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 […]

By Chris Lisee (RNS) Most members of the clergy are taught to put the physical and spiritual needs of others first, but that self-denial may be harmful to their own health, according to a new Duke University study. Studies of United Methodist pastors in North Carolina found high rates of chronic disease and depression, and […]

By Alex Murashko , Christian Post Reporter The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to keep its current definition of marriage “between a woman and a man” by narrowly defeating a proposal to change the wording to “between two people” at its 220th General Assembly Friday evening. The PC(USA)’s Civil Union and Marriage Issues Committee had voted […]

ABP News By Bob Allen Young adults are leaving the church in record numbers, and experts wonder how many of them are ever coming back. LifeWay Research found seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30 who went to church regularly in high school quit attending by age 23. A third of those had not […]

ATLANTA /Christian Newswire – Thousands of church leaders will gather regionally over fall 2012 and winter 2013 for The Orange Tour, an exciting series of one-day events across the nation created to equip and inspire attendees. Reggie Joiner, Sue Miller and Carey Nieuwhof will focus on “Lead Change” and “Lead Small,” discussing how one leads […]

Christian Community Credit Union President/CEO John Walling celebrates forty years of faithful service. He was honored at the Credit Union’s 55th Annual Meeting. “Few CEOs today have the creativity, the passion, and the energy to reach the 20-year mark in a single organization. Yet John Walling has continued to reinvent himself as President and CEO […]

By Gregg Brekke (RNS) The Presbyterian Church (USA) will return to two issues that have dominated church life for the past decade, with debates scheduled over gay clergy and whether to pull church investments from companies that are involved in Israeli actions against Palestinians. The church’s 220th General Assembly in Pittsburgh from June 30 – […]

By Michael Gryboski , Christian Post Reporter Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) membership dipped below the 2 million mark in 2011, according to statistics released by the PC(USA) Office of the General Assembly on Thursday. According to the numbers, during 2011 the denomination experienced a decline of 63,804 members and the loss of 96 congregations due to […]

By Lauren Markoe WASHINGTON (RNS) Post-recession America is beginning to open its wallet to charities again, but is not giving as generously to religious institutions. While charitable donations from individuals rose nearly 4 percent overall in 2011, according to the annual “Giving USA” report, donations to houses of worship and other religious bodies dropped by […]

By Adelle M. Banks NEW ORLEANS (RNS) Members of the Southern Baptist Convention narrowly accepted the alternate unofficial descriptor of “Great Commission Baptists” as the denomination attempts to make inroads beyond its base in the Bible Belt. Delegates meeting here heatedly debated whether to affirm a recommendation from church leaders that congregations and other Southern […]