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Chairman's Letter

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Evangelism News

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Summit on the Gospel, Pivotal and Strategic

About 200 passionate, gospel-driven leaders and laypeople came together in Houston in April for MAC's National Summit on the Gospel.

"We've never had a meeting that has had such great synergy," said MAC Chairman Paul Cedar. "Every part of it came together. Our plenary speakers and workshop leaders provided insights and resources that were amazingly consistent and compatible." During the Summit, 46 intercessors were on-site, praying.

Regarding the LOVE2020 initiative that MAC has been spearheading since 2011, to see every person in America authentically loved by at least one follower of Christ by the end of this decade, Cedar said it was a very significant meeting. "We may even look back on it as pivotal," he said. "The meetings of these groups were so energetic! Some major strides were made with 22 affinity spheres." Cedar said he believes the initiative has turned the corner into a movement.

In fact, one of the topics of the Summit was discussion of what makes a "movement." Ed Stetzer's plenary sessions identified 10 elements that have marked historic movements. Among them were prayer, sacrifice and incarnation. Stetzer remarked that even as the reputation of the Church becomes more negative in the culture, Christians are perceived as good but institutional Christianity is perceived as bad. He encouraged that Christians must inhabit the culture - be a more incarnational witness.

MAC's National Facilitator for City/Community Ministries Phil Miglioratti commented, "I believe many left the Summit still carrying the challenge from Ed Stetzer: 'You can't lead what you do not live.'"

Asked what was successful about the Summit, Miglioratti replied, "Success to me is looking across the room with wall-to-wall tables filled with passionate evangelical leaders engaged in prayer and strategic discussion of how to mobilize mega-thousands of Christ followers into a love-motivated prayer-care-share lifestyle."

He said that workshop feedback was very positive as participants discussed the critical biblical commands to love neighbors, seek justice, welcome strangers and work together.

Other plenary speakers included David Jones of Next Generation Alliance and Paul Cedar. Both spoke of the need to use words in evangelism. That demonstration alone is not sufficient. Mark Slaughter of InterVarsity also spoke to incarnation of the gospel. "Every generation must reaffirm and re-own the timeless message of the gospel, and contextualize it to their generation," Slaughter said. "In our world of hate, tension, and profound brokenness, the gospel in deeds and words is indeed good news!"

Noteable quotes from the Summit plenary sessions:

"We need a supernatural movement of the Holy Spirit, not just structures and money. God responds when we pray, and then multiplies and uses those other things." - Gary Frost

"Movements only occur when the disempowered are given the freedom, and then take up responsibility to lead." - Ed Stetzer

"We love the gospel...the whole gospel — in deed and word. For much of the 20th Century, evangelicalism focused mostly on words, and now the focus is on deeds of love. But a prayer-care-share lifestyle brings balance. The uniqueness of the gospel is that the whole gospel becomes a verbal message." - Paul Cedar

"As God's people advance His Kingdom, people are reunited with God and experience healing, loving relationships, reconciliation with each other, care for the creation, and justice." - Mark Slaughter

Video of the Summit plenary sessions will be available soon on the MAC website.

Chaplains Minister to Tornado Survivors

Crisis-trained chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapids Response Team (BGRRT) arrived in northern Illinois the day after an EF-4 tornado tore through in April, killing two women and destroying much of the small town of Fairdale.

"We've talked to a lot of people," Chaplain Toni New said. "Cried quite a few tears with them." She talked about meeting an 80-year-old man with extensive damage to his home and very little insurance coverage.

As ministry continues in Fairdale, the chaplains ask for prayer for the residents there-that they would experience God's great comfort and love in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Billy Graham website

Urgent Call to Prayer from Anne Graham Lotz

May 15-23, Nationwide

After speaking on the Book of Joel this spring, Anne Graham Lotz has issued an urgent call for America to pray. "I believe Jesus is soon to return to take all of His followers to Heaven with Him in The Rapture," Lotz wrote in her call for prayer. "God may allow His people today to go through a time of distress and trouble before the rapture takes place. I believe we are in that time now. I believe it's time to not just pray. It's time to cry out to God on behalf of our nation and our world." Using the cry "Mayday! Mayday!" Lotz is calling the country to pray May 15-May 23, the 9 days between the Day of the Ascension of Jesus and the Day of Pentecost, biblically days of prayer and fasting for an outpouring of God's Spirit.

Read more

Loving International Students Webinar

May 22, 2 p.m. EDT

Most Christians are not called to "go overseas" as career missionaries, but many may impact the future leaders of nations who are studying in our nearby campuses. Join Leiton and Lisa Chinn for the webinar "Loving International Students: A Most Strategic, Enriching and Inexpensive Global Missions Opportunity in Your Community," May 22, 2 p.m. EDT. The number of international students (more than one million) continues to rise in the U.S. and Canada. Hear practical considerations on how individuals, families, churches, and campus ministries can participate in mutually enriching cross-cultural missions at home, and perhaps in your own home and church.

