In Sermon Illustrations: "Attending Church"

Excellent Congregations: Excellent Protestant ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 16, 2006

Excellent Congregations: Excellent Protestant Congregations, by Paul Wilkes and published by Westminster John Knox Press identified the following 26 common traits among the "excellent" protestant congregations. 1. A vibrancy about living a Christian life...living on the creative and holy edge of ...read more

Tags: Church General

Mennonites Merge: In A Vote Eclipsing All ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 16, 2006

Mennonites Merge: In a vote eclipsing all expectations, the Mennonite Church (based in Elkhart, Ind.) and the General Conference Mennonite Church (based in Newton, Kan.) merged to form the Mennonite Church USA. The new denomination brings together the 125,000 members of the two groups. Over ...read more

Tags: Church General

Why Do Companies Outgrow Their Founders? Founders ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 16, 2006

Why Do Companies Outgrow Their Founders? Founders get stuck in habits that worked when they started the company. They made all the decisions, did everything themselves. Now they have to build teams, create plans, build an infrastructure. The founder ...read more

Tags: Church General

Pastor Crisis: Only 1/3 Of Seminary Students Say ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 16, 2006

Pastor Crisis: Only 1/3 of seminary students say they want to pastor a church. That trend is magnified by the fact that just 8% of clergy are now 35 or younger. Many are nearing retirement age, and many others are departing for other careers. Eldon Fry, Focus on the Family’s Pastoral Ministries ...read more

Tags: Church General

Mobilization Is Not Filling Slots," Claims Carol ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

“Mobilization is not filling slots,” claims Carol Davis, veteran church leadership trainer, “Mobilization is activating the incredible capacity of Christ’s church to serve the purposes of God in our own generation. Mobilization happens when I’m being used as an activator. I listen to and watch for ...read more

Tags: Church General

Companies Lose 50% Of Their Employees Every 4 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Companies lose 50% of their employees every 4 years. (Foster Letter ...read more

Tags: Church General

Where Are The Young Clergy? The Numbers Of Young ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Where Are The Young Clergy? The numbers of young pastors have been steadily declining in recent years. In ’75, about 24% of Presbyterian ministers were under 35—today its just 7%. Episcopal priests under 35 have dropped from 19% to 4% over the same period. For Roman Catholic priests the rate has ...read more

Tags: Church General

Pastors Perceptions: Barna Research Has Recently ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Pastors Perceptions: Barna Research has recently completed an extensive survey of Senior Pastors in America. 83% describe themselves as "evangelical Protestant and 81% say they are "theologically conservative." 37% claimed to be Wesleyan or Arminian and 32% are Reformed or Calvinist in their ...read more

Tags: Church General

1 Out Of Every 6 Theological Students In The U.s. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

1 out of every 6 theological students in the U.S. is enrolled in a Southern Baptist seminary. (Foster ...read more

Tags: Church General

In ‘99, 52% Of Students In Theological School ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

In ‘99, 52% of students in theological school were 35 or over, up from the ‘91 figure of 45%. (Foster ...read more

Tags: Church General

A 5% Increase In Customer Retention Can Translate ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

A 5% increase in customer retention can translate to a 25% to 125% increase in company profitability in the B-to-B marketplace. ...read more

Tags: Church General

Republican Churchgoers: According To New Pew ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Republican Churchgoers: According to new Pew Research Center data, evangelical Protestants have shifted toward the Republican Party over the past 15 years. In ‘87 and ‘88, white evangelical Protestants were split fairly evenly (34% Republicans, 31% Democrats). Today, Republicans have a nearly ...read more

Tags: Church General

Pastor Leadership Styles

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Pastor Leadership Styles Shepherding-loving, nurturing, community-driven 55% Bridge Building-good personality, create consensus, being people together 53% Directional-seeks next logical move, searches for right path 44% Team Building, matching people/jobs, expects it done, hands off ...read more

Tags: Church General

Don't Fear The Unchurched: Thom Rainer, Author Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Don’t Fear The Unchurched: Thom Rainer, author of The Unchurched Next Door, recently interviewed unchurched people across the U.S. to understand how they think. Many Christians think anytime they share their faith they’re going to be blasted, criticized, and ridiculed. The research shows 90% of ...read more

Tags: Church General

No Answer: Barna Research Phoned 3400 Randomly ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

No Answer: Barna Research phoned 3400 randomly selected Protestant churches from across the U.S. during December and 55% offered no human answer. Overall: 19% had neither a person nor an answering machine responding to calls; 16% had an answering machine responding; 20% had either an answering ...read more

Tags: Church General

Buster Pastors: The Number Of Busters (Currently ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Buster Pastors: The number of Busters (currently ages 20 to 38) who serve as senior pastors has doubled in just 2 years from 22,000 to 45,000 (nearly 14% of all 324,000 Protestant senior pastors in the U.S.). Buster pastors are more likely to use drama (32% to 21%); show movies, videos, and DVDs ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 13:1-14

Tags: Church Practices

Pastor Search Reality: According To Adair Lummis, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Pastor Search Reality: According to Adair Lummis, with the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, church pastoral search committees today look for the following in a new pastor: male, married (to a woman), and under age 40. Committees may not say this overtly to candidates, but that’s what they ...read more

Tags: Church General

Diverse Methods Of Worship Are Also On The Rise. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Diverse Methods Of Worship are also on the rise. New Ellison Research data reports U.S. Protestant churches worship in a more contemporary manner than 5 years ago. Over the past 5 years 44% report no significant change, 15% have moved in much more contemporary direction, while another 36% have ...read more

Tags: Church Practices

Pastor's Pay: A Recent Christian Ministry ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Pastor’s Pay: A recent Christian Ministry Resources (survey finds: Protestant pastors’ pay packages average $73,000. Mega-church pastors earn an average of $108,000. Pastors of congregations with less than 100 members receive $32,500. Average salaries increased to $60,000 for churches with 100 to ...read more

Tags: Church General

What Do People Want In Their Pastors? A New ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

What Do People Want In Their Pastors? A new study by Hartford Institute researcher Adair Lummis reveals that, first and foremost, lay leaders want a pastor with an authentic religious life. Most lay people define that as a person whose faith combines both head and heart; a person whose lifestyle ...read more

Tags: Church General