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JULY 2011Evangelism news from the Mission America Coalition (U.S. Lausanne Committee)
The whole Church taking the whole gospel to the whole nation – and to the world.
Table of Contents
Chairman’s Letter | Collaborative Calendar | Evangelism News | News & Trends | Tools to Use
News in This Issue
Austin Churches Unite to Serve Austin | A Week of Service and Outreach | Love Your City Seminar | Somebody Cares Global Summit Gathers Leaders | Serve the City Honors Veterans |Lausanne Members To Convene To Track Progress/a> | National Conversation on Revival Focuses on Cityreaching |ACTION Serve Day a Success | Will Graham Addresses End of the World at Three-Day Event | American Idol Winner Scotty McCreery Is Also Second | Kids Hope USA-One Child, One Hour, One Church, One School | Texas Governor Calls for Intercession for America | How the Church Can Change a City | Research Shows Revival Rare in US | Equipping Youth Leaders for Ministry
Austin Churches Unite to Serve Austin
Over 200 ministries have connected to better serve Austin in order to show the love of Christ. This city movement is evolving out of the “In the City For the City” event hosted by Austin Bridge Builders’ Alliance (ABBA).”In the City For the City” is a movement to unite Austin churches, businesses, ministries and individuals. The movement seeks to unite the gifts, talents, experiences, and resources of all Christians in the Austin area to love the city.
September 21, New York City
Starting at noon, this half-day seminar the day before Movement Day will focus on the framework, fundamentals and overall process to love your city for/ with/ to Christ. David Gadoury, Jarvis Ward, Philip Nation and others will facilitate a discussion on the components and competencies needed to lead a collaborative effort that blesses the community.
A Week of Service and Outreach
Beginning July 24, Christians from all over Indianapolis will unite to serve their communities during Faith, Hope, and Love Week. The week will feature donations and service from local churches, ministries, businesses, and government and educational institutions. The week will feature an event called “Dance Your Shoes Off” during which hundreds of participants will dance and then leave their shoes to be distributed for those in need. During the week there will be worship services and a variety outreach opportunities in many areas throughout the city. Faith, Hope, and Love International seeks to build communities of Faith, Hope and Love by facilitating active participation of local communities in improving neighborhoods and by helping those in need.
Somebody Cares Global Summit Gathers Leaders
October 6-8, Houston, Texas
In order to better answer to the pressing needs of cities and nations, Turning Point Ministries Global Summit will discuss ways in which Christians can collaborate to better serve their communities. The event will emphasize the importance of relationships as the gospel is spread and will focus on the prayer-care-share method. Turning Point Ministries is a Houston-based ministry which aims to show the love of Christ through reconciliation and love.
Serve the City Honors Veterans
In June, Serve the City gathered with veterans in the Cedar Rapids region for the 10th Annual Voices of Hope. The concert involved 85 singers from eight Serve the City congregations, a color guard, and over 2000 others honoring veterans. Serve The City is a coalition of 38 congregations and ten non-profit ministries who bring resources together to serve the Cedar Rapids community. Beginning in 1998, its member churches have served together in over 50 different efforts. Cedar Rapids is a Loving Our Communities to Christ partner city.
Lausanne Members To Convene To Track Progress
Beginning with June 2012, and every two years following, 350-500 world leaders will convene in Lausanne, Switzerland to track progress on The Cape Town Commitment. The participants will represent the world’s leading pastors, influential mission leaders, the best minds from seminaries and universities, as well as Kingdom-minded leaders from business, government, medicine, and the media. This “peer to peer” gathering will be patterned after the Davos World Economic Forum. It will provide an environment conducive to prayer, reflection and creativity, and to the establishment of global friendships, which will strengthen the bonds of unity within the church around the globe. A similar event called the Global Executive Leadership Forum (GELF) will unite business leaders who met during the Third Lausanne Congress as well.
National Conversation on Revival Focuses on Cityreaching
More than 70 ministry leaders and pastors convened for a conversation on revival at Chicago’s historic Moody Church in June. Unity among congregations based on John 17 was a major theme. A case study presented revealed how cityreaching and revival go hand-in-hand. The event ended with a concert of prayer held at Moody Church with several local congregations. Phil Miglioratti, MAC Chief Operating Officer, was encouraged by, “[the] appreciation for past revivals coupled with openness to new expressions.”
