News and Trends

The following is an excerpt from an Oct 2008 Mission America Newsletter.

email: info@missionamerica.org

internet: http://www.missionamerica.org

Mail: Mission America Coalition | P.O. Box 13930 | Palm Desert, CA 92255

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Christian Marketplace Influencers
Executive Marketplace Intelligence for Ministry Decision Makers!

Time Magazine on Rick Warren Rick Warren says he and his staff have given "purpose-driven training" to 500,000 pastors worldwide, and that 1 out of 20 U.S. churches has done 40 Days of Purpose exercises. In all, says fellow mega-pastor Joel Hunter, Warren's is "easily the broadest and most influential church network in the world." He (Warren) got a conventional theology doctorate and an unconventional education from a friend, management guru Peter Drucker, who refined Warren's organizational gift and offered a secular vocabulary with which to express it." (Time 8/7/08)

Defining 'Evangelical' Ellison Research asked the average adult American what they believe is an "evangelical Christian." 36% said they had no idea. 18% said it is a Christian who tries to spread his or her faith. 9%: Christians particularly devoted or zealous about their faith (but not to the point of fanaticism) and totally sold-out to their beliefs. 8%: focused strongly on the Bible, believing in the Bible as God's inerrant word allowing it to guide their lives. 8%: saved by Christ, saved by grace, believe in a born-again experience, and believe in eternal life through Christ, among other theological definitions. 2% gave a dramatically off-base theological definition. 6%: conservative, ultra-conservative or radical right, anti-homosexual, Republican, highly involved in politics, etc. 5%: fanatical about their beliefs. 4%: closed-minded about religion. 3%: focus on money rather than God. 3%: want to impose their beliefs or standards on others. Researchers stressed almost half of Americans cannot give a definition of evangelical that has any substance to it. (The Christian Post 9/4/08)

Avoiding Dropout Further analysis of an earlier released LifeWay Research project on reasons 18-22-year-olds drop out of church finds these views together best predict a young person will stay in church:

• "I wanted the church to help guide my decisions in everyday life (prior to age 18)."
• "At age 17 my parents were still married to each other and both attended church."
• "The pastor's sermons were relevant to my life (prior to age 18)."
• "At least 1 adult from church made a significant investment in me personally and spiritually between the ages of 15 and 18." (LifeWay Research Insights 7/08)

Amish Growth In the last 16 years, the Amish population has nearly doubled, according to researchers from Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. Over the same period, Amish settlements have been established in 7 new states (Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, Washington and West Virginia), putting them in at least 28 states. (The Associated Press)

Diverse Religion The U.S. is one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world with adherents from all of the world's major religions. A recent Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey finds the U.S. is on the verge of becoming a minority Protestant country for the first time in its history. The number of Americans who claim they are members of Protestant denominations is now barely 51% vs. more than 60% in the '70s and '80s. More than 25% of American adults have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another or no religion at all. (The Pew Forum 8/20/08)

U.S. Religious Affiliations
Evangelical Protestant Churches 26.3%
Historically Black Churches 6.9%
Mormon 1.7%
Orthodox 0.6%
Jewish 1.7%
Muslim 0.6%
Other World Religions <0.3%
Unaffiliated 16.1%
Mainline Protestant Churches 18.1%
Jehovah's Witness 0.7%
Other Christian 0.3%
Buddhist 0.7%
Hindu 0.4%
Other Faiths 1.2%
Don't Know / Refused 0.8%
(The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, U.S. Religious Landscape 9/08)

Morality 55% of American adults discuss moral issues with others in a typical week. The Barna Group asked adults about 8 moral behaviors. Liberals were twice as likely as conservatives to participate in morally questionable activities. Evangelicals were the most likely to follow traditional morality, while atheists and agnostics most unlikely. While evangelicals averaged 6% participation in each of the 8 behaviors, skeptics averaged 29%. Within the Christian community, there were few differences between Protestants and Catholics in relation to moral behavior. George Barna says, "The consistent deterioration of the Bible as the source of moral truth has led to a nation where people become independent judges of right and wrong, basing their choices on feelings and circumstances." (The Barna Group 8/25/08)

