New Book Examines ‘Faith for Exiles’

A new book coauthored by David Kinneman, president of Barna Group, reveals the church dropout rate among young people who profess Christianity has increased in the last decade. But research also found a bright spot which became the focus of the book Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon.

In 2011, 59 percent of 18-29-year-olds with a church background reported they had quit attending church. In 2019, that number had risen to 64 percent. Using additional Barna research, Kinneman, along with coauthor Mark Matlock, former executive director of Youth Specialties, found that 1 in 10 of the Christians who remained faithful in their church involvement were what they termed, “resilient disciples.”