Serve Day was amazing. On June 4th 1800 volunteers from over 30 churches served on 130 community-building projects in the counties of Ventura and western Los Angeles. ACTION (Area Christians Taking Initiative on Needs) works to meet real needs in the community, helping agencies, schools and individuals. On Serve Day likely 1000 people were prayed with, six schools were served and four home make-overs took place.Pre – “Serve Day” and Post – “Serve Day” videos inspire and empower volunteers to serve with willing and loving hearts on Serve Day and beyond.
Will Graham Addresses End of the World at Three-Day Event
Evangelist Will Graham presented the good news of Jesus Christ to audiences totaling 13,871 over the three-day Will Graham Celebration, with 860 making a decision for Jesus. According to a news release from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, “Leading up to the Celebration many in the area and around the world, were talking about one man’s claim [Harold Camping] that Christ would return on Saturday, May 21.” In the days before the Celebration, Graham addressed that claim directly, saying, “None of us know for certain when we will breathe our last breath, and we are all a heartbeat away from eternity. Whether you stand before God on May 21st, or whether you stand before Him 50 years from now, is irrelevant in the scope of eternity. The important thing isn’t when you stand before God; it’s where you stand with God.” Will is the grandson of Billy Graham and the oldest son of Franklin Graham. Graham was joined onstage in the historic Great Auditorium by Grammy-nominated artists Matthew West, the Newsboys and FLAME.
American Idol Winner Scotty McCreery Is Also Second
Since the beginning of this season, born-again Christian and American Idol winner Scotty McCreery has identified himself as part of the I Am Second movement. After winning, McCreery said, “I gotta thank the Lord first. He got me here.” I Am Second is a multimedia movement that chronicles the personal stories of struggle and transformation of celebrities and everyday people. McCreery was seen sporting his I Am Second bracelet throughout his homecoming footage.
Kids Hope USA-One Child, One Hour, One Church, One School
One group is offering churches and schools a model to meet the emotional, social and academic needs of children. Kids Hope USA (KHUSA) programs create one-on-one mentoring relationships between adult church members and at-risk elementary schoolchildren in their community who desperately need loving, caring adults in their lives. KHUSA creates sustainable church-school partnerships. In this One Child, One Hour, One Church, One School model, a church collaborates with a single school, and each KHUSA church-sponsored mentor spends one hour each week with their “one-and-only child” at the school.
Texas Governor Calls for Intercession for America
In an historic move, Texas Governor Rick Perry is inviting fellow Americans, including Christian and political leaders, to a solemn assembly of prayer and fasting. “The Response: a call to prayer for a nation in crisis” will take place on Saturday, August 6, 2011 in Reliant Stadium (indoors) in Houston, Texas. In his letter, Governor Perry cites the book of Joel as the answer for the challenges facing America. The event will feature no political agenda, sell no merchandise, promote no ministries, distribute no literature, and take no offering. Registration is free. The program will include prayer, worship and short exhortations on prayer.
How the Church Can Change a City
In 2008, the churches of Portland, Ore. mobilized in an event called Seasons of Service (SOS), sending 26,000 volunteers to work on service projects in six areas of need in the city. Through SOS, Portland’s congregations have worked closely with city leaders to positively impact some of the area’s most urgent concerns. They approached city officials to find out what their greatest needs were. Mayor Sam Adams, considered one of the most liberal mayors in one of America’s most liberal cities, admitted to feeling reticent, but he said the needs of the city were too great to decline. The churches said they wanted to form a partnership with the city and begin working alongside them to improve these areas of need. The volunteers stocked and serviced the Oregon Food Bank, worked to feed children out of school for summer break, beautified public spaces through coordinated clean-up efforts, provided tutoring service to struggling school children, and ran free medical and dental clinics for low income residents. “We wanted to bless the city,” a local church leader remarked. “We wanted the city to miss the church if we were to leave.”