Divine Intervention When it comes to saving lives, God trumps doctors for many Americans. A Univ. of Connecticut survey reveals widespread belief that divine intervention can revive dying patients. And, researchers said, doctors "need to be prepared to deal with families who are waiting for a miracle." 57% of randomly surveyed adults said God's intervention could save a family member even if physicians declared treatment would be futile. And nearly three-quarters said patients have a right to demand such treatment. When asked to imagine their own relatives being gravely ill or injured, nearly 20% of doctors and other medical workers said God could reverse a hopeless outcome. (The Church Report 8/20/08)

Digital World Internet Retailer reports, in early '07, 12% of all retail sales of consumer media products (books, music, video, etc.) were via e-commerce. This is twice the percentage of all retail products sold through e-commerce. (CBA Retailers+Resources 8/08)

Bible Sales In a bleak retail economy, including many independent Christian retail stores, Bibles continue to be one of the bright spots. Not only do Bibles remain the heart and soul of a Christian retailer's mission, but they also continue to be in strong demand. (Christian e-Tailing 8/21/08)

Pastor Pay Churches of 101 to 300 people weekly pay their senior pastor $72,664 annually, including benefits. Churches of 310 to 500 pay an average of $88,502, while those with 501 to 750 pay $102,623. On average, pastors who complete post-grad work earn $14,000 more than those with a master's and $24,000 more than those with a bachelor's. Presbyterian and Lutheran senior pastors earn the most: $100,751 and $100,593. (The 2009 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff)

Underpaid 51% of Americans feel they are underpaid for their work, finds a Gallup survey. 46% feel they are paid about the right amount, while 3% feel they are overpaid. Middle- and lower-income Americans are more likely to say they are underpaid. 62% of those making less than $75,000 a year agree vs. 38% of those making more than $75,000. 47% of men and 55% of women say they are underpaid. 51% of both whites and non-whites feel underpaid. Also, 49% of those with high school educations or less say they are underpaid vs. 52% of those with at least some college. (Pastors Weekly Briefing 8/22/08)

Childless The percentage of childless women in the U.S. who have reached the end of their child-bearing years has doubled from 10% to 20% in the last 30 years, reports the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey reports, "Women 40-44 will end their childbearing years with an average of 1.9 children each, a number below replacement-level fertility." This compares to 3.1 in '76. 36% of the women who gave birth in '06 were separated, widowed, divorced or never married. 5% were living with a partner. Most women who go on to post-secondary education wait until age 30 to 34 to have children. 27% of women with undergraduate degrees and upwards are childless. Only the U.S. Hispanic and Black populations are replacing themselves with an average of 2.3 and 2.0 children born per woman, making them the only stabilizing force in the population. At this rate, experts say, whites will be the U.S. minority by 2042. (LifeSite News 8/19/08)

Inappropriate A national survey shows more than a quarter of Christian women personally have experienced sexually inappropriate behavior, and a fourth of those said it happened in a church or ministry setting. Not all incidents reported fall under the legal definition of sexual harassment, i.e. "unwelcome attention due to one's gender." 53% who have experienced inappropriate behavior say they do not plan to report these instances to avoid stirring up controversy. Nonprofit attorney and CPA Frank Sommerville says, "Juries tend to award larger damages to victims of sexual harassment within churches, because they think a church should be a safe place." (Pastors Weekly Briefing 8/22/08)

Woman Power The economic power of women is huge: $3.7 trillion in consumer spending and $1.5 trillion in commercial spending each year. Women make most of the consumer decisions about everything, including more than 80% of big ticket decisions like automobiles and homes, as well as everyday decisions. Over 91 % of women feel advertisers don't understand them. 66% feel misunderstood by health care marketers, 74% by auto makers and 84% investment marketers. (American Marketing Association Newsletter 8/9/08)

Donors cite the #1 reason for ceasing their support is the way they were treated, from not being thanked to an avalanche of needy appeals. It is indeed cheaper to keep a customer/donor than to find a new one. Thank your donors 3 times as often as you appeal for donations. Make your thank-you message personal and show them their impact. (Network for Good Learning Center 8/14/08)