Leiton and Lisa Chinn founded and voluntarily directed a church-based International student ministry that continues to thrive after 30 years. Leiton is the Lausanne Movement's Senior Associate for Int'l Student Ministries and former president of a US/Canadian network of ISM workers (Association of Christians Ministering among Internationals). Lisa, a former international student from the Philippines, was the National Director for International student Ministry of Intervarsity USA for 14 years and serves as a Ministry Coach. She is on the advisory board of the Global Diaspora Network.

Register Now!

Staggering Increase in International Students in US

The largest and most accessible mission field in the United States has grown another 14% in the last year according to the Department of Homeland Security. The easiest way to reach some of the most unreached people groups in the world is to stay right here at home.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia, which forbids Christian missions on penalty of death, has sent 80,941 students to the United States this year. This means one of the only places to reach out to young leadership from the world's most closed country is in the USA.

More than 855,807 of this year's international students are from Asia with 331,371 from China, another country that forbids American missionaries. More than 146,000 are from India where Hindu nationalists are increasing terror attacks on Christians, and American missionaries are illegal.

Read full article

National Day of Prayer To Be Broadcast Live

May 7, Nationwide

The National Day of Prayer (NDOP) will be broadcast live May 7 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST from the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill. GOD TV will broadcast the event, making it available to millions of viewers in more than 100 countries around the world.

Some of those involved will be Representative Robert Aderholt, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Reverand Father Hathaway, Dr. Jack Graham, Shirley Dobson, Alex Kendrick, Vonette Bright Representative Louie Gohmert, Senate Chaplain Barry Black, The Legacy Quartet, Dr. Dick Eastman, Dr. David Butts, John Bornschein, and others live from Washington D.C.

The program will also be broadcast on DirecTV channel 365 and streamed LIVE on the NDOP website.

National Day of Prayer website

3000 Gather for Catalyst West Conference

More than 3,000 leaders gathered in April for the 7th annual Catalyst West event for three days of unifying, equipping, and challenging change-makers to evoke lasting change within the culture and world. Speakers at Catalyst West included pastor and author Andy Stanley, Director of Google.org Jacquelline Fuller, City of Compton Mayor Aja Brown, and more.

Video summary of Catalyst

Discipleship Huddles Help Grow Leaders

Borrowing from the methods of Jesus and the apostle Paul, Woodside Bible Church in Troy, Mich., has created discipleship huddles. These are an 8-to 10-month investment of a leader into a few others to offer support, challenge, training, and accountability.

"We realized that Jesus didn't do a lot of one-one-one discipleship, and there was much more to his discipleship than information," said Woodside's Mike Ely, pastor of Neighborhood Groups, Missional Communities and Discipleship. "He invited a group of learners into his life, to journey with him and do ministry with him.

"We see the momentum now, and all the good things happening," Ely said. "We are inviting people not just into a huddle, but into a relationship with us. Huddle leaders are asking people into their life to 'go on a journey with me' for a season."

Leadership Network website

6 Million Commit to Christ

Since it launched in 2011, six million people from around the world have made commitments to Christ through the Billy Graham Evangelical Association's (BGEA) internet evangelism ministry, SearchforJesus.net.

Internet Evangelism Director Mark Appleton said, "The biggest challenge in online ministry is bringing people offline, so to speak, or bridging the gap of anonymity to really connect with people in an impactful way."

"We want people to know that someone is there and available and cares," said Appleton.

SearchForJesus.net has more than 370 trained volunteers-including 20 with the Spanish ministry-who offer a personal connection with online visitors across the U.S. and around the world. Each volunteer must complete in-depth training to join the Search for Jesus team and serve in one of three volunteer roles: chatting with people live through PeaceWithGod.net, responding to spiritual questions left on PeaceWithGod.net or guiding new Christians through a free online discipleship course called KnowJesus.

David Price of North Carolina volunteers as a discipleship coach, guiding people through the KnowJesus discipleship course, which shows participants what it means to be a Christian. From his home he's been communicating online a man from the Middle East who is working his way through the KnowJesus lessons. The man's family broke his cell phone for pursuing Christianity, but he found another way to access the internet for his Bible lessons with Price.

BGEA website

Hundreds of Iranian and Afghan Christians Baptized

According to reports by Iran30.org, during the early part of 2015, more than 220 Iranians and Afghans were baptized in two cities in the region. Despite persecution and discrimination by the Iranian government, there has been an amazing growth in Iranians becoming Christians. According to Operation World, the Iranian church is the fastest-growing church on the planet.

Iran30.org says the baptisms were joyful day-long occasions, full of worship, prayer, fellowship over meals and the sharing of testimonies. One new believer recalled how finding a New Testament by accident had started him on his journey to Christ. Remarkable stories of the Lord's providence abounded during both days.

