What Do Americans Believe About Jesus? 5 Popular Beliefs
by the Barna Group April 1, 2015—Jesus Christ remains a central figure and perennial person of interest in the American religious landscape—especially in the days leading up to Easter. And 2015 is no exception. On Sunday, March 29, National Geographic Channel...
4 Reasons Small Groups are Vital to Your Church’s Health
By Ed Stetzer Small groups are important for your church because they foster discipleship and friendship If you think community is an important part of healthy church life, and I hope you do, then small groups should also be important to you. They are actually crucial...
Measuring church planting success
by Kevin Ezell, President of the North American Mission Board Recently NAMB was able to share good news that Southern Baptist church plants were up 5 percent in 2014. We still have a lot of catching up to do because our church planting efforts lost pace with...
Ten thoughts on renewing church membership annually
By Thom S. Rainer There are some pretty strong opinions on church membership. I have heard some say that church membership should come with extremely high expectations. I have heard some indicate that membership should have little or no expectations. And I have even...
Baptist Sandy rebuild continues two-plus years after storm’s landfall
By Laura Sikes LONG BEACH, N.Y. – Two and a half years after Superstorm Sandy struck, Jim Clark and his wife, Ena, of Long Beach, N.Y., are working to get into their new home with the help of Southern Baptist volunteers. Sandy’s storm surge lifted and shifted their...
Survey: Americans see value in church attendance
by Lisa Green NASHVILLE (BP) -- The overwhelming majority of Americans say they find value in attending church, a new LifeWay Research study shows. Two-thirds of Americans think attendance is admirable; only 11 percent consider church useless. Even among nonreligious...
Collegians recruit peers for GenSend missions
by Kristen Camp ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- Abby Hughes is one of two campus mobilizers in the Northwest taking on the responsibility to find other college students to venture to New York City for 10 weeks this summer. "I have been working alongside my church as well as...
2015 State of Atheism in America
by the Barna Group March 24, 2015—This past year, Barna Group has spent a considerable amount of time studying the unchurched—those who have not attended church within the past six months. Much of that research is collected in the new Barna project Churchless, edited...
Lives being changed one sandwich at a time
by Robert Chapman LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- The restaurant walls are covered with Scripture verses. A Bible and calendar with daily devotions sit on each table. The sign outside the building says Barry's Cheese Steaks -- a restaurant in Louisville, Ky. -- but the...
CALL TO PRAYER: The tear bottle
By Frank S. Page EDITOR'S NOTE: This column by Frank S. Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, is part of his ongoing call to prayer for revival and spiritual awakening for our churches, our nation and our world. NASHVILLE (BP) --...
