The State of the City Nashville project exists to listen to the city and help equip the church to carry out its mission more effectively. We hope that the project will enable church leaders to be more informed, better connected, and more fruitful as they lead their churches.
Barna Group is a leading research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture. They are widely respected not only across denominations within the church but also by those outside the church seeking to understand faith-related questions. You can learn more about them and browse some of their past research offerings on their website here.
For this work, Barna conducted a quantitative survey among adults in the Nashville metropolitan area. The survey was carried out in September & October 2022 and topics of inquiry included:
Dimensions of human flourishing
Spiritual beliefs and practices
Relational health and networks
Mental, emotional, and physical well-being
Vocational satisfaction
Financial stability and stress
Perceptions of church and pastors, church habits and engagement
The Church’s reputation in Nashville Credibility of pastors
Sermon preferences and engagement across generations
Expectations of churches
Digital church preferences
Marriage and family dynamics
Next generation engagement
Barna carried out similar city-level research in other communities during 2020 and 2021 as part of the broader Barna Cities initiative and we are pleased to be able to build upon that previous work here in Nashville.
To learn more about the research methodology and terminology you may see referred to in this project, see the document here.