In Sermon Illustrations: "Harvest Revival Comming Harvest"

Fewer Men In Church: In 1990, Church ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 5, 2006

Fewer Men In Church: In 1990, church sociologist George Barna found that 40% of the men he polled had some kind of church relationship. That figure has now slipped to 26%. The situation is probably even worse than this data indicates. Many men are in church on Sunday only because their wives and ...read more

Tags: Men And Women

Longer Engagements Bride's Magazine Finds The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

Longer Engagements Bride’s magazine finds the average length of engagements rising sharply during this decade, from 11 months in ’90 to 13 months now. The study reports 27% of weddings are paid for by the couple, with the bride’s father picking the whole tab only 19% of the time. The tab is ...read more

Tags: Marriage General

Raise Sales By 20% Without Attracting Any New ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

Raise Sales by 20% without attracting any new customers? Leo J. Shapiro & Assoc., a Chicago market research firm, says supermarkets can do just that by, among other things, making sure they don’t run out of stock and providing better help to customers looking for goods. If ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

The La Times Recently Stated "Pastors Are The ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

The LA Times recently stated “Pastors are the single most occupationally frustrated group in America.” Eventually 30%-40% of religious leaders drop out of the ministry and about 75% go through a period of stress so great that they consider quitting. Incidents of mental breakdown are so high that ...read more

Tags: Church General

William Weston, Sociology Professor At Center ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

William Weston, sociology professor at Center College, Danville, KY reports in The Religion Market that strict churches are experiencing great growth. Strict is defined as having a clear, authoritative doctrine, rigorous religious practices, and demanding membership requirements. “What people want ...read more

Tags: Church General

Why Teens Go To Church The #1 Reason (44%) Say, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

Why Teens Go to Church The #1 reason (44%) say, It makes me feel closer to God. 24% go to learn about God, 8% because their parents make them go, 10% because they can be with other Christians, 5% because they like their Sunday School class and 10% for a various other reasons. Youth group is a big ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:13-21

Tags: Evangelism How To

Direct Mail Is Still King: Although Direct Mail ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

Direct Mail Is Still King: Although direct mail is still the most effective fund raising media for non profit organizations, it continues to get more expensive. Growing competition has forced lower response rates. Now, NPO’s are conducting analysis and segmentation up front to better identify the ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

According To The Israeli Press, Psychiatrists Are ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 9, 2006

According to the Israeli press, psychiatrists are expecting an increase in a condition the have labeled, “Jerusalem Syndrome.” For many years mental heath workers have treated tourists who become emotionally overwhelmed by a visit to the Holy Land. Although some are only temporarily caught up in an ...read more

Tags: Character

1no Religious Affiliation: 1 Out Of Every 9 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 9, 2006

1No Religious Affiliation: 1 out of every 9 Americans do not belong to any organized religion. Among young people its 17% compared with only 7% of people over 65. William J. Murray, a D.C. based religious activist, reports, young people “identify with angels, say they believe in a superior being, ...read more

Tags: World Religions

Children See More Of Their Parents Now Than 20 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Children see more of their parents now than 20 years ago, finds new research by the University of Michigan. The study shows that children spent 4 to 6 more hours per week with their parents in ‘97 than they did in ‘81. Children ages 3 to 12 spent about 31 hours a week with their mothers, a gain of ...read more

Tags: Children

The Demographic Trends Indicate The Two Most ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

The demographic trends indicate the two most likely market opportunities are in products and/or services that help the elderly or cater to teens. Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. households provides care for an elderly relative. Families spend an average of 18 hours a week helping them and invite practical ...read more

Tags: Children

Preaching Magazine Has Named The Top 5 Preachers ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Preaching magazine has named the top 5 preachers of the 20th Century. #1 James S. Stewart, a Scottish preacher and 60’s moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; #2 Dr. Billy Graham; #3 George Buttrick, a Congregational preacher & 30 year pastor of Madison Ave. Presbyterian ...read more

Tags: Church General

Your Church Magazine Reports Staff Compensation ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Your Church magazine reports staff compensation accounts for more than 40% of an average church’s budget. Churches with budgets over $500,000 spend 40% while smaller budget churches spend closer to 46% on compensation. Church facilities expenses account for 20%, Missions receives 16%, church ...read more

Tags: Giving General

The Rich Are Stingy & The Poor Are Generous: In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

The Rich Are Stingy & The Poor Are Generous: In recent years the rich have become a lot richer, but are giving less. Business Week (1/24/00) reports that poor households (incomes of under $10,000) average gifts to charities was 5.2% of their income in ’98, nearly double the 2.3% they gave in ’93. ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Clergy Wages Above Average: The Average Weekly ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Clergy Wages Above Average: The average weekly wage for most Americans is $519 while the average wage for clergy is $647. Rabbi’s earn between $45-$75 pr year, Protestant ministers usually earn at least $30,000, and Diocesan priests average $11,000. Approximately 980,000 clergy serve ...read more

Tags: Money

Cheating: Between 75% And 98% Of High School And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Cheating: Between 75% and 98% of high school and college students say they’ve cheated and 5 out of 6 college students believe they need to cheat to get ahead in the world today. 95% say they have never been caught and 90% say cheaters never pay the price for cheating. Even worse, 20% of adults ...read more

Tags: Faith

Worship & Live Longer: Researchers Have Concluded ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Worship & Live Longer: Researchers have concluded those who go to church regularly have reduced levels of a body chemical called interluekin-6, a protein linked to weakened immunity. Harold Koenig, M.D., of the Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and health at Duke University claims, ...read more

Tags: Worship Benefits

Girls & Stress: According To A Recent Survey By ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Girls & Stress: According to a recent survey by Teen magazine and Sears, 74% of 12-17 year-old girls believe their lives are more stressful today than when their parents were young. Not surprisingly, girls with close parental relationships are less stressed about guys and dating (33% vs. 48%) but ...read more

Tags: Children

Distorted Teen Beliefs 86% Of Teens Claim That ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Distorted Teen Beliefs 86% of teens claim that they are Christian (34% are born again) and 3 out of 5 say they believe the Bible is totally accurate in all it teaches. Yet many embrace views inconsistent with the Bible. A new Barna survey finds 2/3 stated Satan is not a living being; merely a ...read more

Tags: Children

Wanted: Experienced Designers- It Is The Lack Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2006

Wanted: Experienced Designers- It is the lack of emotional security and reliance on past experiences that are core factors in why consumers are reluctant to purchase items online, especially big-ticket ones. For online retailers to succeed, they will have to find an appropriate online substitute ...read more

Tags: Workplace