A newly released study from research consultancy ComRes has found that many young people are exploring the Christian faith as a direct result of visiting beautiful religious buildings. In a  2016 survey,nearly 13 percent of teen converts cited “visiting a church building” as playing a vital role.

研究机构ComRes最新的报道揭示，众多的年轻人之所以开始寻求基督教信仰，是由于他们曾经到访过一些漂亮的宗教建筑。在2016年的调查中，有将近13%的青少年初信徒都说“到访一个教堂”是使他们信主的重要因素。

The report indicates that the experience of beautiful religious architecture is more effective in evangelizing the younger generation than attending a youth group (11 percent) or a church service (12 percent),according to a write-up of the report by U Catholic.

U Catholic的评论报道中显示，对青少年来说，到访过漂亮的宗教建筑的经历比参加青年团契（11%）或是教会礼拜（12%）更能让他们对福音感兴趣。

ComRes interviewed 2,000 people aged 11-18 in December 2016, but the results of the online survey were not released until last summer.This was as a result of analysts finding it hard to believe that the figures were true.

ComRes在2016年12月采访了2000名年龄在11到18岁的青少年，但结果在去年的夏天给出的，但这结果却让分析者都难以相信数据是否真实。

But after confirming the startling results, the researchers concluded that “new methods invested in by the Church, such as youth groups, are less effective than prayer or visiting a church building in attracting children to the Church,” according to U Catholic.

U Catholic报道，在确定那些令人吃惊的结果后，研究者得出结论：“教会实施的新措施，诸如青年团契等，都不如祷告或是到访教堂让孩子们对教会更有兴趣。”

Jimmy Dale, the Church of England’s national youth evangelism officer, said his team had been “shocked” by the results, according to the Telegraph. But there was some positive news, as a relatively high 21 percent of people between the ages of 11 and 18 described themselves as active followers of Jesus, while 13 percent claimed they practicing Christians who attended church.

吉米·戴尔是英国教会的全国青少年布道的负责人，他说他的团队对这样的结果很“震惊”，Telegraph如此报道。但也有些积极的消息，在11到18岁的青少年中有高达21%的孩子宣称他们自己积极地跟随耶稣，而13%的青少年称他们是参加教会的基督徒。

The Telegraph noted the stark increase in these percentages in comparison to ten years ago, in 2006:

Telegraph发现这些比例与10年前相比有非常显著的变化：

“Research carried out by church statistician Dr Peter Brierley in 2006 suggested church attendance among teenagers was less than half of this, with 6 percent of 11-14 year-olds and 5 percent of 15-18 year-olds attending church.”

“教会统计专家彼得·布赖尔利博士在2006年的调查显示，参加教会的青少年只有不到一半，其中11到14岁的占6%，15到18岁的占5%。”

“There was disbelief among the team because it was so high,” Dale said of the relatively high number of young people who identified as Christian. “What is really exciting for us is that there is this warmth and openness that we are seeing among young people – they are really open to faith.”

“由于这个数据太高了，令人难以置信，”戴尔提到如此多的青少年宣称自己是基督徒时如此说。“真正让我们兴奋的是，我们在青少年中看到了热情和开放，这意味着青少年对于信仰是持开放态度的。”

With that being said, Dale admitted that it might be time for the Church to re-think some of its strategies of youth evangelism.

提到这些，戴尔也承认教会确实应该重新思考，应该如何改变策略来对青少年传福音。

“Things which we would class as old hat methods are some of the more effective ways,” Dale added. “It’s a real wake-up call for the church – we’ve got lots of young people who are coming into churches with school groups and that’s a really integral part of them becoming a Christian.”

戴尔补充道：“我们当作是老套的方法也可能是更有效的方式，这对教会来说提了一个醒—我们有如此多的青少年随着学校团体来到教会，而他们中间相当一部分人成为了基督徒。”