Read full story

Pastor Connects with Community through Motorcycle Club

Pastor Drew Arliskas has figured out that reaching his neighbors happens best in nontraditional ways. "When Christians learn that I am both a pastor and a member of a secular motorcycle club, they are curious," He said.

On the flip side, the group of bikers has mostly accepted him as a pastor in the group. "They know my faith," he says. "Some have embraced it. Most have not. But they all know that I love them, and they love me."

Pastor Drew said he wants Christians to know that they can be salt and light in the world, and reach out in unexpected ways to those who do not share the same Christian faith. Pastor Drew begins his own staff meetings with brief reports from each person of where he or she has invested time. They celebrate and hold each other accountable.

Read full article

Mission Mississippi Joins Believers in Prayer for Community Leaders

Mission Mississippi sponsored a Governor's Leadership Prayer Luncheon in April, where Benjamin Watson, tight end for the New Orleans Saints and founder of the One More Foundation, participated on a panel of some of Mississippi's distinguished leaders to address race from a biblical perspective. Those leaders included Dr. Eric Pratt, Justin Jones-Fosu and David Gates.

Statewide elected officials received a complimentary ticket to the breakfast. During the Governor's Leadership Prayer Luncheon, participants prayed for the governor, lieutenant governor, congressional delegation, statewide elected officials, state representatives and senators, supreme court justices, court of appeals judges, county supervisors, mayors and municipal officials.

After the event, Benjamin Watson commented, "In a state so known for racial history it was encouraging to see several hundred members of the community, including the governor, judges, business people, educators, clergy, and students joining together to seek God's help as they confront their own sin in this area and strive for repentance and forgiveness. After seeing so much darkness lately in this area, it was refreshing to see a beacon of light."

Mission Mississippi website

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Tools for Evangelism

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'Collaboration for Multiplication' Free eBook

Develop your team's heart for church planting and collaboration with other churches and ministries with this free eBook, "Collaboration for Multiplication." In this book, Bruce Wesley, founder of the Houston Church Planting Movement, shares how collaboration has meant everything to this effort to multiply churches throughout the Greater Houston area. Wesley also offers the invaluable lessons they're learning about working together to reach a city.

Exponential website

A Ten-Day Prayer Guide for the Global Day of Prayer

The Global Day of Prayer (GDOP) will take place May 24, focusing prayers in biblical hope for the glory of Christ and the blessing of the nations. A downloadable Ten-Day Prayer Guide includes scriptures and prayer points for each day leading up to Pentecost from May 14-May 23. "A Prayer for the World" will be read in unison at gatherings around the world on Pentecost Sunday, May 24. Participants may download PDF files of the prayer guide; a printed version of the prayer guide will not be published this year.

Global Day of Prayer website

Discipleship Resources for College-Bound Grads

The College Transition Book Bundle from Center for Parent Youth Understanding (CPYU) includes two resources: "Make College Count: A Faithful Guide to Life and Learning" by Derek Melleby and "Learning for the Love of God: A Student's Guide to Academic Faithfulness" by Donald Opitz and Derek Melleby.

"Make College Count" encourages students to ask questions like: How do I want my life to influence others? What do I believe? What kind of person do I want to be? "Learning for the Love of God" helps students learn how to be faithful in their studies and develop a lifelong Christian perspective on issues of calling and vocation.

CPYU website

Discussions on Hard Questions About God and Faith

Sticky Faith offers a series for helping teens and leaders have meaningful conversations about teens' questions. The "Can I Ask That?" book series and student guide is designed for use in small groups. These sessions tackle the following tough questions: Is it wrong to doubt God? Is hell real? How could God send someone there? Can I do something so bad God won't forgive me? Why do bad things happen to good people? Is sex outside marriage wrong? Why is it so awkward to talk about Jesus with my friends?

Sticky Faith website

How to be Christian in the Workplace

For those who receive a policy booklet from their employers that includes limitations on expression of faith in the workplace, David Rupert gives tips for living out your Christian faith at work without, as he says, "freaking out" human resources managers with violations of workplace policies.

How to Be a Christian in the Workplace

31-Day Prayer Maps: Pray for the World

A prayer map from Every Home for Christ features all 228 nations of the world broken down into a 31-day prayer calendar. The World Prayer Map contains other helpful tools to guide and fuel your prayers for the nations. A prayer map for kids is also available, which features an easy, step-by-step system to help children understand the important aspects of daily prayer as the numbered prayer guide walks them through praying for every nation.

Every Home for Christ website

Free Book: Look What God is Doing

In "Look What God Is Doing," Dick Eastman, president of Every Home for Christ International, documents modern-day testimonies complete with signs and wonders and remarkable conversions - like those in the Book of Acts - that show the global harvest is ready to explode. The book is available free of charge in print and eBook formats.

