Have many church people never had a real salvation experience?

Yes, many church people have never had a real salvation experience. The context explains that even those in churches may lack genuine new birth, remaining lost. True salvation is described as experiencing new birth and becoming a child of God, evidenced by minds set on the Spirit rather than the flesh.

Les explains that he has a growing burden for lost people because he realizes how many, even church people, have never had a real salvation experience. He connects this to Romans 8, contrasting those after the flesh—the old Adamic nature—with those after the Spirit, who have experienced new birth and are now children of God. The carnal or fleshly mind is spiritual death and eternal doom, but the spiritually minded have life and peace, which is eternal life.

Can someone be a church person and still never have been truly saved?

Yes, it is possible for someone who attends church to never have experienced genuine salvation. Many church people have never had a real salvation experience, lacking the new birth that makes them a child of God. Being religious or church-going does not automatically equate to being spiritually alive in Christ.