Philippians 4:6 Is ‘Verse of the Year’ (Plus News Briefs)

Philippians 4:6 is the “2019 Verse of the Year,” as determined by YouVersion. Users of the popular Bible app engaged with that Bible verse—by bookmarking it, highlighting it, and sharing it—more than any other. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). YouVersion also reported increased use of the app during 2019, including 5.6 billion chapters listened to, 35.6 billion chapters read, and 478 million verses shared. Meanwhile, Merriam-Webster’s “word of the year” is they. Searches of that term rose 313 percent during 2019, and

September 14, 2017

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry

A Salute to Small Towns, Rural Areas, and Micropolitan Communities (Our Attempt at a Glossary of Terms)

By Kent Fillinger and Jim Nieman This issue of Christian Standard focuses on ministry in the lesser-populated regions of our country, but defining terms associated with our nation”s nonmetropolitan areas is surprisingly difficult. For instance, a town of fewer than 2,500 with a singularly dense pocket of population has what the U.S. Census Bureau classifies as an urban component. And a metropolitan county””defined as an urbanized area by the Census Bureau when 50,000 or more people live there””usually has at least one rural section. In 2010, in fact, only 29 counties in the United States were completely urban. By contrast,