In Sermon Illustrations: "Disciplines General"

1 In 7 Calls To 911 On A Cell Phone Don't Go ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

1 in 7 calls to 911 on a cell phone don’t go thorough on the first try. (Foster Letter ...read more

Tags: Communication General

In '00, 44% Of Adults Did Volunteer Work ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

In ’00, 44% of adults did volunteer work contributing an average of 15 hours per month. (Foster ...read more

Tags: Giving General

59% Of Americans Say Religion Is "Very Important ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

59% of Americans say religion is “very important in their life” versus just 30% of Canadians. (Foster ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Call Center Clout: 92% Of U.s. Consumers Form ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Call Center Clout: 92% of U.S. consumers form their opinions of a company based on their experiences using that company’s call center. 65% say they’d stop using a company’s products or services if they had a negative experience ...read more

Tags: Church General

Pastoral Pay Increases: Compensation For Pastors ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Pastoral Pay Increases: Compensation for pastors has increased faster than inflation over the last 25 years, finds a Duke University Divinity School survey. Median pay for Protestant clergy in the U.S.—including the value of provided housing—is now $40,000, similar to that of school-teachers and ...read more

Tags: Church General

Faith Based Initiatives: In An Effort To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Faith Based Initiatives: In an effort to jump-start his Faith-Based Initiatives, President Bush created the $30M Compassion Capital Fund available for faith organizations committed to addressing social issues in our country. This amount could grow to $100M next year. Now, more than ever, ...read more

Tags: Church General

Church Growth: According To The 2003 Yearbook Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Church Growth: According to the 2003 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church experienced a 12% growth. Catholics followed with a 2.5% increase, while Mormons and the Assemblies of God each reported 2% growth in ‘01, the latest year for which figures ...read more

Tags: Church General

Religious Beliefs: In '03 A New Harris Poll ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Religious Beliefs: In ’03 A new Harris Poll reveals that, while the majority of Americans say they believe the basic concepts of the Bible, there’s also a growing acceptance of other religious beliefs—even among those who call themselves "Christian." · 89% believe in miracles. · 68% believe in the ...read more

Tags: Faith General

America's Faith Changing: George Barna Has ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

America’s Faith Changing: George Barna has discovered discernible faith transitions have occurred across various subgroups. Young Adults—When Baby Busters (born between ‘65 and ‘83) enter a new life stage, a 1st marriage or parenthood, religious faith stabilizes. Since ’96 7% more attend Sunday ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Black Churches: A Study Of 2,150 Black Churches ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Black Churches: A study of 2,150 black churches by C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya in their book "The Black Church in the African American Experience," report that “nearly 70% of black churches are involved with social service agencies and non-church ...read more

Tags: Church General

50% Of Americans Describe Themselves As ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

50% of Americans describe themselves as religious, while 33% describe themselves as “spiritual” but not religious. ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Cynicism Undermines Trust: Paul Nelson, President ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Cynicism Undermines Trust: Paul Nelson, President of ECFA, recently quoted Public Sector Research finds that “Pubic confidence in charities is up—but the trust in those charities to carry out ...read more

Tags: Giving General

The Percentage Of Catholics Attending A Sunday ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

The percentage of Catholics attending a Sunday school class has doubled since ‘96. (Foster Letter ...read more

Tags: Church General

Quality Of Life: Barna Research Group Has ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Quality Of Life: Barna Research Group has uncovered a strong relationship between a person’s comfort with his quality of life and either his religious faith or socioeconomic status. 88% of adults claim they are either very happy or somewhat happy with their quality of life. 92% also feel integrated ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Empty Tomb Reports Evangelical And Mainline ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Empty Tomb reports evangelical and mainline churchgoers averaged giving just 4% of their earnings to their churches last year. ...read more

Tags: Giving General

The Chronicle Of Philanthropy Reports The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports the percentage of Americans who donated to charity declined from 87% in ’01 to 77% in ’02. ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Inflatable Church: A British Designer Has Created ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Inflatable Church: A British designer has created what he believes is the world’s first inflatable church. Standing 47 feet high to the tip of the steeple, the gray plastic structure, which can be carried around on the back of a truck, includes a blow-up pulpit, organ, ...read more

Tags: Church General

Fewer Marriages: The Proportion Of Women In The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Fewer Marriages: The proportion of women in the U.S. between ages 15 and 44 who are married declined from 73% in ’60 to only 55% in ’00. This reflects a decline in marriage rates and more than a million divorces annually. The number of cohabiting women has grown from only 439,000 in ’60 ...read more

Tags: Marriage General

Church Debt: Your Church Magazine Reports That ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Church Debt: Your Church magazine reports that 54% of all churches carry some kind of debt. 32% of small churches (annual budget up to $100,000) carry debt versus 69% of churches with budgets over $500,000. The median debt is 64% of the annual budget with larger churches carrying the highest ...read more

Tags: Church General

God Has Placed In Our Trust A Measure Of Time, A ...  PRO

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Jan 31, 2006

“God has placed in our trust a measure of time, a unique set of talents, and sufficient resources to carry out His will for each of our lives. Our task as faithful stewards is to manage those ...read more

Tags: Gifts General

Denomination: Salvation Army