The SALT Index: Measuring the Harvest Where It Actually Grows
For more than half a century, global mission has been evaluated largely by activity—messages delivered, Scriptures distributed, decisions recorded, audiences reached. These outputs matter. But they do not answer the deeper question Scripture itself asks:
Has the seed taken root, and is it bearing fruit that remains?
The SALT Index (Scripture Absorption and Life Transformation) was developed to help the global Church answer that question with greater clarity, humility, and evidence.
1. What the SALT Index Is—and Is Not
The SALT Index is a population-level measurement framework designed to assess whether exposure to the gospel is translating into absorbed Scripture, lived discipleship, and observable life transformation.
It does not evaluate individual ministries.
It does not replace evangelism metrics.
It does not measure theological sophistication or denominational alignment.
Instead, SALT asks a more foundational question:
At scale, are people’s lives measurably shaped by Scripture in ways consistent with historic Christian discipleship?
To do this, SALT measures five domains that Scripture itself repeatedly links to fruitfulness:
1. Core belief (not just identification, but conviction)
2. Scripture engagement (frequency, authority, and application)
3. Spiritual practices (prayer, community, obedience)
4. Life transformation (forgiveness, changed priorities, service)
5. Alignment with God’s standards (self-assessment, humility, integrity)
Importantly, SALT is designed to work at the general population level, not merely within church-selected samples. This allows the Church to establish baselines, track movement over time, and compare outcomes across contexts—nationally and globally.
The first full implementation of this framework was the 2025 U.S. General Population Study, involving more than 6,000 adults and weighted to national census benchmarks
2. What the Initial Findings Reveal
The results are neither alarmist nor triumphant. They are clarifying.
Belief Is Widespread—but Often Untethered
A majority of Americans affirm core Christian claims: the resurrection, the cross, the authority of Scripture. Yet conviction is uneven, and uncertainty remains high on foundational doctrines. Belief, in many cases, appears familiar rather than formative.
Practice Drops Sharply After Profession
While roughly six in ten adults identify as followers of Jesus, only about one-third engage Scripture regularly, participate in Christian community, or disciple others. Nearly half report zero Bible engagement in a typical week.
This is not primarily a belief gap. It is a formation gap.
Transformation Is Largely Internal—and Often Invisible
Many respondents report inner change: forgiveness, emotional healing, greater peace. Far fewer report outward, observable change—service, witness, reordered priorities. Fewer still say others notice a difference in their lives.
Fruit exists, but it is often private, fragile, and disconnected from community.
Humility Is High; Confidence Is Low
Perhaps the most striking finding is how few people—across belief levels—say their lives align with God’s standards. Very small percentages report consistent self-control, peace, joy, or sacrificial love. Whether this reflects humility or under-formation, the signal is clear: people know they are not finished.
A Contrast That Matters
When the data are segmented, those who explicitly identify salvation as “by grace through faith in Jesus” show dramatically higher Scripture engagement, discipleship, and life transformation than non-believers or nominal Christians. This reinforces a long-held theological claim with population-level evidence: grace, when truly received, reshapes lives.
3. Why This Matters for Global Mission
These findings raise a question the global Church can no longer avoid:
If access, exposure, and activity have increased for decades, why do formation outcomes remain so thin at scale?
The issue is not effort.
The issue is measurement.
When ministries measure visibility, they optimize for reach.
When they measure outcomes, they re-orient toward formation.
SALT does not indict past mission work. It reframes stewardship for the future.
For global movements—particularly those represented in Lausanne Movement and Mission Frontiers—this distinction is decisive. The unfinished task is no longer only geographic. It is formational.
Scripture has gone where missionaries could not.
The question now is whether Scripture is being absorbed deeply enough to transform lives.
Without baselines, the Church risks mistaking momentum for maturity.
The SALT Index offers a way forward:
• A shared language for formation outcomes
• A diagnostic tool rather than a scorecard
• A framework that can be replicated cross-culturally without imposing Western programs or ecclesial models
Used humbly, it allows leaders, funders, and practitioners to ask better questions:
• Are people moving from belief to obedience?
• From access to absorption?
• From private faith to public fruit?
That is not a marketing exercise. It is an act of global stewardship.
As mission leaders look at this the invitation is simple:
Let us measure the harvest where Scripture says it grows—in lives being steadily transformed by the Word of God.
What SALT Is Designed to Measure
SALT is not a ministry evaluation tool. It does not grade effectiveness or compare organizations. Instead, it asks a simpler but more foundational question:
Across a population, is Scripture shaping belief, practice, and daily life in ways consistent with historic Christian discipleship?
To answer that, SALT measures five domains repeatedly emphasized in Scripture:
• Core belief and conviction
• Engagement with Scripture as authority
• Spiritual practices and community life
• Evidence of life transformation
• Self-recognized alignment with God’s standards
T
he first full implementation was a nationally representative U.S. general population study conducted in 2025. While the United States is not the world, it offers a revealing test case: high access, high exposure, and long-standing Christian influence.
What the Early Data Suggest
The findings complicate easy narratives.
On one hand, belief remains widespread. A majority of adults affirm core Christian claims. On the other hand, certainty is uneven, and large numbers remain unsure or selectively convinced.
More striking is the drop-off from belief to practice. Scripture engagement, participation in Christian community, and disciple-making all decline sharply after profession. Nearly half of respondents report no Scripture engagement in a typical week.
Transformation is present—but often internal and invisible. Many report forgiveness, emotional healing, or inner change. Far fewer report outward, observable shifts in priorities, service, or witness. Even fewer say others notice a difference in their lives.
Perhaps most telling is how people assess themselves. Across belief levels, very small percentages claim their lives align consistently with God’s standards. Most acknowledge falling short—whether from humility, struggle, or lack of formation.
This is not evidence of apathy. It is evidence of unfinished formation.
Evidence Speaks Louder Than Words
400,000
People surveyed globally over 20 years
1,000,000+
Christians and seekers have experienced spiritual growth through our programs.
"Power of 4"
Research reveals that those who engage Scripture 4+ times per week are 228% more likely to share their faith.