What is the Harvest Project?
The Harvest Project is a transformative initiative launched by Back to the Bible to redefine success in Christian ministries by shifting focus from traditional output metrics—like attendance, decisions, and reach—to meaningful outcomes such as spiritual formation, life transformation, and enduring fruit, addressing the widening "belief-practice gap" in American Christianity where many profess faith but few exhibit deep discipleship.
At its core, the project features the SALT Index (Scripture Absorption and Life Transformation), an annual, rigorous national benchmark survey that measures beliefs, practices, and tangible life changes across a representative sample, providing credible data to track spiritual health trends and serve as a wake-up call for renewal. Complementing this public credibility effort is the "Measure What Matters" campaign, which partners with ministries—offering free, customized tools, dashboards, and coaching funded by donors like the Green family—to establish private baselines and track internal progress in disciple-making.
Ultimately, this long-term movement fosters accountability, honesty, and effectiveness, aiming to close the discipleship deficit, reverse faith deconversion trends, and cultivate a Church that prioritizes formation over performance, with the inaugural 2025 report released in early 2026 sparking broader conversations about authentic gospel impact.
The Harvest Project is flipping the ministry scorecard from attendance to transformation. It confronts the belief–practice gap (60%+ identify as Christian, but only ~35% engage Scripture regularly) by championing fruit over reach as the new success standard. In short, if lives aren’t visibly changing, we’re not truly succeeding — no matter how high the headcount.
Soon to be released, The State of Christianity in America is centered on the inaugural 2025 SALT Index report that highlights a profound "belief-behavior gap" in American Christianity, where 61% identify as followers of Jesus, yet only 33% personally trust in salvation by grace through faith, nearly 50% never engage Scripture weekly, and a mere 13% align their behavior with God's standards—revealing high doctrinal knowledge but shallow formation, with metrics like 8% controlling anger and 5% consistently helping others underscoring invisible transformation.
Drawing on 50 years of misplaced emphasis on outputs like attendance and decisions rather than outcomes such as Scripture absorption and observable obedience, the campaign positions the SALT Index as a turning point, emphasizing that regular Bible engagement (4+ times weekly) correlates with stronger emotional health, moral alignment, and discipleship, while calling for a paradigm shift from exposure to impact. Through key messages amplified via media briefings, the initiative—backed by Back to the Bible—aims to spark national conversations on authentic spiritual health, urging ministries to measure what matters for renewal and reproducible faith in a nation with unprecedented access but unprecedented shallowness.
A TURNING POINT FOR DISCIPLESHIP:
BTTB's new initiative, The Harvest Project, represents a decisive step forward. Rather than assuming what people need, it helps churches understand where their people actually are spiritually and respond wisely. At its center is the SALT Index (Scripture Absorption and Life Transformation), which measures how deeply God's Word is shaping habits, relationships, decisions, and obedience.
This is not research for its own sake, but clarity for discipleship. When leaders understand whether people are drifting, stabilizing, or growing, they can offer faithful next steps. The shift may appear subtle, but it is profound: moving from generic programming to intentional formation, from counting activity to cultivating maturity, from measuring what is visible to investing in what is eternal.
Our goal is not simply to understand the state of Christianity, but to strengthen it — one believer, one faithful next step at a time. On the following illustration you will see how this clarity now shapes every expression of our ministry.
WHY THIS MATTERS (AND WHY NOW)
If you have walked with the Lord for many years, you have likely sensed a quiet shift in our nation's culture. Christian teaching is widely available, and Scripture can be accessed in countless formats. Yet, for various reasons, the statistics make clear that fewer Christians are engaging God's Word steadily or sharing their faith regularly.
Many sincere Christians love Christ and remain faithful in church attendance. Still, they struggle to build consistent habits in Scripture or to see how biblical truth shapes the ordinary decisions of daily life. Churches often measure participation, yet have limited clarity about whether their members are truly absorbing Scripture.
The Harvest Project brings needed clarity, helping leaders understand where people truly are spiritually so that discipleship can be intentional rather than assumed. The surrounding initiatives serve that same purpose in practical ways: establishing daily rhythms in God's Word, connecting Scripture to cultural discernment, offering Christ-centered hope in seasons of struggle, and providing deeper theological teaching for sustained growth.
Individually, each effort serves a particular role. Together, they form a coherent pathway that helps believers move from general encouragement toward steady, Scripture-shaped formation.
We believe this is especially important in our present moment. Cultural noise is constant. Technology influences how truth is perceived. Even long-time believers can find their spiritual lives becoming reactive rather than rooted.
In such a season, returning to the steady authority of God's Word is not dramatic work, but it is foundational work. It strengthens families quietly. It steadies pastors faithfully. It shapes lives in ways that endure.
Your partnership makes this possible. Because of your faithfulness, we are able to invest not merely in activity, but in formation, helping believers anchor their lives in Scripture in a time when many feel unanchored.
For that, we are deeply grateful.