Young Adult Readers Up "There have been significant increases in sales of YA (young adult) books over the past several years," says Zonderkidz Marketing VP Alicia Mey. A Children's Book Council Sales Survey finds YA sales have increased from more than 13% in '01 to more than 34% in '05. Mey adds, "We know that in the Christian channel, teens want more books to meet their spiritual needs as well as their entertainment needs." An '06 Barna Group study says 66% of all born-again Christians make a profession of faith before age 18. Nelson, Zondervan, FaithWords, Multnomah and NavPress have all recently launched or beefed up their YA offerings. (Christian e-Tailing 8/26/08)

VeggieTales characters take to the stage this fall to perform for audiences nationwide during their 50-city, major-market VeggieTales God Made You Special, Live! Tour. Kicked off on Sept. 4 in Austin, TX, other cities include Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Boston, Minneapolis, Nashville, Orlando and Phoenix. (CBA Retailers+Resources Industry Brief 9/2/08)

Home-Schooled Students do just as well or better than their public school peers. They typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests, according to the National Home Education Research Institute. (chron.com 8/25/08)

Church Kids Get Better Grades Church attendance has as much greater effect on a teen's GPA than whether the parents earned a college degree. 7th to 12th graders who went to church weekly also had lower dropout rates and felt more a part of their schools. On average, students whose parents received a 4-year college degree average a GPA 0.12 higher than those whose parents completed only high school. Students who attend religious services weekly average a GPA 0.144 higher than those who never attend services, found the Univ. of Iowa study. Why do these students do better? • They have regular contact with role model adults from various generations. • Their parents are more likely to communicate with their friends' parents. • They develop friendships with peers who have similar norms and values. • They're more likely to participate in extracurricular activities. Other studies have shown regular church-goers breathe easier and live longer. Kids whose parents go to church are better behaved and more well-adjusted. Researchers cite the social-network and psychological benefits of churches. (CR Online 8/23/08)

Teens and Marriage Center for Law and Social Policy research finds almost 70% of white girls ages 15-19 who got pregnant in the first half of the '60s chose to get married. By the early '90s, that number had fallen to 19%. Among black teens, it fell from 36% to less than 7%. According to Time's 9/1/08 issue, 1 of every 3 mothers who gave birth in the past 12 months was unmarried, separated, divorced or widowed at the time. (pluggedinonline.com)

Economy Because of higher gas and food price concerns, 48% of U.S. consumers plan to reduce their household spending by more than $100. In addition, consumers will change where and how they shop. The number of people who shopped at club stores such as Costco, B.J.'s and Sam's Club increased 3.6% from 9/07 to 4/08. (Center for Media Research Brief 8/21/08

Debt Burden The average American household is now buried under mortgage debt of $84,911, car and tuition loans of $14,414, home equity loans of $10,062 and credit card debt of $8,565—in sum, outstanding debt totaling $117,952. Federal Reserve data says the average household savings this year are a mere $392. (AARP Bulletin 9/08)

U.S. Not Alone According to a Financial Times/Harris Poll, most people in France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and the U.S. believe their economies are getting worse. Within the past year, 72% of British adults feel their household's economic well-being has become worse, compared to 56% of Germans and Americans. (Harris Poll Weekly 9/3/08)

Asian Americans Although Asians only represent 5% of the U.S. population, they are among the most educated and affluent U.S. consumers. Census Bureau data reveals the median age among Asian Americans is 34.8 vs. 36.2 for the total population. They spent $459 billion on products and services in '07. Direct-mail influences 22% of their product purchases. 48% have earned a bachelor's degree, and they earn an impressive median annual income of $63,900. They are also among the most active in the digital world. (Deliver Magazine Issue 4, Vol. 4, 9/08)

Wealthy The U.S. government estimates 20% of all U. S. households have an income of $100,000+, accounting for more than one half of the nation's household income. (Center for Media research Brief 9/19/08)

Spain's "Express Divorce" Law, which has facilitated the dissolution of marriages, has resulted in a divorce rate of 69%, that is, for every 4 marriages celebrated, 3 are broken. (LifeSite News 9/9/08)