Research Shows Revival Rare in US
According to research by the Sentinel Group, of nearly 800 cases of transforming revival studies in the late 1990s and early 2000s, only one was found in the United States. Only one other case was found in all the rest of North America. No cases were found in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, or Japan. The research demonstrated reasons why such revival is so rare in these parts of the world. The Sentinel Group is offering a series of seminars based on this research. The teaching will address the need for revival, define transforming revival, prepare for transforming revival, and discuss the cost of transforming revival.
Equipping Youth Leaders for Ministry
September 30-October 2, San Diego
November 18-20, Atlanta
This year’s National Youth Leaders Conference with over 80 seminars will equip participants to better serve and share the gospel with youth. Those who attend will have the opportunity to set up a one-on-one meeting with a convention pastor or youth ministry consultant.
TOOLS TO USE
Resources for Accelerating Evangelism
50 Activities to Move from Mission Trips to Missional Living
Make youth ministry mission trips and service projects more than just drive-by-feel-good outings with a curriculum that prepares the team. Mission trips can be opportunities for students and adults together to go deep into God’s heart for justice as people and communities are transformed. The lessons in Deep Justice Journeys will help prepare students for what to expect during their mission trips and service projects and allow students to reflect upon their experiences. The book includes 50 learning activities to choose from to customize lessons to the need of a particular trip. The learning activities focus on applying lessons learned on the trip to regular life.
More info
Interview: Open Doors CEO on Misconceptions about Persecution
Carl Moeller, CEO of Open Doors USA, has written a new book, The Privilege of Persecution. Moeller talks about the biggest misconception Americans have about the persecuted and how persecuted Christians can overcome the question of why a loving God would allow suffering, among other topics. “The persecuted Christians where I have interacted with them immediately assume that we should be praying for them and with them,” Moeller says. “They are praying for us, we should be praying for them, that we are one body.”
More info
Free Dramatized New Testament
To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the KJV Bible, Faith Comes by Hearing is providing a free dramatized version of the New Testament in the King James Version. Faith Comes by Hearing is the non-profit, donor-driven ministry behind the Bible.is app. Bible.is currently features nearly 400 versions across 211 languages, with more being added regularly. Supplies are limited, and this free New Testament can be obtained at the Ministry Network News website.
More info
The 6:4 Fellowship
The 6:4 Fellowship offers special interviews, book reviews, and other resources to give pastors the tools to better spread the gospel. The website is a pastor-to-pastor community that exists to encourage, equip and connect pastors toward the priorities of prayer and the ministry of the Word. It is cross denominational and seeks to organize pastors across Ohio in the priorities of prayer and the ministry of the Word.
More info
Dear MAC Partner,
SHARING WITH OTHERS is the very natural (supernatural) lifestyle of those who are living for Jesus and in the flow of the Holy Spirit. That is why we encourage one another to live the prayer-care-share lifestyle. It is both biblical and wonderfully practical. It blesses our lives and is a blessing to others.
As we pray for others and care for them with the love of Christ, our Lord opens wonderful opportunities for us to share with them. These are not contrived or legalistic attempts to do something nice for others. To the contrary, these are natural opportunities that God gives us to help others and to express His love in action.
In a real sense, as we live our lives in vital union with Jesus Christ as Lord, it results in the overflow of the Holy Spirit manifesting the Fruit of the Spirit that includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. What a way to live!
And, as we share those fruit of God’s grace with others, the Lord opens special opportunities for us to share the Good news of Jesus Christ in deed and word.
It’s time to share!
