Cathy Lynn Grossman / USA Today (RNS) Unbelief is on the uptick. People who check “None” for their religious affiliation are now nearly one in five Americans (19 percent), the highest ever documented, according to the Pew Center for the People and the Press. The rapid rise of Nones — including atheists, agnostics and those […]
Read More >All too often in our local churches when we are putting together agendas, looking to push into new frontiers, recruiting volunteers or putting together annual budgets, we tend to compete with each other.
Read More >One way churches leave themselves vulnerable in ministry is neglecting “bench depth” development.
Read More >Willow Creek Community Church, located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, was included on this year’s Best Christian Workplaces list compiled by the Best Christian Workplaces Institute, Mercer Island, WA. The study factors included employee job satisfaction, Christian witness, personal growth and effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and compensation/benefits. “I believe Willow Creek’s best days as a […]
Read More >Contrasts with Decrease in Donations to Religious Charities Overall WINCHESTER, Va. — Cash charitable giving to ECFA members with fiscal years ending in 2011 reflected a modest increase from 2010, the organization announced today. This contrasts with a decrease in giving to religious charities overall, as noted in a recent national report. Giving to ECFA-accredited […]
Read More >MORRISTOWN, N.J./Christian Newswire/ – This week, Pastors Tim Lucas and Tom Kang from Liquid Church in New Jersey are taking a leap of faith into Oklahoma backwaters as unlikely stars of the Animal Planet reality TV show “Hillbilly Handfishin’.” The popular show about noodlin’ – the art of catching giant catfish with bare hands and […]
Read More >Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are completely overwhelmed with work?
Read More >By Robert Dilday Some traditional churches are challenging the conventional wisdom that style is everything when it comes to vibrant worship. It’s a recurring scenario in America’s Christian congregations. As members grapple with their church’s future — eager to increase attendance or renew spiritual energy — one suggestion inevitably emerges. It’s time to start a […]
Read More >By Bruce Nolan (RNS) Americans’ confidence in organized religion, slowly but steadily declining since the 1970s, slipped to a new low in the latest survey, the Gallup Organization reported. Today only 44 percent of Americans have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in “the church or organized religion,” Gallup said. It was […]
Read More >NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In 2008, LifeWay Research surveyed 7,000 churches to discover the principles involved with healthy congregations. Last year, LifeWay’s researchers went back into the field to focus not on the church, but on the individual believer, asking more than 4,000 people about their spiritual lives and level of maturity. The project has identified […]
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