Protestant pastors in the U.S. are more likely to connect evangelistic efforts, rather than involvement in geo-politics, with hastening the return of Christ, according to a LifeWay Research report published Jan. 14.
While 41% of pastors agreed with the statement, “Christians can speed up the return of Christ by helping to share the Gospel with all people groups,” only 12% agreed that Christ’s return can be accomplished “by supporting geo-political changes mentioned in the Bible.”
Regarding evangelism, 28% strongly agreed and 13% somewhat agreed with the statement. On the geo-political statement, 5% strongly agreed and 7% somewhat agreed.
Respondents were also asked to voice their opinion about whether or not “culture will increasingly get less moral until Jesus Christ returns.”
A strong majority (67%) agreed, with 47% strongly agreeing and 20% somewhat agreeing.
Agreement with all three statements tended to decline as the pastors’ education level increased.
For example, 56% of pastors without a college degree said global evangelism can speed up the return, compared to 38% of those with a master’s degree.
The margin of error is plus-or-minus 3.3%.
The full report is available here.
