In this session:
Pinkston shared findings from the 2025 Media Landscape Analysis, which compared trends across five years of Christian and mainstream coverage.
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Over this period, the collaborative communications effort generated more than 150 media placements with an estimated 12.5 million views, supported by over 50 partner organizations lending their voices.
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In the most recent year alone (Nov 2024–Oct 2025), Christian outlets published 27 articles that were explicitly critical of residential care, 10 that were more neutral, and only 1 positive story, reflecting a dramatic shift from 2021, when nearly 40% of Christian coverage portrayed orphanages positively.
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Over the years, the narrative within Christian media has meaningfully changed, increasingly highlighting the limitations of orphanages and elevating family-based alternatives as the preferred model for children’s care.
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The full media landscape analysis can be viewed here.
Barna shared new findings from the 2025 survey of U.S. Christians, showing strong gains in awareness alongside more complex shifts in belief.
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Since 2020, awareness that poverty, not loss of a parent, is a primary driver of children entering orphanages has risen from 46% to 72%.
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Fewer Christians view orphanages as “essential” or “positive”.
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However, confidence in the importance of families has decreased slightly among younger generations.
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The survey also showed that U.S. Christians are less confident that the orphanage crisis can be solved and are increasingly assigning responsibility to government rather than the Church or Christian individuals.
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Meanwhile, behavior has not shifted. Financial support for orphanages has grown from 19% to 28% of Christians, an estimated $4.5 billion annually, driven largely by increasing support from Millennials, who now make up 59% of residential care donors.
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Barna emphasized findings show that giving to residential care is deeply emotional and identity-driven, underscoring the need for strategies that speak to both the heart and the habits of this audience.