way Jesus communicated the good news to the culture.
Jesus Spoke to Unbelievers One Way. We Speak Another.
Read the gospels carefully and you see a pattern:
To unbelievers, Jesus leads with grace. To disciples, Jesus challenges.
We tend to reverse that.
Here are just a few examples from Faith Forward Gospel's early chapters:
Zacchaeus was welcomed before he repented.
The Samaritan woman was offered life before she addressed her past.
The sinful woman in Luke 7 received forgiveness without any recorded repentance speech.
The centurion was praised for faith, not scolded for his pagan background.
The demoniac was restored before he understood a single doctrine.
The 10 lepers were healed before all but one showed gratitude.
In most cases, Jesus only addressed sin after faith was awakened — and often not at all.
Again, the gospel didn’t change. The salvation story didn’t shift. But His approach to unbelievers was radically different from ours.
And in today’s climate, where half the nation is walking away from religion, recovering Jesus’ method matters more than ever.
The Good News: We Can Fix This
The Gallup numbers are alarming — but they’re not final.T hey are not fate. They are not prophecy.
They are diagnosis.
And diagnoses point to cures.
Faith Forward Gospel lays out a clear, practical, scriptural path forward:
Recover Jesus’ tone
Recover Jesus’ order
Recover Jesus’ invitation-first approach
Recover Jesus’ hope-forward voice
Recover Jesus’ faith-first evangelism
Again — not a new gospel. Not a different salvation story. Just a different way of talking about the same gospel — modeled by the One who invented it.
If the Gallup Numbers Disturb You… They Should. But They Don’t Have to Stay That Way.
If you want to understand:
Why people are really walking away
Why our presentation no longer resonates
How Jesus actually spoke to unbelievers--His evangelism method
How to share the gospel without leading with fear, shame, or c
ondemnation
How to communicate the same salvation story in Jesus’ own way
…then Faith Forward Gospel was written for you.
It’s now available on Amazon — and half-price at my website (eBook).
👉 Get your copy and rediscover how Jesus shared the gospel with unbelievers.