Every Home for Christ website

Story of God Training: Using Narrative and Dialogue in Disciplemaking

Stories are a powerful form of communication. The Storyformed Way was created to be a starting point of discipleship. It is a 10-week journey through God's story with times of dialogue, interaction and reflection that serve as a foundation for new disciples and gives more mature disciples an easy, reproducible method for introducing groups of people, or an individual, to the claims of Christ and what it means to be a disciple. The entire 10-week Storyformed Way material and video helps are available on the Gospel Community on Mission (GCM) website.

GCM website

Workshop Provides Cross-Cultural Experience for Your Team

Crossing Cultures is a weekend workshop that provides a cross-cultural experience in your city. Learn how to initiate conversations, ask questions, and listen to stories as you explore new cultures. Crossing Cultures will expose you and your church to the lives and needs of immigrant and ethnic communities close to home, many with little opportunity to hear the gospel. The training, street experiences, and debriefing will challenge your church for local and global outreach and wider involvement in ministry.

Mission Catalyst website

10 Conversation Starters for Children's Leaders with Parents

Sometimes, it is difficult to come up with what to say to parents of children who attend your ministry programs. Here are 10 ideas for starting conversations from Linda Weddle of Awana Clubs International. Awana is a ministry partner of the Mission America Coalition.

Awana website

'Share a Prayer' App

The Share a Prayer Facebook desktop app allows Christians all over the world to share prayers, inspirational thoughts and greetings to friends and family directly from their Facebook account. The app offers multiple prayer categories, each containing a database of prayers, inspirational thoughts, Bible verses and greetings to show friends and family that you are thinking about them.

Share a Prayer website

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Commentary

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Seven Habits of Outwardly-Focused Churches

Over time, many of the resources of time, money, and ministry within churches shifts toward the members. "Churches are now gathering in 'holy huddles,' with little intention of breaking out into a world of lostness and loneliness," says Thom Rainer. In this article, he shares the methods of outwardly-focused churches.

Read more

Building Missional Families

Raising godly children involves active participation in a gospel-centered church; it also includes imparting a longing for the salvation of the neighbors and the nations, says Alvin L. Reid. In this commentary, he talks about how he chose a neighborhood for his family that would provide opportunities to reach out to lost people.

Read more

Always Be Prepared to Give an Answer

John Stonestreet says Christians need to equip themselves to live in and engage a hostile culture. In this video commentary, he says, "There is going to be no substitute for everyday Christians living out their faith and being able to winsomely talk about their convictions in their everyday lives." Stonestreet says we need to teach people the truth of the Christian position, and why it is the truth. Stonestreet is a host of ThePoint and co-host of BreakPoint.

Read more

Doing Defines Being

Ray Rooney Jr., Digital media editor for the American Family Association, says Christians need to be less concerned with being well-liked and more concerned with speaking the truth in love. He speaks frankly to believers about getting involved in community leadership rather than isolating at home. The American Family Association is a ministry partner of the Mission America Coalition.

Read more

Why Small Groups Matter

In this video clip, Francis Chan expresses his concern about whether our future American society will allow Christians to speak publicly about faith, and he explains how in China, government persecution couldn't kill the church because small groups of Christians in underground gatherings thrived and flourished.

Read More

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Research and Trends

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Emerging Adults Notre Dame Sociologist Christian Smith defines "emerging adulthood" (age range 18?23) as a new cultural life stage when young people postpone marriage and childbearing, rely on their parents financially, and engage in amorphous relationships that are far less conventional than traditional dating, courting and engagement. Smith's study confirmed emerging adults scored low on daily prayer, religious service attendance, and the professed importance of faith in everyday life. There were also steep declines in attendance among mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics. But that doesn't mean emerging adults are abandoning faith. 56% remained fairly stable in their levels of religiousness, 37% reported a decline in their faith and 7% saw their faith life grow. (Insights Into Religion 4/2/15)

Younger People Most Likely Skeptics Barna Research says 34% of all skeptics today are younger than 30. Half have a college degree, and more women today are joining their ranks. 16% of skeptics in '93 were women vs. 43% in '13. (Christian Post 3/25/15)

Parents Influence Faith Parents are the single most important predictor of a young adult's attitude toward religion. Young adults raised in a religious home where faith is taken seriously and practiced regularly will continue those traditions. Parents with halfhearted attempts at inculcating faith wind up with children who are less religiously committed as adults, finds research led by Notre Dame Sociologist Christian Smith. (Insights Into Religion 4/2/15)

Non-Practicing Christians Among those who have not attended church within the past six months, the majority identify as non-practicing Christians. 25%, however, are skeptics, which Barna Research defines as people who "either do not believe God exists (atheists) or are not sure God exists but are open to the possibility (agnostics)." Of those, nearly a third have never attended a Christian church service. Two-thirds of skeptics contend the Bible is simply a book of well-known stories and advice written by humans and containing the same degree of authority and wisdom as any other self-help book. The other third believe the Bible is either a historical document that contains "the unique but not God-inspired accounts of events that happened in the past," or do not really know what to make of the Bible. (Christian Post 3/25/15)

