The Resurgence Report

Objections to the Christian Faith
from the Unchurched and De-Churched

What do non-Christians really think about Christians and Jesus? What do they say when we’re not in the room?

Though the cultural divide between Christians and non-Christians is growing, we are still missionaries with a God-given passion to see people meet Jesus and be rescued for eternity. To do this, it would help to know what they love, what they hate, what they think about Jesus, and what they believe about the big questions of life.

In 21st century America, what reasons do people give for rejecting Jesus? You may be surprised to know that there are nine objections to Christianity that are brought up again and again among an incredibly diverse population. Chances are, the people you’re trying to reach have the same questions and objections, even if they won’t voice them in polite conversation.

The Resurgence Report represents our effort to hear non-Christians speak from the heart so that we can better love our neighbors and humbly lead them toward truth, freedom, and joy in Jesus.

We've made this valuable research available to you for free.

Download the report below.

What is the report?

Together with market research companies, Gfk and Saurage Marketing Research, we put together a massive collection of data and resources by polling and interviewing un-churched and de-churched people across America:

Interviewed 8 focus groups in 4 cities (San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin, and Boston)
Conducted a telephone survey with 1,000 responses throughout the U.S.

What comes in the report?

We’ve made the entire report and all of our research available to you for free:

Phone Survey summary and responses from GfK.
List of the Top Objections to Christianity.
List of 1,000 verbatim responses to “What is your impression of Evangelical Christians?”
List of 1,000 verbatim responses to “Who is Jesus?”
Saurage Focus Groups summary.
10-minute audio clips of both men and women focus groups in 4 different cities.
Full transcripts from each focus group.

Who is this report for?

Pastors, Church Planters, Ministry Workers, Bible Students, Authors, Bloggers, and more. The Resurgence Report was built with ministry leaders in mind, but can be used by anyone, Christian or non-Christian, who wishes to explore more about the objections to Christianity.

How do you define un-churched and de-churched?

For the purpose of this study each was defined as follows:

De-churched: attend worship services every few months or less often and regularly attended worship services as a child

Un-churched: attend worship services every few months or less often and did not regularly attend worship services as a child

Download The Report

Our hope is this valuable research can be helpful for you as you prepare content such as sermons, books, or blog posts. Click the links below to download each section of the report. It's all free.