Shower Your Pig According to Agence France-Presse, new legislation adopted in Switzerland spells out in detail how all domestic animals are to be treated. For example, live goldfish may not be flushed down the toilet but must be first knocked out and then killed before the body can be disposed. The law applies to pets, farm animals, wild animals in zoos/circuses and animals used in experiments. The law also bans catch-and-release fishing; stipulates that hamsters, sheep and goats should not live alone; and that pigs have the right to a shower. (worldnetdaily.com, news.com)

Global Warming Myth Contrary to major media reports, data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center finds a dramatic increase in sea ice extent in the Arctic regions. The growth over the past year covers an area of 700,000 square kilometers, an amount twice the size of Germany. With the Arctic melting season over for '08, ice cover will continue to increase until melting begins anew next spring. August '08 data indicates a total sea ice area of 5 million square kilometers, up 13% from a year ago. (Daily Tech 9/3/08)

Social Media Sleuths A new CareerBuilder.com survey finds 22% of all hiring managers have combed through social media profiles (mostly on LinkedIn and Facebook) to help evaluate potential hires, up from 11% in '06. (Online Media Daily 9/11/08)

Fast Facts:

• 31% of men who experience major depression have always attended religious services vs. 24% among those who have stopped attending.
• A Gallup Poll finds 66% of Americans said if they needed a mental health professional, they would prefer going to one with spiritual values and beliefs.
• More than 80% of Americans prefer to have their own values and beliefs integrated into their counseling process.
• 56% of Protestants and 62% of Catholics participated in at least some training in the past year. (LifeWay Research Insights 8/15/08)
• 50% of Americans know a member of the Christian clergy very well, while another 20% know one casually. (LifeWay Research Insights 8/15/08)
• An estimated 220,000 black students were home-schooled in '07, up from 84,000 in '99.
• About 78% of women use the Internet for product information before making a purchase.
• 77% of Hispanics have a bank account versus 98% of general market consumers.
• 72% of the general consumer market has a retirement account (including 401(k) and IRA) vs. just 4% of African Americans and 32% of Hispanics.
• Microsoft spends more than $8 billion per year on research and development.
• There have been 4.3 million births in the U.S. since '06 (latest data available). This is the highest birthrate since 1961.
• 14% of self-described evangelicals have no definition of what an evangelical is.
• 23% of pastors say their congregation has little or no security screening for the people working with young people.
• Barna Research reports there are 24 million teens in the U.S., and more than half attend a church on a weekly basis.
• An additional 31% of U.S. teens experiment with attending church but have not committed.
• 75% of teens discuss matters of faith with their peers.
• 33% of U.S. young people are members of Christian clubs at their high schools and colleges.
• 75% of U.S. young adults have participated in at least one psychic- or witchcraft-related activity during their teens.
• 94% of Millenials say they would accept a lower salary to work with a socially responsible company.
• Wal-Mart distributes 25% of America's newsstand products.
• Gallup data shows people who have TVs in their homes report greater well-being than do those who do not.
• On average, the effects of owning a TV are stronger in poorer as opposed to wealthier countries.
• Depression affects about 121 million people worldwide, 17 million in America.
• 30% of U.S. adults will experience depression at some point in their lifetimes.
• The World Health Organization predicts by 2020, depression will be second only to heart disease in its impact on global health.
• Food price inflation averaged just 2.3% from '96 to '06 vs. 6.1% from '07 to 6/08.
• A Nielsen Mobile study finds 1 in 5 U.S. wireless households could be wireless-only by the end of '08.

Information compiled and edited by Gary Foster, President of Gary D Foster Consulting, a firm that assists Christian ministries and product companies in solving management, marketing, donor/customer service and product development problems. Contact Gary at: 419.238.4082, GFosterCns@rmi.net or go to www.GaryDFoster.com.

A Second Reformation?

I read a Great article on Youth Ministry By Mark Driscoll & Chris Seay called A Second Reformation Is at Hand.

The modern, church-as-franchise mentality where "one size fits all" no longer exists, either. Your contexts are all unique—your kids and your situations and your churches and the local communities in which God’s planted you all are special.

