A joint poll from Time and CNN found that teens put more faith in the information they receive from parents than from any other source. Ironically, although teens spend more time on the Internet than any other age group, they dont put a lot of trust in the information they find there.
When asked "How much do you trust the information you get from" and then given a list of options, teens responded:
Source: "Raising kids online: What can parents do?" by Daniel Okrent, Time, May 10, 1999.
Fifty-four percent of both young and older Latinos living in America say that their heritage is very important to their lives. Many younger Latinoscoined as Generation however, are wrestling with how deeply to follow one of those traditions religion.
Source: "Generation ," by John Leland and Veronica Chambers, Newsweek, July 12, 1999.
Through World Changers, thousands of adult and youth volunteers sacrifice their time and sometimes vacations to putwell, not feet, but hands and hammers instead, to the gospel.
During 1999, more than 13,000 participants were involved in 955 work crews painting 499 homes and repairing 448 roofs. In addition to the construction projects, they led 20 backyard Bible clubs, 20 Vacation Bible Schools, 11 sports camps and 23 other ministry projects.
Because of the World Changers sacrifices, 942 people in the communities where the projects took place chose to put their faith in Christ, and almost $96,000 was raised for on mission causes.
Source: "1999 World Changers Statistics," Student Volunteer Mobilization, NAMB.
"A cartoonist must be given the chance to do his own preaching," Peanuts creator Charles Schulz once said. And the countrys best-known cartoonist, who died in his sleep this year at age 77, subtly communicated biblical truths in his daily strip for nearly 50 years.
Schulz grew up in a Christian home and taught a Sunday school class. He regularly interjected biblical ideas into his strip, such as one in which Linus demonstrates the parable of the foolish man who built his house on the sand only to see the wind and waves wash it away, according to Beliefnet.com. "I know theres a lesson in this somewhere," Linus says over the ruins of his sandcastle.
Schulz said he "would rather bend a message a little bit to put over a point than to have a whole strip dropped because it was too obvious." Yet his characters demonstrated mans sinfulness and need for Christ, said pastor Robert Short, who wrote The Gospel According to Peanuts, published in 1965, which sold more than 10 million copies. Lucys stubbornnessevidenced when she once said she would rather die than ask for forgivenessrepresents original sin, while Snoopy is the ideal Christian, Short said.
Shorts book intersperses lessons from Peanuts with theological statements from Paul, Christian philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard, and author Graham Greene, Christianity Today said. A commemorative edition of the book (Westminster John Knox Press) was released in Febuary 2000.
Source:ReligionToday.com, February 16, 2000.
Source: "Watch children for signs," by Pamela Boucher, Facts & Trends, October 1999.
Steven Waldman, editor in chief of Beliefnet.com
Source: "A community of believers of all faiths," USA Today, January 13, 2000.
Nearly all Americans who pray believe that their prayers are heard and have been answered. But 20 percent have been angered on at least one occasion because they believe their prayers havent been answered.
Why do people pray? Survey responses include asking for their familys well- being, adoration of God and asking to win the lottery.
A majority56 percentsay their prayers are conversational. Others say their prayers are more meditative and reflective (15 percent) or are more formal, such as reciting the Lords Prayer (13 percent), or a combination of all three (14 percent).
As we approach the National Day of Prayer (May 4, 2000), a recent Gallup poll suggests that many Americans dont just pray on special, designated days but on a regular basis. Overall, 90 percent claim to engage in prayer, a proportion that hasnt changed much over the last half-century. Seventy-five percent claim to pray on a daily basis. Beyond that, 15 percent say they pray at least once a week, while only 6 percent pray less frequently than that.
Source: "As Nation Observes National Day of Prayer, 9 in 10 Pray3 in 4 Daily," The Gallup Organization, May 6, 1999.
"People are searching for God," said NRB president Brandt Gustafson. "We are so thankful for the broadcasters who are dedicated to pointing their audience to Christ."
Source: National Religious Broadcasters, March 22, 2000.
As the calendar turned over to 2000, the official number of North American Mission Board missionaries was 5,025. A significant goal of the 1976 Bold Mission Thrust initiative had been to reach the goal of 5,000 active missionaries by that date.
Of missionaries approved and appointed, 3,264 are missionaries and their spouses operating under various levels of cooperative funding with state conventions and local associations. Another 1,761 are long-term volunteers with two or more years of service operating under the Mission Service Corps program.
The number of appointments for the year is up sharply over the past few years, from 154 in 1996 to 327 in 1999. Interviews of potential missionaries rose from 240 in 1997 to 411 in 1999.
Source: Convention Relations Team, North American Mission Board.