GCI in the United States is a member of Mission America, a coalition of Christian leaders who come together to mobilize the Church for praying, caring and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in deed and word. Here are excerpts from a recent Mission America Update newsletter.
T-Shirt Evangelism
According to Christian apparel company Kerusso, a graphic T-shirt will be read as many as 3,000 times. A survey of Christian T-shirt wearers revealed 98% wear them to share their faith, and nearly half say they’ve been able to share Christ with an unbeliever because of a shirt’s message. One in 14 reports having helped an unbeliever come to know Christ after having a conversation that began because they wore a Christian T-shirt. (Change Your Shirt Change Your World by Vic Kennet, Kerusso 2012)
American Christian Women
American Christian women assign positive attributes to their spiritual lives. 73% say their faith is characterized by joy. 72% experience a lot of spiritual freedom in their faith, and 67% feel a lot of fulfillment in terms of their spiritual life. Only 3% of women claim to feel “a lot” of fear, doubt, or confusion in their faith. When asked what they struggle with, women most often point to disorganization (50%) and inefficiency (42%). Just 8% admit to lust, 13% to feeling envious often or sometimes, 36% to feeling anger, 25% struggle with selfishness, 19% are prone to excessive arguing, and 16% say they can be arrogant. 29% say losing someone they loved was the hardest thing they have faced. 20% say their family or children have caused the most hurt in their life, and 9% rank a divorce or a bad marriage as their biggest disappointment in life. (Barna Group 8/21/12)
Economy Affecting Churches
56% of pastors in a recent LifeWay Research study report that the economy is impacting their churches somewhat negatively while 8% say it is very negative, 25% of the pastors surveyed report no impact, and 9% report a positive impact on their churches. However, fewer churches reported declines in giving; 23% had lower giving in 2010 than 2009 while 19% had lower giving in 2011 than in 2010. Through 5/12 giving for 15% of churches has been below 2011. Similarly, fewer churches are failing to meet budget expectations. Through 5/11, giving for 27% was below budget. At the same time in 2012, only 22% reported giving below budget—a 5% improvement from the prior year. Through 5/11, 36% saw giving the same vs. the previous year compared with 40% through 5/12/2012. A larger percentage of pastors serving in large cities and the suburbs (72% in both areas) cited a negative impact on their church from the economy in 2012 than those serving in small cities (63%) and rural areas (61%). (Charisma News 8/27/12)
Why People Share on Social Networking Sites
People of all generations use social media to stay connected with people. Social networks are an extension of consumers’ lives. The second most common reason Millennials share on social networks is to show others what matters to them—the things going on in their lives. Two in five Millennials list it as one of the top three reasons they share on social networks, compared to one in four Baby Boomers or Gen-Xers. (Engage Gen-Y 8/3/12)