That’s why you—the youth workers of the new century—must become missionaries to your local cultures and communities. You must train and equip your students to reach out to their particular contexts. Because it will be your students —on their own cutting edges—who will do the work, not you. You’re not going to live in a youth culture 24 hours a day, seven days a week! And even if you could, no one person can reach all those cutting edges. You can, however, train a whole fleet of missionaries. And they can transform a culture! Click here for the whole article.

The title of the above article struck me as much as its content.

I wonder... is this what we need in America... a second reformation by which we once again cast off the trappings of culture that pass for religion and embrace a truer faith, stripped down to its raw essence? Are we too timid in our calls for "change" in the way we do this business of church when what we really need is something much more radical?

Centuries ago, brave men stood for truth against a culture which was hostile towards the same. They rocked boats. They rocked the world.

Centuries later other men took a stand for truth, leaving their homes and a dead religious system to come to a new world where they could start fresh and build a church on different principles. These men and their descendants founded this great nation, or perhaps I should say once great nation, which has fallen so far from the place she once stood.

Is God raising up men (and women) today for another Reformation... if we are bold enough to follow Him?

What do you think?

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod]

4-14 Window

Here's an excerpt from and a link to a great article on 

 THE “4/14 WINDOW” 

Child Ministries and Mission Strategies∗ 

Dr. Dan Brewster 

The “4/14 Window” 

Some years ago, Dr. Bryant Myers, Director of World Vision’s MARC Ministries, made an excellent presentation to the EFMA Executive Retreat. The title was “The State of the World’s Children: A Cultural Challenge to the Christian Mission in the 1990’s.” Bryant painted a sobering picture of the numbers and conditions of children and youth throughout the world today, and noted some of the implications that this huge and often suffering people group presents to mission strategists today. But the most significant portion of his presentation was the stunning graphic below, which shows that in the USA, nearly 85 percent of people who make a decision for Christ, do so between the ages of 4 and 14! 

Recently, important confirmation that this is true, at least in the USA, has come from the well-known Church researcher, George Barna. In a new book, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions,1 Barna presents results of extensive research related to faith decisions in the US. 

Barna reports that most 13 year-olds in the US, 93 percent consider themselves to be Christian, though only about 34 percent of these really have an understanding of what it means to be a Christian.2 However, if people are going to become a Christian, they are far more likely to make that decision by the age of 13 than after that age. Barna states that: 

…the probability of someone embracing Jesus as his or her Saviour was 32 percent for those between the ages of 5 and 12; 4 percent for those in the 13-18 range; and 6 percent for people 19 or older. In other words, if people do not embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior before they reach their teenage years, the chance of their doing so at all is slim.³ 

Barna urges us to “Consider the facts. People are much more likely to accept Christ as their Savior when they are young. Absorption of biblical information and principles typically peaks during the preteen years. . . . Habits related to the practice of one’s faith develop when one is young and change surprisingly little over time.”4 

“The implication of these findings is clear,” says Barna. “Anyone who wishes to have significant influence on the development of a person’s moral and spiritual foundations had better exert that influence while the person is still open-minded and impressionable – in other words, while the person is still young.”

A Second Reformation Is at Hand

Great article on Youth Ministry By Mark Driscoll & Chris Seay called A Second Reformation Is at Hand

The modern, church-as-franchise mentality where "one size fits all" no longer exists, either. Your contexts are all unique—your kids and your situations and your churches and the local communities in which God’s planted you all are special.

That’s why you—the youth workers of the new century—must become missionaries to your local cultures and communities. You must train and equip your students to reach out to their particular contexts. Because it will be your students —on their own cutting edges—who will do the work, not you. You’re not going to live in a youth culture 24 hours a day, seven days a week! And even if you could, no one person can reach all those cutting edges. You can, however, train a whole fleet of missionaries. And they can transform a culture!

Click here for the whole article...

The title of the above article struck me as much as its content. I wonder... is this what we need in America... a second reformation by which we once again cast off the trappings of culture that pass for religion and embrace a truer faith, stripped down to its raw essence? Are we too timid in our calls for "change" in the way we do this business of church when what we really need is something much more radical?

