If you are a Christian, how old were you when you came to faith?
If you became a Christian as a child then you are in the majority. A recent Barna study in America showed that 64% of born again Christians came to faith before they were 18. Half of those who came to faith did so through the witness of parents. Only 23% of born again Christians come to faith after the age of 21. The figures are probably similar in the UK. The older we get the more resistant to conversion we become.
Older and harder?
This is why apologetics, the defence and commendation of the faith, matters so much in Christian evangelism. Of course, evangelism requires love, prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, but to reach adults we also need to present persuasive arguments and reliable evidence. As the years pass by, our friends’ hearts are in danger of becoming hard and obstinate. Habits form slowly but surely, so that what may have once been a free choice can become a steel chain. Whether it’s smoking, gambling or resisting the gospel, the more we do it, the easier it gets. Our explanations and evidences can fall on deaf ears.
