"If you want to see your church develop a passion to reach its Jerusalem, you've got to give them a heartbeat for the world. If you give them a target big enough, they'll start hitting it. The target is the world; when you begin to shoot for the world, you can reach it all."

Ken Hemphill, the Southern Baptist Convention's national Empowering Kingdom Growth strategist, addressing students during a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Chapel service

"The Cooperative Program is our channel for being obedient. Sacrificial giving is a principle we model at the local church level and at the state convention level. It's not a matter of giving only when you like what is going on, or not giving when you don't like the way a vote went. It's giving that honors God, because it's the right thing to do as a part of the family."

David Waltz, Executive Director, Treasurer Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey
Source: Baptist Press, May 1, 2006

"I realized I live my life so removed from the pain of people. I've got to invest in the lives of people that I walk and breathe with, just like people here in [New Orleans] are doing. It's about walking with people in their pain."

Stewart Moody, college minister at First Baptist Church in Statesboro, Georgia, speaking about his experiences clearing debris from homes in New Orleans during Spring break.
Source: Baptist Press, March 22, 2006

If we're in the money

WHEN ASKED BY ELLISON RESEARCH "how would your church spend an unexpected financial windfall?" a quarter of all SBC clergy and laity agreed their top spending priority would be missions and evangelism. However, they differ on how the funds should be allocated. SBC clergy would like to see focus placed on local outreach with 16% given to local missions and evangelism and 6% each being given to North American and international outreach. SBC laity would like to see North American outreach be the top priority allocating 11% to this category while giving 7% to local outreach and 9% to international.

Source: Facts & Trends, May/June 2006

The bread of life

In 2005 Southern Baptists fed more than 5.6 million people in the U.S. and Canada through gifts to the SBC World Hunger Fund. The North American Mission Board distributed $1.6 million dollars to feed the hungry across North America. Some 58,000 volunteers shared the gospel with 569,768 people, and more than 33,000 of those made professions of faith.

Faithful funds

MANY PEOPLE TODAY are choosing investments that line up with their religious convictions. A recent poll conducted by the Mennonite Church found that investors from many different denominations would "dump" mutual funds or individual company investments in favor of those more aligned with their faith-based values.

Source: Discipleship Journal, January/February 2006

On the clock

26% of American women say they "always feel rushed" for time during the day, compared to 21% of men. Working women in particular feel constant time pressure, with 33% saying they're rushed all the time.

Source: The Week, March 17, 2006, and Pew Research Center

By the numbers

47% SBC churches with a website

23% SBC churches that utilize email prayer chains

18% SBC churches with an email newsletter

27% SBC churches that don't use the Internet

Source: Southern Baptist Texan, January 23, 2006

Did you know?

On average, every 1.6 seconds a new English-language Bible is purchased.   

Source: Newsweek, May 22, 2006

this & that

Majority Minority
45% of Americans younger than five belong to a racial minority group, compared with 33% of the overall population.

Source: Time, May 22, 2006

Praise for churches
A Louisiana State University survey of local residents scored church relief efforts higher (8.1 on a scale of 1 to 10) than state and local agencies (4.6) in their response to Hurricane Katrina. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers were among the first to respond after Hurricane Katrina.

Source: Citizen, February 2006

Supporting Annie
More than $1 billion has been given through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® since it began in 1895.

Transformed but not reborn
50% of Americans say they have had at least one religious or spiritual transformation. 35% of those transformed said they were not "born again."

Source: Christianity Today, March 2006

Honest employees
6,000 U.S. employers administer "integrity" tests to root out dishonest job applicants.

Source: Time, April 3, 2006

What makes a Mega Church?

The number of mega churches with weekly attendance of 2,000 or more doubled over the past five years. The nation's mega churches, which now number 1,210 (16% are Southern Baptist), draw nearly 4.4 million people a week and collect more than $7 billion a year in donations. The study Mega Churches 2005 found that most mega churches share the common traits of a dynamic senior pastor, emphasis on conservative values and building small groups to offset their size.

Source: The Week, February 24, 2006, Associated Press and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 15, 2006

Who's really there every time the doors are open?

A Gallup analysis reveals the percentage of members who attended services weekly or almost weekly, by denomination:

Source: World magazine, April 29, 2006

!@#%

74% of Americans say they encounter profanity in public either frequently or occasionally, according to a recent AP poll. 66% say they believe people swear more than they did 20 years ago. So is cussing becoming acceptable? Not likely. 74% of women and 60% of men are bothered by hearing foul language.

Source: Associated Press and Ipsos Poll and The Week, April 21, 2006

Dangerous Dabbling

THREE OUT OF FOUR American teens have participated in at least one kind of psychic or witchcraft-related activity beyond watching a television show about it or reading their horoscopes.

• More than 25% have played a game featuring sorcery or witchcraft elements
• More than 25% have had their palm read or their fortune told
• 10% have participated in a séance
• One out of 12 have attempted to cast a spell or mix a magic potion
• 9% have consulted a psychic
• Four out of five have read their horoscopes, and only a minority believe they are not at all accurate and should be avoided.

Source: Baptist Press, February 10, 2006, and Barna Research

Good appetite

AS FAMILIES GET BUSIER in the fall with homework and shuttling kids from one activity to the next, eating together tends to go by the wayside. Many families trade quality time for time-saving convenience. A recent study shows eating together as a family five times a week can have a positive impact on teens long after the dishes have been put away.

Teens who eat with their families are less likely to…

• Smoke cigarettes
• Drink alcohol
• Try marijuana
• Have friends who use illicit drugs
• Have friends who abuse prescription drugs

Teens who eat with their families are more likely to…

• Get mostly A's and B's at school
• Say they would confide in one or both parents about a serious problem
• Feel their parents are very proud of them
• Report lower levels of stress and tension at home
• Talk to their families during dinner and have the TV off during the meal

Source: Web MD, September 16, 2005