Paul Cedar
Chairman
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NEWS AND TRENDS
for Ministry Decision Makers
Religious Education Key
Most people who decide to leave their childhood religion say they did so before the age of 24 claims a Pew Forum report. This indicates development in understanding of religion and religious practices is a key factor in determining whether or not young adults will stick to their religion, switch religions, or simply distance themselves from religion in general, like approximately 16% of Americans today. The role of a religious education teacher is crucial in a young adult’s life. (Huffington Post 5/15/11)
Limited Christianity
The officially atheist Chinese government is surprisingly open to Christianity, at least partially, because it sees a link between the faith and economic success. According to Dr. William Jeynes of The Witherspoon Institute, “They want Christianity for the benefits, but they also want to control it.” Those in authority are very much aware of the Church’s role in bringing down the Berlin Wall and advancing democracy in the Soviet bloc. They view Christianity as a belief system that, if not controlled, will potentially overthrow the government. But they also see that if they try to oppress Christians, it could lead to an Eastern Europe-type explosion, and they could lose control. (Christian Post 5/18/11)
Belief in God
More than 9 in 10 Americans still say they believe in God, says a new Gallup poll. Sadly, those least likely to believe in God are 18–29. Only 84% agreed they believe in God vs. 94% of older Americans. Liberals, Americans from the East, and those with post-grad educations are also less likely to believe in God, though more than 80% still do. (Christian Post 6/3/11)
Small Group Tips
Groups with practical teaching are more likely to feel loved by the people in the group—by a huge margin. Those in practical classes are 2.5 times more likely to feel loved as compared with those in content-oriented classes. Groups with accountability are more likely to feel loved than those who didn’t have accountability. Groups that are open and honest and encourage transparency are over 3 times as likely to feel loved by the group. Those that regularly participate in conversational prayer are twice as likely to feel loved by the people in the group, and those with more activities are more likely to feel loved by the people in the group. Most important, when people feel loved by the teacher, they are 7 times more likely to feel loved by the people in the group. (ChurchLeaders.com 5/20/11)
People & Transitions:
- Prison Fellowship® announced the appointment of James Liske as the organization’s CEO.
- Atlanta-area pastor Bryant Wright has been re-elected as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
- Fred Luter Jr. of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans became the first black pastor to be elected by the Southern Baptist Convention to its # 2 position.
- H.B. London has just retired from his position of VP, Pastoral Ministries for Focus on the Family.
- Mark L. Vincent has been named as Christian Leadership Alliance’s acting President and CEO.
Group Love
Feeling loved by the people in a small group is directly correlated to one’s spiritual vibrancy. People who strongly agree with the statement, “I feel loved by the people in my group,” are more than twice as likely (111%) to be in the top tier of spiritually vibrant people when compared with people who only agree or disagree with the statement. (ChurchLeaders.com 5/20/11)
Cancer Patients who consider the length of their lives to be “in God’s hands” are more willing than others to spend money on treatments that might extend their lives, finds a new study by Univ. of Alabama professor, Michelle Martin. The found African Americans are more willing to spend all their resources to extend their lives than members of other racial and ethnic groups. Martin said, “If you see the physicians as tools of God, you might think … if God has put these individuals in my life to help me, then I should avail myself of that opportunity.” But others may think “if you’re really religious, this life is a temporary one and you may be motivated by the life hereafter.”(Church Report 5/19/11)
Giving Rebound
An analysis of giving to ECFA members reveals there has been a net gain in giving to its members of 2% from ’09 to ’10. Pre-recession giving compared to 3 years later was $6.18 billion in ’07 and $6.32 billion in ’10, or an increase of 3.3%. The recessionary impact on giving was felt more significantly by smaller charities. Organizations with annual revenue above $10 million reflected an increase in giving for the ’07-’10 period of 3.1%, while those with under $10 million annual revenue saw a decrease of 3.2%. (ECFA 6/14/11)
Online-Acquired Donors
Multichannel giving has become popular for fundraisers as a way to build constituent support. But the large majority of donors give through only one channel and use only direct-mail as their vehicle for donations. The only donors who do significant multichannel giving are new donors acquired online who switch in large numbers to direct-mail giving in subsequent years, according to findings of the 2011 donorCentrics Internet and Multichannel Giving Benchmarking Report by Target Analytics (NonProfit Times 5/31/11)
Wide-Open Ministry Opportunity
Most parents and tweens/teens have not heard any kind of teaching in a church, religious setting, or public forum about how families can best use media, entertainment, or technology. When asked if they would be open to one version of such training—”a Christian or faith-based perspective about how to be a good user of entertainment and technology without letting things negatively impact your family relationships”— 42% of parents and 33% of tweens and teens expressed interest. Faith communities could take a leadership role in teaching about the proper use of technology in healthy families. (Barna Update 5/23/11)
