George Barna
Author • Professor at Arizona Christian University • Director of Research at the Cultural Research Center at ACU
He was the founder The Barna Group (which he sold in 2009), the Barna Institute, the American Culture and Faith Institute, and Metaformation. Through those entities he has conducted groundbreaking research on worldview, cultural transformation, ministry applications, spiritual development, and elections. He has conducted more than 1,000 surveys which have involved interviews with more than one million Americans. He has directly provided research and strategy for several hundred parachurch ministries, thousands of Christian churches, the U.S. military, Fortune 500 companies, and has supplied polling and strategy to four presidential candidates and various federal and state candidates. He has also served on multiple Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards.
To date, Barna has authored or co-authored 60 books addressing social and religious trends, worldview, leadership, spiritual development, church dynamics, and cultural transformation. They include New York Times and amazon bestsellers and several award-winning books. His books have been translated into more than a dozen foreign languages. His most recent bestseller is Raising Spiritual Champions: Nurturing Your Child’s Heart, Mind and Soul (ACU Press, September 2023).
He previously taught at several universities and seminaries; served as the Teaching Pastor of a large, multi-ethnic church; pastor of a house church; an elder; and helped to start several churches.
After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two Master’s degrees from Rutgers University and received a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University.
George and his wife Nancy attended high school, college, and grad school together before marrying in 1978. They have three adopted daughters and three grandchildren, and currently live on the central California coast and in Phoenix. In his free time, George likes to watch the Yankees, read novels, play bass and listen to music, enjoy the ocean, spend time with his family and his blind dog (Ray Charles).
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