State of Atheism in America A new Barna Group study has revealed one in four unchurched U.S. adults now identify as atheist or agnostic. The three main reasons people decide not to believe in God stem from rejection of the Bible, lack of trust in the local church, and the "cultural reinforcement of a secular worldview." (Barna Update 3/24/15)

Most Skeptics Think of Christian churches as:

1. Groups of people who share a common physical space and have some common religious views but are not personally connected in meaningful or life-changing ways.
2. Organizations that add little, if any, value to their communities.
3. Organizations that stand for the wrong things-wars, preventing gay marriage, a woman's freedom to control her body, sexual and physical violence perpetrated on people by religious authority figures, mixing religious beliefs with political policy and action.
4. Led by people who have not earned their positions of influence by proving their love of humankind and are thus not deserving of trust

(Barna Group 3/24/15)

Fewer Nones Globally The number of religiously unaffiliated people, "nones," is increasing in the U.S. and Europe, and Pew Research projects continued growth. Globally, however, the opposite is true: The unaffiliated are expected to decrease as a share of the world's population between 2010 and 2050 (from 16% to 13%). This is attributable mostly to the relatively old age and low fertility rates of large populations of "nones" in Asian countries, particularly China and Japan. (Pew Research Fact Tank 4/2/15)

Way to Heaven Among adults who have made a personal commitment to Jesus, most also believe Jesus is the way to heaven. When given several beliefs about the afterlife to choose from, 63% of those who have made a personal commitment to Jesus say they believe that after they die they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their Savior. (Barna Update 4/1/15)

Most Americans Have Made a Commitment to Christ The act of making a personal commitment to Jesus is a step more than 6 in 10 Americans say they have taken and, moreover, that commitment is still important in their life. Women are more likely than men to have made a personal commitment to Jesus (68% vs. 56%). Only 60% of white Americans report having made such a commitment vs. 80% of black Americans. 65% of all non-white Americans making more than $100K per year are significantly less likely (53%) to have made a commitment than those making between $50K and $100K (63%) or those making less than $50K (65%). Also, fewer than half of Millennials say they have made such a commitment (46%), vs. 59% of Gen-Xers, 65% of Boomers and 71% of Elders. (Barna Update 4/1/15)

Christianophobia in America While a vast majority of the country and our leaders still identify as Christian, many conservative Protestants sense a growing animosity toward themselves and their beliefs. Univ. of North Texas professor of sociology George Yancey observes that, for the Christian Right, recent conflicts around homosexuality, church-state separation, abortion and other hot-button issues are viewed as threat, indicators that their values are no longer embraced or even tolerated but under attack. American National Election Studies found about a third of respondents rated conservative Christians significantly lower than other religious and racial groups. The only group to fare worse was atheists. The negative rankings for conservative Christians came from a disproportionate number of white, highly educated, politically progressive and wealthy respondents with high levels of social power-the same demographic groups that are major influencers in media, academia, business and government. (CT Online 3/27/15)

Muslims Coming to Christ In Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation, 2 million Muslims are converting to Christianity per year. That's one new convert every 15 seconds. (Strang Report 4/3/15)

Muslims are the Fastest-Growing major religious group, largely because they have the highest fertility rate and the youngest population. The Muslim population is expected to increase from 1.6 billion (23% of the world's population as of '10) to 2.76 billion (30% of all people in '50). At mid-century, Muslims will nearly equal Christians; the world's largest religious group. (Pew Research Fact Tank 4/2/15)

U.S. Muslim Growth If current demographic trends hold, Judaism will no longer be the largest non-Christian religion in the U.S., and by 2050 Muslims will be more numerous than people who identify as Jewish. Due to their continued migration, high fertility rate and young media age, Muslims are forecast to make up 2.1% of the U.S. population in 2050 vs. 0.9% in '10. People who identify their religion as Jewish will decline from 1.8% of the U.S. population in '10 to 1.4% in 2050. (Pew Research Fact Tank 4/14/15)

The Global Christian Population has been shifting southward for at least a century and is expected to continue to do so over the next four decades, according to a new Pew Research Center report. The share of Christians worldwide is expected to remain flat. But Europe's share will continue to decline while sub-Saharan Africa's will dramatically increase. Nearly half of the world's Christians already reside in Africa and the Latin America-Caribbean region. By 2050, those two regions will be home to more than 60% of the world's Christ-followers, with just 25% living in Europe and North America. In 2050, 38% of the world's Christians are expected to be living in sub-Saharan Africa vs. 24% in 2010. In addition, 50% of the 10 largest Christian populations in the world-Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda-will be in Africa, which had 3 of the 10 largest Christian populations in 2010. By contrast, the share of global Christians in Europe will have dropped to roughly 16% (from 26% in 2010). In addition, only 10% of the world's Christians will be living in North America, down from 12% in 2010. Despite a decrease, the U.S. is projected to remain the country with the world's largest Christian population with an estimated 262 million Christians in 2050. (Pew Research Center 4/2/15)