ChristianCollegeGuide.net includes CCCU’s 111 North American member schools in its database, along with expanded information on each school, enhanced school search and compare features, rich content for parents and teens navigating the college search process, plus numerous ways to connect with and request information from schools. The site is a partner effort between Christianity Today International and Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. (ECPA Rush to Press 6/6/11)
Christian School Graduates have different traits than those who attended Catholic and non-religious private schools, finds Univ. of Notre Dame sociologist David Skunk. The 2-year study of U.S. religious school graduates ages 24–39 found Protestant Christian school grads: (1) Divorced less and had more children than their Catholic and private school peers (2) Participated in more relief and development service trips (3) Had lower incomes, but were more thankful for what they had in life (4) Attended less competitive colleges and attended fewer years of college (5) Talked less about politics, participated less in political campaigns, and donated less to political causes. (Church Report 5/30/11)
Positive or Negative
Although many assume families are fed up with technology, by nearly a 2-to-1 ratio parents think of technology like computers, cell phones, and video game systems as making their family life better rather than worse (32% to 18%). Most describe the influence as neutral (51%). Interestingly, parents are even more favorable toward entertainment like music, movies, and TV than toward technology, saying its influence is more positive than negative by a 5-to-1 ratio (38% vs. 7%) while 55% of parents feel entertainment is neither good nor bad. Tweens and teens are substantially more likely to describe the influence of technology as positive rather than negative (47% to 6%); their view toward entertainment is similar (56% to 2%). (Barna Update 5/23/11)
Marriage Minority
For the first time ever in America, households led by a married couple are outnumbered by those without marriage, says the latest (’10) Census Bureau data. Married couples now constitute only 48% of U.S. households, 4 percentage points below ’09 stats. The shift coincides with growth in the elderly population and a sharp increase in cohabiting couples, up 13% since ’09 to 7.5 million. Marriage age is also trending upwards with more couples waiting until at least their late 20s, whereas in the 1960s, grooms and brides averaged 23 and 20 respectively vs. 28 and 26 today. (LifeSite News 5/31/11)
Child Trends reports adoptions are at a record high, fewer children are waiting for permanent families, and their average wait time has shrunk by a year. Based on ’09 data, the research revealed adoptions from foster care reached a record high of 57,000, up from 37,000 in ’98. The number of children waiting for adoption fell to a record low of 115,000 vs. 135,000 in ’06. The average wait to be adopted fell to a record low 35 months vs. 48 months in ’98. The likelihood a waiting child would be adopted in a year rose to 45%, vs. 39% over the previous decade. Child-welfare specialists credit these improvements to the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act, which created cash incentives for states that increased their adoptions of foster children and set deadlines for action. Also, since ’08, the Focus on the Family program “Wait No More” has been used to encourage families to think about adopting foster children. (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing 5/13/11)
Children, the mainstay of suburbia and residential neighborhoods across the nation for more than a half-century, are fewer and increasingly sparse in many places. The share of the population under 18 dropped in 95% of U.S. counties since ’00, according to a USA Today analysis of the 2010 Census. The number of households with children under 18 has stayed at 38 million since ’00, despite a 9.7% growth in the U.S. population. As a result, the share of households with children dropped from 36% in ’00 to 33.5%. There are now more households with dogs (43 million) than children. (USA Today 6/3/11)
Changing Attitudes
The Gallup 2011 Values and Beliefs survey reveals 49% of the population describe themselves as “pro-choice,” while 45% consider themselves “pro-life,” in spite of an 8% drop in the abortion rate from ’00 to ’08. The abortion rate among poor women jumped 18% over the 8 years of the study. (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing 5/28/11)
Changes in Moral Attitudes
The results of a new Gallup poll show Americans are becoming less concerned about “poor” moral values and also less supportive of doctor-assisted suicide. Gallup’s 2011 Values and Beliefs Poll reveals 38% of Americans believe moral values in the country are poor vs. 45% a year ago. Today, 48% of Americans say doctor-assisted suicide is morally wrong, while 45% say it’s morally acceptable. The research also revealed 42% of 18- to 34-year-olds believe the use of pornography is acceptable, while only 19% of those 55 and older agree. 71% of younger adults (18–34) believe premarital sex is acceptable vs. 53% of those 55 and older. 69% of Americans believe the overall state of moral values in the country is getting worse vs. 22% who say it is getting better. (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing 6/3/11)
Divided Attitudes
A New Pew Research Center Survey finds 58% of Americans say homosexuality should be accepted rather than discouraged by society. However, the public is divided over same-sex marriage: 45% favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally while 46% are opposed. (Pew Forum Weekly Update 5/19/11)
Fast Facts:
- 51% of Americans believe they have a responsibility to tell other people their religious beliefs.
