Are more people becoming Christians or are more formerly notional Christians becoming evangelical and born-again Christians? The distinction is a subtle one and one that makes me tremble a little, fearing I may be stepping into the big sandals of Jesus, the ultimate judge. But the latest Barna research points to numbers that are climbing in the born again and evangelical Christian categories and declining in the notional Christian slot.

In a January 2006 survey, Barna researchers found more folks than ever confessing Jesus Christ as Savior.

Born again Christians are defined as people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Some 36 percent of adults surveyed said these were their beliefs.

Evangelicals meet the born again criteria plus seven other conditions. Those include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.

Evangelicals represent only 9 percent of the adult public. Taken together the born again and evangelical Christians now make up 45 percent of all American adults, an increase from the 36 percent to 43 percent range from 1992 through 2005.

More born again Baby Boomers made the increase, according to Barna. Only about a third of younger generations can be classified as born again.

Notional Christians – people who describe themselves as Christian but do not meet the born again criteria – have declined from 46 percent in 1991 to 36 percent today.

Adults who are aligned with faiths other than Christianity, and those who consider themselves to be atheist or agnostic, each comprise less than 10 percent of the population.

What does this mean for the mission of your church? The curriculum for your Bible study? Blog here.