Many Language Bible Translations Still Needed A recent American Bible Society/Barna Group survey discovered of the world's 6,101 languages actively used as first languages, just 43% have a complete translation of the Bible, 57% still do not. 31% do not have even a translation begun in that language. Another 26% have only segments of Scripture completed, with more portions in the translation process. (Barna Group 4/7/15)

Most Americans Believe the Bible is Available in All Languages The American Bible Society's State of the Bible survey found that a strong majority of Americans think the Bible is available in all of the world's languages, despite the fact that 57 percent of world languages are still in need of completed Bible translations. The State of the Bible survey, which was conducted by the Barna Group and surveyed 2,000 Americans, found that 72 percent of Americans believe the Gospel is available in all of the world's languages. However, the report states that only 43 percent of languages actually have Bible translations available. (Christian Post 4/14/15)

31% of the World's Languages Don't Have Bible Out of the world's 6,901 different languages, 1,859 languages don't have a Bible translation processes started. Meanwhile, the report states that 2,195 languages are in the process of having Scripture translated but do not yet have completed Scripture. Bob Creson, president of Wycliffe Bible Translators, did say the Bible is being translated into more languages and at a faster rate than ever before." Every year now there are 130 to 160 new translations that are started," Creson said. (Christian Post 4/14/15)

A Record 3.8 Million Black Immigrants live in the U.S. today, more than four times the number in '80, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Black immigrants now account for 8.7% of the nation's black population, nearly triple their share in '80. The Census Bureau projects by 2060, 16.5% of U.S. blacks will be immigrants. Half are from the Caribbean alone. However, much of the recent growth in the size of the black immigrant population has been fueled by African immigration. (Pew Research Center 4/9/15)

Rise in Violence Against Christians in India The number of violent and nonviolent attacks against Christians in India has increased 55% since Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi became prime minister last year, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India. (Baptist Press 3/25/15)

Some Say Church Is Out of Date 27% of Americans think church attendance is outdated, LifeWay research found. That belief is even more pronounced among the nonreligious (42%), Catholics (31%) and people 25 to 34 years old (34%) who are among the Millennial generation in which fewer claim religious affiliation or profess belief in God, according to the Pew Research Center. (Baptist Press 3/30/15)

Attending Church Is Valuable A large majority of all Americans find value in attending church, shows a new LifeWay Research study. Two-thirds think it is admirable with only 11% viewing church as useless. Even among nonreligious people, 80% believe church attendance is acceptable, 43% admirable and 29% useless. Still, Americans are more likely to believe attendance is declining (55%) or the church is dying (42%) than growing (36%) or thriving (38%). (Baptist Press 3/30/15)

No Marriage ... No Church The eminent Princeton sociologist of religion, Robert Wuthnow, tells us that "almost all the decline in religious attendance ... has taken place among those younger adults who have not married." (Myths About American Religion, The Heritage Foundation)

What Do Millennials Find Valuable in Church? 44% say they attend church to be closer to God, and 37% say they go to learn more about God. 65% say a good description of church is "a place to find answers to live a meaningful life." 54% say "church is relevant for my life" and 49% "feel I can 'be myself' at church." 62% don't agree that "the faith and teaching I encounter at church seem rather shallow," and 60% don't believe "the church is not a safe place to express doubts." These responses indicate open windows. (Barna: Millennials 3/3/15)

How Millennials View Christian Community 46% of Millennials agree the statement "The people at church are tolerant of those with different beliefs" describes the church." 44% say "The church seems too much like an exclusive club" is an accurate description. 66% believe American churchgoers are a lot or somewhat hypocritical. (Barna: Millennials 3/3/15)

Women and Men on Churchgoing Women have more positive attitudes than men about churchgoing, finds LifeWay Research, with 69% of women and 63% of men viewing attendance as admirable. Only 9 % of women consider church useless vs. 14% of men. 40% of women say the church is growing, and 41% describe it as thriving. Among men, only 32% think it is growing, and 34% thriving. Although 55% of Hispanics believe going to church is expected, attendance is considered useless by one in five, almost double the rate of the population as a whole. Just 8% of whites consider church useless, but 60 % believe the church is declining. In contrast, 55% of African-Americans believe the church is growing and 56% thriving. 74% of Blacks also describe church attendance as common and 61% popular. (Baptist Press 3/30/15)

Small Church Niche According to Hartford research, the largest churches attract a fairly well-defined demographic. The average age of a megachurch attendee is 40. Nearly a third of them are single and, on the whole, the megachurch crowd is more educated and wealthier than the average members of smaller churches. In terms of distribution, there tend to be more mega-churches in suburban rather than in urban or rural areas. But which churches are reaching the people who fall outside this demographic and location? Small churches. ("Smaller Churches Have at Least Five Advantages-Do You Know Them?" Brandon O'Brien, Better Preaching Update, 3/17/15)