- 62% of U.S. adults said it is important “to have active, healthy relationships with people who belong to religious faiths that do not accept the central beliefs of your faith.”
- 59% of U.S. adults believe “Christians and Muslims worship the same God, even though they have different names and beliefs regarding God.” (Barna Update 4/18/11)
- 57% of Americans do not believe “the Bible, the Koran, and the Book of Mormon are all different expressions of the same spiritual truths.” 43% agree with this notion.
- 52% of Protestant pastors address the issue of the environment to their churches once a year or less.
- Empty Tomb, Inc. reports that evangelicals on average give churches only about 4% of their income.
- Among all Christians, the giving average is just 2.43%, according to Empty Tomb, Inc.
- 40% of U.S. adults agree “all people are eventually saved or accepted by God, no matter what they do, because he loves all people he has created.” 50% disagree.
- 69% of U.S. adults agree “in life, you either side with God or you side with the devil; there is no in-between position.” 27% disagree.
- 48% of U.S. adults agree “if a person is generally good or does enough good things for others, they will earn a place in heaven.” 44% disagree. (Barna Update 4/18/11)
- 40% of Americans believe in the “young earth” theory of creation.
- 40% of Americans believe think the various concepts of human origins matter “a great deal,” says Gallup.
- 57% of small-business owners expect revenue to “improve” or “slightly improve” over the next 3 months.
- Children make up 24% of the American population, down from 25.7% in ’00.
- 17% of tweens and teens say their parents “bring their work home with them too much,” a habit abetted by pervasive technology.
- 47% of users have profanity on their Facebook wall.
- According to the ’10 Pew Hispanic Center data, 62% of all Hispanics in the U.S. in ’09 were born in the U.S.
- The number of marriages per 1,000 individuals in Italy fell between 1970 and 2007 from 7.35 to 4.21 (41.8%).
- 47% of U.S. adults expect the economy to take in excess of 3 more years to recover, up from 42% in January ’10.
- 66% of Americans 65 and older live with relatives.
- 28% of Americans 65 and older are widows or widowers.
- 68% of college-educated Americans are married, 17% are single, and just 9% are divorced.
- There are 900 religiously affiliated private colleges and universities in the U.S. with a total enrollment of 1.7M students.
- 1 in 5 U.S. working adults now describe themselves as poor, according to Rasmussen Reports 5/10/11.
- About 25% of parents have “strong disagreements about the limits on media and technology” on a weekly basis.
News and Trends information compiled and edited by Gary Foster, President of Gary D Foster Consulting, a firm that assists Christian ministries and product companies in solving management, marketing, donor/customer service and product development problems. Contact Gary at: 419.238.4082, [email protected] or go to www.GaryDFoster.com.
Texas Baptists Regional Conference – Waco Texas
September 15 – 18
Movement Day – New York City
September 22
National Back to Church Sunday – Nationwide
September 18
National Youth Leaders Conference – San Diego
September 30-October 2
Somebody Cares Global Summit – Houston, Texas
October 6-8
CCDA National Conference-Innovate at Indianapolis 2011 – Indianapolis
October 12-16
NACSW 2011 Convention – Pittsburg
October 20-23
National Youth Leaders Conference – Atlanta
November 18-20
Pacific Northwest City Impact Roundtable – Vancouver, Wash.
December 6-7
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