Centuries ago, brave men stood for truth against a culture which was hostile towards the same. They rocked boats. They rocked the world. Centuries later other men took a stand for truth, leaving their homes and a dead religious system to come to a new world where they could start fresh and build a church on different principles. These men and their descendants founded this great nation, or perhaps I should say once great nation, which has fallen so far from the place she once stood.


Is God raising up men (and women) today for another Reformation... if we are bold enough to follow Him?

What do you think?

America's changing role in world missions.

The Globalization of the American Church is an interesting article by Dr. Roger Parrott, President of Belhaven College regarding a recent meeting of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization where they discussed America's changing role in world missions.

A brief quote:

“The purpose of this consultation was to discuss the changing role of the American Church in world evangelization,” said the Rev. Doug Birdsall, executive chair of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.  “In recent years, many international church leaders have been asking, ‘Is the American Church still with us?  Does the American Church have the humility to learn from us, to work together in authentic partnership?’ We answered several of those questions during the week.”

While American missions have done a lot of good in spreading the Gospel throughout the globe in the last 100 years, several speakers said that the time has come for a change. Theological educator and evangelist Dr. Peter Kuzmic of Croatia said that U.S. Christians must stop acting as if “salvation is in the hands of Americans.”  He said that Western Christians have, along with the good, also done damage to the image of Christ around the world.

click here for the rest of the article...

Internet Links RE: Sunday School/Christian Education/Children & Youth Ministry

Internet Links RE: Sunday School/Christian Education/Children & Youth Ministry

Barna Research Online's Top Trends in Christian Education and Youth

Calling All Kids - Outreach (Mar-Apr 2003)/Natalie Gillespie
Church for the Youth Culture – next-wave (Dec 2001)/Dan King 
Confessions of a Youth Minister - Merv Stoltzfus, Marlene Frankenfield, Curt Weaver
Flake Formula for Building a Sunday School - Arthur Flake
How Adults Really Learn - Web Evangelism
How Do I Understand and Reach the Unchurched Teen? - The Source for Youth Ministry/Jonathan McKee
How to Grow an Effective Sunday School - Elmer Towns (complete book online)
Life Changes - OnLineRev.com/Kurt Climie
Most Amazing Statistic (on reaching children/youth) - Milton Jones
Preaching to the Choir: A Church with Children at Heart - CBS News
Prepare for Impact - First Priority (Summer 2000)/Alvin Reid
Purpose Driven Principles Help Iowa Youth Ministry Mobilize Teens for Missions - pastors.com/Kathie Scott
Put Some Youth into It - OnLineRev.com
Reaching Younger Generations - Self-Scoring Assessment Tool
Reaching Youth Through Relationships - First Priority (Summer 2001)/Josh McDowell
The Second Reformation Is at Hand - Youthworker (Jan-Feb 2000)/Mark Driscoll & Chris Seay
Sidewalk Sunday School - an outreach to children and youth
Source for Youth Ministry - free youth ministry resources and ideas for youth leaders
Surviving the Marathon of Youth Ministry: 10 Commitments - MinistryToolBox (Aug 14 2002)/Doug Fields
Teenage Life Online - Pew Foundation (2001)
Ten Sunday Schools That Dared to Change - Elmer Towns (complete book online)
Top 10 Tips for Starting a New Children's Ministry - Kidology.org/Roger Fields
Turning This Week's Pop Culture into Next Week's Curriculum - Youthworker (Winter 1995)/Quentin Schultze
Why Young People Leave the Church - TeenCoach.org/Nigel Lane
Youth Evangelism in a Rural Community - good idea! (Autumn 2001)/Pete Molloy
Youthworker - a contemporary journal for youth ministry

Rate Your Church's Young Adult Friendliness

Many North American congregations have far fewer young adult members than they want.  Some others find that the young adults they have as members are not heavily involved in congregational life.  How friendly and welcoming is the atmosphere in your church for young adults?  Churches which are successfully reaching young adults often check 13 or more of these items.

___ 1.  Our church has young adults on the board, council, or other  primary administrative body of the church, so that we remain sensitive to young adult issues.