Blacks are Christian Media's Biggest Supporters 21% of African Americans frequently watch Christian TV vs. 8% of Asian Americans, 7% of whites and 3% of Hispanics. 20% of African Americans frequently listen to Christian radio programs with 9% frequently listening to Christian podcasts. 23% of African Americans frequently read Christian books vs. 9% of whites, 8% of Asian Americans and 2% of Hispanics. As for viewing Christian movies in the past year, 59% of African Americans, 44% of Hispanics, 43% of Asian Americans and 36 % of whites did so. However, whites still comprise the biggest share of the Christian media audience by sheer numbers. Those who frequently or sometimes tune in to Christian TV or radio are 58% white, the podcast audience is 45% white, book readership is 60% white and the Christian movie audience is 59% white. (CT Gleanings 2/25/15)

U.S. Religious Restrictions The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbids laws establishing religion or impeding the free exercise of religion. But that doesn't mean governments (federal, state or local) do not place any restrictions on religious activity. A recent Pew Research Center study reports the U.S. has moderate levels of both restrictions on religion and social hostilities toward religious groups, ranking somewhere in the middle range of the nearly 200 countries analyzed. The U.S. has more extensive restrictions and social hostilities than Canada and many other countries in the Americas, but a lower level of government restrictions than Mexico, Italy, Germany and some other Western Europe countries. U.S. government restrictions on religion are nowhere near as extensive as those in China, Iran and Burma. The U.S. also has much lower levels of social hostilities to religion than India, Pakistan and Nigeria. (Pew Research Center 3/25/15)

Increased Religious Switching In Europe, the share of people who say they are Christian is expected to drop from roughly 75% in 2010 to 65% in 2050, with the largest number of those switching out of Christianity. Likewise, the percentage of North Americans who self-identify as Christian is expected to drop from 77% in 2010 to 66% in 2050. (Pew Research Center 4/2/15)

American Bible Reading 52% of Americans say politics would be more civil if politicians read the Bible more. 58% think more Bible reading would lead to more effective politics, finds a recent American Bible Society/Barna Research study. 75% consistently wish they read the Bible more. Just 22% of Americans) say their Bible reading increased during the past year. 14% say they read the Bible daily, 14% weekly and 48% once or twice a month or less. The average Bible reader spends about 30 minutes for each reading, regardless of age. Those who read the Bible say they feel peaceful (45%), encouraged (41%) and hopeful (35%). (CT Gleanings 4/9/15)

King James Still Reigns 39% of American Bible readers read the King James, followed by the NIV (13%), the NKJV (10%) and the ESV (8%). While Millennials are less likely to own a Bible, more than 80% have one vs. 92% of Boomers and 95% of Elders. (CT Gleanings 4/9/15)

Abducted and Trained to Kill A report from Amnesty International estimates over 2,000 women and girls have been abducted by the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram since the start of '14, and some have been trained to "kill and slaughter" infidels. (Christian Post 4/16/15)

Churches Hit by Financial Difficulties The decade-long financial decline of U.S. congregations accelerated during the '08 recession and may pose long-term challenges to some churches, synagogues and mosques already weakened by flagging membership, according to the new Faith Communities Today (FACT) report. It found 68% of congregations took a financial hit due to the recession, with nearly 20% taking a "big hit." "The downward trend was in place before the recession hit," said David Roozen, author of the report. But the recession has contributed to extending the decline." Among the strategies used to cope with the downturn, digging into savings and investments was the most common, followed by salary freezes or reductions in paid staff. Roozen estimates these reductions equal about 500,000 lost jobs and salaries among clergy, lay professionals and support staff. (Insights into Religion 3/26/15)

Health Problems/Suicide Attempts: More than 150,000 U.S. college students develop an alcohol-related health problem, and 1.2% to 1.5% say they've tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use. (National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism)

Over-attention to our kids leads to narcissism, but lack of attention leads to insecurity and great aggression. Good parenting is the middle road. (Focus on the Family Pulse Check 3/30/15)

Family Identity 62% of Americans say their family makes up "a lot" of their personal identity, reports Barna Research. This fact may not come as a surprise but perhaps it is unexpected how much more likely certain groups (Elders, practicing Christians, residents of the Midwest) are to say so and how much less likely other groups (Millennials, people with no faith, residents of the West) are to point to family as a key part of their identity. After family, adults consider being an American and religious faith central to their identity. Practicing Protestants of all denominations are significantly more likely than the general population to say faith is central to their identity. (Barna Group 3/19/15)

Teens Online Constantly Aided by the convenience and constant access provided by mobile devices, especially smartphones, 92% of teens report going online daily-including 24% who go online "almost constantly," according to a new Pew Research Center study. 56% of teens go online several times a day, and 12% use it once a day with just 6% weekly and 2% less often. (Pew Research Center 4/9/15)

Single Parents have a hard job, and some do well at it. But on average, children raised in such households do worse in school, have more trouble with the law and make less money and gain less satisfaction in life than those from the stable families of the upper socio-economic third of the U.S. population. (Rasmussen Reports 3/27/15)

