In Sermon Illustrations: "Rapture of the Church" showing 341-360 of 6,930

Lyle Schaller, Church Consultant, Addressed The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

Lyle Schaller, church consultant, addressed the influence and implication of consumerism in the church, at the recent Leadership Network conference, Gathering of Church Champions. He cited 3 major changes: (1) “Arrival of the ministry of the laity—lay people get satisfaction from ministry, not ...read more

Tags: Church General

There Are 70,000 African American Churches In The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

There are 70,000 African American churches in the U.S. (Foster Letter ...read more

Tags: Church General

Church Member Giving Continues To Decline ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Church Member Giving continues to decline according to the Empty Tomb research group. Protestants gave 3.1% of their income in ’68 compared to 2.5% in ’98, a lower rate than in ’33 during the ...read more

Tags: Giving General

New Church Research * Hartford Institute For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

New Church Research * Hartford Institute for Religion Research has just completed the most extensive survey ever conducted on American churches and reveals that · 50% of all congregations have fewer than 100 adults, and 25% have fewer than 50. · Fewer than 10% have more than 1,000 adults. · 52% ...read more

Tags: Church General

1) Churches Will Need To Reach The Diversity Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

(1) Churches will need to reach the diversity of the growing population. (2)New approaches to “senior adult” ministries as the percent of aging population increases. (3)Continued emphasis in children’s ministries as 3 to 4 new generations of children make their appearance. (4)Increased ...read more

Tags: Church General

Churched-As-Children Individuals Are Twice As ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Churched-As-Children individuals are twice as likely as the unchurched-as-children niche to be born again Christians (44% vs. 24%), and significantly more likely to hold an orthodox view of God’s nature (74% vs. 54%). A minority of both groups believes in the existence of the Holy Spirit and of ...read more

Tags: Church General

State Of The Church: "The Fact That There Has Not ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

State Of The Church: “The fact that there has not been any measurable increase in church involvement or personal spiritual depth in the past decade challenges the widespread notion that the U.S. is as spiritually healthy and focused as ever. This has been an intriguing year regarding the spiritual ...read more

Tags: Church General

Church Attendance At Least Monthly Is Higher In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Church Attendance at least monthly is higher in the Midwest (45%) and the South (40%) than in the East (30%) or the West (27%), reports a recent Harris Interactive Poll. ...read more

Tags: Church General

Where Are The Pastors? Presbyterian Church, Usa, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Where Are The Pastors? Presbyterian Church, USA, reports that almost 50% of PCUSA churches with 51 to 100 members are without a pastor. Over 76.6% of these Presbyterian congregations of less than 50 have no pastor. A significant number of small rural and inner-city churches do not have a pastor, ...read more

Tags: Church General

Churches May Support The Federal Marriage ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2006

Churches may support the Federal Marriage Amendment without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status, according to Liberty Counsel. Peter Sprigg, Family Research Council, says, as long as a church stops short of endorsing a specific party or ...read more

Tags: Marriage General

The Wall Separating Church And Economics Is Being ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2006

The Wall Separating Church And Economics is being breached. “More and more scholars have been using conventional economic methods to understand the way in which religion relates to the rest of society, and to the economy in particular,” says George Mason University professor Laurence R. Iannaccone. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:15-16

Tags: Christian Values

Anglican Church Faces Split: The Worldwide ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Anglican Church Faces Split: The Worldwide Anglican Communion has delivered an ultimatum to the Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada: Stop endorsing homosexuality or leave the Anglican Communion! Both churches must cease ordaining homosexuals and presiding over same-sex ceremonies ...read more

88% Of Homeschool Grads Are Members Of A Church, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

88% of homeschool grads are members of a church, community group, union, homeschool group or professional organization versus 50% of U.S. ...read more

Tags: Children

Who Belongs To A Church? 31% Are Not Christians ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Who Belongs to a church? 31% are not Christians and 14% may not be Christians leaving just 55% who are Christians. (The Rainer Group, ...read more

Tags: Church General

Multi-Site Churches: According To Leadership ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Multi-Site Churches: According to Leadership Network research, at least 1,000 churches across North America could currently be described as multi-site. They do so by extending themselves to more than one location—some across town, some across the ...read more

Tags: Church General

The Presbyterian Church (Usa) Membership Has ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

The Presbyterian Church (USA) membership has declined from 4.2 million in ’83, the year it was formed, to 2.36 million today. ...read more

Tags: Church General

Build & Grow: Church Researcher, The Rainer ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Build & Grow: Church researcher, The Rainer Group, reports that 81% of churches experienced growth following a building program. ...read more

Tags: Church General

Alternative Church: In A Typical Week, 22% Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Alternative Church: In a typical week, 22% of American adults engage in spiritual encounters outside the traditional church, 9% participate in a house church while more than 10% turn to the Internet as their foundation for interactive faith experience (Most in tandem with another form). Revolution, ...read more

Tags: Disciplines 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

Singles Ignored: Generally Churches Ignore ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 3, 2006

Singles Ignored: Generally churches ignore singles or treat them as if they are strange. Given the fact that almost 50% of the U.S. adult population is single, churches need to recognize singles as normal. And churches need to minister to their diverse needs, including those who have ...read more

Tags: Church General