For decades, researchers have been studying the qualities that mark a maturing Christian faith. From the Search Institute’s early work in the 1980s to more recent insights from Barna Research, consistent patterns have emerged. These studies remind us that faith maturity is not about checking religious boxes—it’s about living with depth, resilience, and integration of belief into daily life. Let’s explore what these studies reveal and what they mean for people and congregations seeking to nurture lifelong discipleship.

The Search Institute’s Eight Marks (1980s)
The Effective Christian Education Study identified eight characteristics of mature faith that continue to resonate today:

• Trusting in God
• Experiencing the fruits of faith
• Integrating faith and life
• Seeking spiritual growth
• Nurturing faith in community
• Holding life-affirming values
• Advocating for social change, and
• Acting and serving others

The Exemplary Youth Ministry Study (2000s)
Researchers studied thriving youth ministries and found seven traits common among young people maturing in faith:

• Seeking spiritual growth
• Possessing a vital faith
• Practicing faith in community
• Making faith a way of life
• Living a life of service
• Exercising moral responsibility, and 
• Maintaining a positive, hopeful spirit

Barna’s Faith for Exiles (2019)
David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock identified five practices of “resilient disciples” (ages 18–29) that include:

• Forming a resilient identity in Christ
• Developing cultural discernment
• Forging intergenerational relationships
• Practicing vocational discipleship, and 
• Engaging in counter-cultural mission

Closing Thought
Faith maturity is not measured by knowledge alone but by a lived, resilient, and integrated discipleship. Across generations, studies consistently affirm this truth: maturing Christians are people whose faith shapes their identity, deepens their community, and propels them into service for the sake of the world.