___ 2.  Our church offers child care at any events at which we hope for young adult participation.

___ 3.  People in our church accept the fact that many young adults may only attend two or three times a month and don't make them feel guilty for not coming every Sunday.

___ 4.  People are welcome to dress informally for worship, and that is modeled by ushers and greeters.

___ 5.  If a single parent comes to our church, that person can go through an entire morning without being asked where his or her spouse is.

___ 6.  Our church can make decisions quickly and doesn't frustrate people with slowness to change.

___ 7.  Our church has a caregiver system so that there is quick follow-up when persons who have been regular in attendance stop coming.

___ 8.  Our worship services are child-friendly.

___ 9.  Our church programming doesn't constantly assume that everyone who might participate is married or part of a family.

___ 10. Our church recognizes in its programming that most young adults would rather DO something (feed the hungry; remodel a house for the poor; work with youth) than TALK about doing something in endless committee meetings.

___ 11. Our worship services move quickly and offer a healthy variety of activities.

___ 12. Our worship services offer contemporary music as well as traditional music.

___ 13. Our pastor(s) is(are) comfortable relating to young adults.

___ 14. Our church can truly welcome a couple who are living together but are not yet married,  feeling grateful that they want to be involved in the church.

___ 15. Older members of our church are comfortable reaching out to  young adults.

___ 16. Our church offers one or more class or group opportunities for young adults.

You are free to reproduce this questionnaire for use in your own congregation. Thank you for giving credit to New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org 

 

Prepared for Visitors to Your Sunday School?

Use this checklist to help determine how prepared your church is to welcome and involve visitors through your Christian education program.

___ Are teachers prepared to greet new students as they enter the classroom?

___ Are teachers of children comfortable introducing themselves to the parents of visitors? Do teachers know whether or not visiting children should remain in the room until their parents return?

___ Are the rooms all neat, including updated bulletin boards?

___ Are class members encouraged to hang banners, posters, and other results of class activity?

___ Are teachers comfortable introducing visitors to the rest of the class?

___ Do teachers provide opportunity for some sharing to help visitors feel more at home?

___ Is there a procedure to record the name, address, and phone of any visitors to a class or group?

___ Is there a procedure for sharing information about visitors with the church office?

___ Do adult classes have coffee and tea available?

___ Do youth classes have juice and donuts?

___ Are extra copies of curriculum and other study resources available for visitors?

___ Are visitors informed of any coming social events and encouraged to participate?

___ Is there a procedure for follow-up on anyone who visits a Christian education class or event?

___ Do students in the class or group take a part in that follow-up process rather than leaving it all to the teacher or leader?

___ Are the classrooms all attractive, comfortable places to meet?

___ Are there greeters who can direct visitors to the appropriate classes?

___ Are class or group members encouraged to invite friends to the group?

From New Life Ministries Report 3: "Healthy Sunday School – Growing Church."

You are free to reproduce this questionnaire for use in your own congregation. Thank you for giving credit to New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org 

Youth Group Outreach Checklist Here is a short exercise to help youth groups and classes assess how open they are to one another and how intentional they are about reaching out to new people and making them feel part of the group.  Check all that are true for you or for your group. ___   1.  I frequently ask others in the group to share their opinions. ___   2.  People in the group frequently ask for my opinion. ___   3.  No one gets put down in this group for having a different opinion than most. ___   4.  If I miss a group meeting, another group member lets me know that I was missed and helps me feel that my presence is important. ___   5.  If someone else misses a group meeting, I let that person know I missed him or her and help that person feel that his or her presence is important. ___   6.  If a new person visits this group, I’ll personally reach out to that individual in some way during the week. ___   7.  If a new person visits this group, others in the group reach out to that person during the week. ___   8.  I have invited a friend or acquaintance to come to a group or class meeting or to share in another church activity. ___   9.  Other people in the group or class have invited friends or acquaintances to come to a meeting or to share in another church activity. ___ 10. If someone visits a meeting or another activity, that person normally returns for another visit. ___ 11. This group has taught me how to share my faith with others. ___ 12. I have, at least once, shared my faith with a person outside of this church. ___ 13. This group helps me better understand God. ___ 14. This group helps me relate my faith to daily life. ___ 15. This group helps me feel more like part of the church. ___ 16. This group helps me grow closer to other people. ___ 17. I have told friends who are not active in a church how much my youth class or group means to me. ___ 18. I think this is a group which does a good job incorporating new people. ___ 19. The adult(s) who work with this group encourage us to reach out to people outside the church. ___ 20. The adult(s) who work with this group help new people feel welcome. After group members complete the checklist, discuss each statement together. You are free to reproduce this questionnaire for use in your own congregation. Thank you for giving credit to New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org With slight modification, this checklist can be used for adult groups as well.

