Articles for tag: Pew Research Center

Transformational Trends

By Kent Fillinger Since transformation is a main theme of this issue, I decided to explore three trends that are reshaping culture and will likely re-create the look and feel of our churches. My goal is not to stir up controversy but to change the questions we are asking in order to spark new conversations among church leaders. The Single Situation “Half of Americans ages 18 and older were married in 2016, a share that has remained relatively stable in recent years but is down 9 percentage points over the past quarter-century,” according to the article “8 Facts about

November 23, 2018

Kent E. Fillinger

How Changing Shopping Trends Affect the Church

By Kent Fillinger Eight of the 10 biggest shopping days of the year occur in December. The other two take place in November. Sales spike in December at retail stores, online stores, and even grocery stores. Based on my research, church attendance also spikes during December due to special events and Christmas Eve services that attract more people than any other time but Easter. Despite a strong economy and low unemployment, the retail industry is undergoing a major repositioning as legacy stores and brands that were once customer favorites fall victim to shifting consumer demands. Stores like Nine West, Toys

January 26, 2018

Kent E. Fillinger

What Are Your Church’s Push and Pull Factors? (Part 1)

By Kent Fillinger My three daughters and I went to New York City for the first time last October. Our visit to Ellis Island was a definite highlight! I was amazed to learn what more than 12 million people encountered at Ellis Island. One part of the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration had the history of migration and the peopling of America. I found one display titled “Push and Pull Factors.” The sign said, “Historians talk about the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that influence migration. ‘Push’ refers to the reasons people leave one place to go to another. ‘Pull’

September 8, 2017

If We Want to Reach Millennials, We Must Think Like Veronica

By Haydn Shaw My writing collaborator and I put together most of my book Generational IQ while occupying a corner table at a local Smashburger restaurant. We spent so much time there that the entire staff got to know us. One afternoon, the manager, Veronica, asked how the book was coming along. She said she reads business books, so we talked about my first book, Sticking Points. When I told her Generational IQ was a look at the spiritual lives of the generations, she lit up and told us her grandmother was a devout Catholic. Her mother had been raised

June 18, 2015

Church Life

To All Generations?

See the sidebar, “Understanding and Appreciating theÂ Four Generations“ ________ By Gary Zustiak It seems everywhere you look””from book titles to magazine articles to blog posts””there is a panicked cry about the church”s failure to reach the millennial generation. Josh McDowell is quoted as saying: “It is clear that we have all but lost our young people to a godless culture.”1 The Southern Baptist Convention Council on Family Life”s research indicated “88 percent of evangelical children are leaving the church shortly after they graduate from high school.”2 Eric Tryggestad, in an article entitled “Are We Losing Our Young People?” claims only

June 16, 2015

Three Reasons Evangelical Churches Are Growing When Others Are Not

By Mark A. Taylor Why are Evangelicals the only growing Christian group in America? The fact of dramatic decline among mainline Protestants and Catholic churches in the U.S. is certain, documented by a Pew research report released last month. But answers have varied among those seeking to explain why Evangelicals are holding their own. I asked about that when I spoke with three ministers of growing churches in last month”s episode of our monthly online interview program, Beyond the Standard. These fellows””Brian Kruckenberg, lead pastor with New City Church in Phoenix, Arizona; Bo Chancey, senior pastor with Manchester (NH) Christian

June 2, 2015

The Pew Report: What Should We Do?

By Mark A. Taylor In this space last week and the week before, I reported, evaluated, and shared comments about the Pew Research Center”s May 12 report on religion in America. It is a thorough and detailed study, full of implications for church leaders today. Especially interesting is the fact that Evangelicals are the only Christian group whose numbers grew between 2007 and 2014. The growth did not keep up with population growth, however, which means the influence of Evangelicals on the American scene is not growing. This is especially concerning when added to the fact that those claiming no

May 26, 2015

“Fewer Christians in the U.S.” Good News?

By Mark A. Taylor News outlets across the country reported the Pew Research Center”s findings that fewer Americans than ever are calling themselves Christians. Most secular reports led with the summary statistic, that only 70.6 percent of adults in the United States identified themselves as Christians in 2014, compared with 78.4 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, the “nones,” those who claim no religious affiliation, increased by about 19 million. The Pew study projects that 56 million American adults, almost 23 percent of the total adult population, say they have no religion. Christian writers tried to find a positive spin in the

May 19, 2015

Considering Ourselves Amid the Decline of Mainline Churches

My Mark A. TaylorÂ If you think religion in America is claiming less loyalty than ever, the latest data released by the Pew Research Center will affirm your concern. At the same time, it offers a few morsels of encouragement for Evangelicals, who seem not to be losing as much ground as mainline Protestants and Catholics. America”s Changing Religious Landscape, based on more than 35,000 extensive phone interviews with adults in all 50 states, summarizes the situation this way: “The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any

June 9, 2014

Apologetics & Worldview Faith & Science

Science or Faith?

By Tim Stafford I”ve interviewed 11 scientists who, while disagreeing withÂ each other, share the conviction that a person can embrace both science and faith in God. These days, almost every young American believes he has a choice to make. He can choose faith or he can choose science, but he can”t choose both. It”s extremely hard to choose faith over science, though some do. After all, if you breathe the air around any academic institution, you imbibe the belief that all the good jobs involve math and science. Watch college commercials during bowl or tournament games. Don”t they always””always“”include a

September 14, 2013

City Growth, Church Growth?

By Darrel Rowland For decades Americans fled the city for suburbs, and their churches followed them. But the trend has reversed””at least for now””with more people moving into the city. Will churches return with them? That”s a key question because the statistics showing the new boom in city growth collide with findings on spiritual beliefs, such as those compiled by pollster George Barna. The country”s current demographic upheaval is stark. From 2001 to 2010 only five U.S. cities grew faster than their surrounding suburbs. Now most cities are outstripping the “burbs, which hasn”t happened since the 1920s. A U.S. Census

December 15, 2011