Cohabitation The American College of Pediatricians cautions adolescents and young adults about the negative consequences of cohabitation and urges parents to teach children about the advantages of waiting until marriage. Contrary to popular opinion, research shows that rather than serving as a stepping stone to a healthy marriage, cohabitation makes couples more likely to break up and more likely to divorce if they do marry. Partners who cohabitate are more likely to be unfaithful than married spouses and to be violent toward their partner. Poverty is more common among cohabitating women because their male partners are less likely to work and more likely to spend time on personal pleasure than married men. (LifeSite News 3/24/15)

Children Suffer due to parental cohabitation. In addition to having an increased risk of losing a parent to divorce or separation (multiple times), they are over four times more likely to suffer separation of their parents by their 3rd birthdays than those whose parents were married when they were born. Couples often enter into cohabitation with a child from a previous relationship, leading to the common scenario of child abuse. Children whose parents cohabited (before or after their birth) are at increased risk for living in poverty, achieving lower levels of education, experiencing school failure and earning lower incomes as adults. They also face a greater risk of suffering from medical neglect, as well as chronic physical and mental health problems, including suicide, substance, and alcohol and tobacco abuse. These children also have higher rates of behavior problems and incarcerations. (LifeSite News 3/24/15)

How Big Is the Problem? Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, conservatively estimates there are at least 100,000 U.S. children per year used for the purpose of exploitation. Steve Wagner, former director of the Human Trafficking Program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, estimates this number is closer to a quarter of a million kids per year. (LifeSite News 4/7/15)

Keep It Short 45% of viewers stop watching a video after one minute. By the 2-minute mark, 60% of viewers have tuned out. This means your content should not be lengthy. If more time is mandatory to get your point across, make sure you've engaged your target audience fully before 60 seconds comes along. (Social Marketing Planning Guide 2015)

Religious Fiction Sales, which wobbled in '13, took a steep 15% dive in '14, according to Nielson BookScan. In contrast, religious non-fiction (including Bibles) rose 12%. (CT Exchange 4/10/15)

People & Transitions:

• Lyle Schaller, 91, church consultant and prolific author, died 3/18/15.
• Robert Schuller, 88, flamboyant TV preacher, author and founder of the Crystal Cathedral, died 4/2/15.

No Financial Cushion Roughly a third of American adults have no emergency savings, thus leaving over 72 million people with no fallback cushion if they lose a job or have to deal with another crisis, finds a recent NeighborWorks America survey. Among those polled, 34% had no money set aside for an emergency, while 47% had enough to cover their living expenses for 90 days or less. (USA Today 3/31/15)

Mature Workers Have Longer Tenure According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median tenure of U.S. workers ages 55 to 64 is just over 10 years-3 times that of workers ages 25 to 34. (MANTA Tip of the Day 3/24/15)

Fast Facts:

• By 2060, Pew Research Center forecasts 66.4% of Americans will self-identify as Christian vs. 78.9% in 2010.
• 48% of Mosaics/Millennials can be classified as post-Christian, according to Barna Research.
• 38% of the American population can be defined as "post-Christian," a person not defined by a measurable orientation around the Christian faith.
• The share of younger adults who affiliated with a faith in '14 is 19 percentage points below young adults 30 years ago.
• 9 out of 10 U.S. evangelicals say immigration reform should respect the rule of law and secure the borders.
• World Catalog reports 91% of women and 85% of men in the U.S. pray regularly, but only 15% feel they receive consistent answers to their prayers.
• One in four Americans don't believe in God.
• Lack of trust in local churches is a top reason why adults are leaving the faith.
• 54% of Americans over 65 describe churchgoing as an expectation.
• 76% of U.S. scientists in the general population identify with a religious tradition.
• Today 21% Americans are leaving organized religion, a record high.
• About half of American adults have changed religious affiliation at least once during their lives.
• Most Americans who change their religion leave their childhood faith before age 24, and many of those who change do so more than once.
• 20 years ago, One in eight people had never been to church in America. Today it's one in four.
• Almost three in 10 Millennials never read a print newspaper.
• In China today there are 116 boys to 100 girls nationwide, a result of the one-child policy started in 1980.
• 68% of smartphone owners use their phone to follow along with breaking news events.
• 67% of smartphone owners use their phone to share pictures, videos or commentary about events happening in their community.
• Text messaging is the most widely-used smartphone feature, but voice/video calling remains popular.
• 599,000 students 18 to 24 receive unintentional injuries while under the influence of alcohol.
• Women typically start to have alcohol-related problems at lower drinking levels than men.
• The U.S. Census Bureau reports one of every three children in the U.S. are being raised without a father present.
• Just 34% of Americans say having a successful marriage is one of the most important things in their life.
• A third of U.S. consumers who have owned an activity tracker stopped using it within six months.

News and Trends 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, [email protected] or go to www.GaryDFoster.com.