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The Most Amazing Statistic©

The Most Amazing Statistic© 
by Milton Jones 1

"Ninety-five percent of the people in America who become Christians do so before the age of 25. Think about that. If we don't reach people with the gospel before they reach the age of 25, we are going to miss 95 percent of them."

Numbers -- God must love them or else we wouldn't have a book in our Bible with that name. There are times when I really love numbers in evangelism. That's usually when the church is growing. And then.. there are the other times. How much should we pay attention to numbers? God does mention the 3,000 in Acts 2. And yet he mentions the shepherd leaving the 99 to look for the one. I try to be careful with numbers. There have been times when I declare their unimportance simply because I don't want to see reality so clearly. And yet there have been other times when I tended to mention them more out of pride than out of a passion for the lost. When it comes to trends, how important are the numbers? I certainly think that we should be wise and shrewd in how we approach outreach. Devoting myself to a method that doesn't work can hardly be justified. But writing someone off just because they are in the minority hardly seems loving. On the other hand, if a certain group of people are open to the gospel, shouldn't we be there more than ever? Having stated all this, let me tell you the most amazing statistic on evangelism that I have heard of in years. When I first heard it, I didn't believe it. In fact, my skepticism was so great that I had to prove it to myself in order to believe it. After traveling around and testing this statistic, I now believe it to be true. It was just a few years ago when Paul Tans wrote his study entitled "Signs of the Times," that I became aware of this overwhelming statistic. What is it? Ninety-five percent of the people in America who become Christians do so before the age of 25. Think about that. If we don't reach people with the gospel before they reach the age of 25, we are going to miss 95 percent of them. Why aren't we very evangelistic anymore? This is what so many people are asking. Why aren't churches growing more? Maybe the answer is simple-we aren't reaching young people. When I examined most of our outreach methods, events, and programs, they seemed to be designed for people much older than 25. If that is true, we are only going after five percent of the most open group of people. I certainly want older people to be saved (I like people my age), but the truth is most people my age and older have already made decisions one way or another. Should we still try and reach them? Absolutely. But what are we doing about the young? Why are we not more evangelistic? Ask someone young at church to tell you what they think. I'm afraid that many of our styles from preaching to music to programs may eclipse the gospel from young people. To be evangelistic today, we will have to communicate the gospel in such a way that young people will actually hear. Young Christians need a voice in how we minister and worship if we are going to be serious about reaching their peers. And those of us who are older will have to decide if we will allow change for the sake of the mission. I heard another statistic recently that was more current and even more sobering. Thom Rainer in his book, Closing the Back Door, states that in America, 82 percent of the people who become Christians do so before the age of 20. It just keeps getting younger and younger. And if that wasn't enough, he expanded his study and found that 75 percent of Americans who become Christians do so between the ages of 9 and 14. If we do not reach the young, we will not be seeing many people come to the Lord in our country. These statistics prompt us to reconsider the importance of children's ministry, youth ministry, and campus ministry. And it also calls us to examine whether these ministries in our churches are designed simply for "us" or do they also have an evangelistic thrust. If our ministries in the church for young people aren't outreach-oriented, when will evangelism happen? Many of our churches are waiting until it's too late. Paul teaches us to preach the word "in season" and "out of season." In America the most "open" season seems to be very related to a person's age. I want everyone to hear, but I especially want to get the word out where it is "in season." 1 Milton Jones is from Seattle, Washington. This article was first printed in 21st Century Christian Magazine then in Church Growth Magazine 15 (April - June): 3.