From the pages of

1
If were in the money
When asked by Ellison Research how would your
church spend an unexpected financial windfall? a
quarter of all SBC clergy and laity agreed their
top spending priority would be missions and
evangelism. However, they differ on how the funds
should be allocated. SBC clergy would like to see
focus placed on local outreach with 16 given to
local missions and evangelism and 6 each being
given to North American and international
outreach. SBC laity would like to see North
American outreach be the top priority allocating
11 to this category while giving 7 to local
outreach and 9 to international. Source Facts
Trends, May/June 2006
From the pages of
2
Faithful funds
Many people today are choosing investments that
line up with their religious convictions. A
recent poll conducted by the Mennonite Church
found that investors from many different
denominations would dump mutual funds or
individual company investments in favor of those
more aligned with their faith-based
values. Source Discipleship Journal,
January/February 2006
From the pages of
3
What makes a Mega Church?
The number of mega churches with weekly
attendance of 2,000 or more doubled over the past
five years. The nations mega churches, which now
number 1,210 (16 are Southern Baptist), draw
nearly 4.4 million people a week and collect more
than 7 billion a year in donations. The study
Mega Churches 2005 found that most mega churches
share the common traits of a dynamic senior
pastor, emphasis on conservative values and
building small groups to offset their size.
Source The Week, February 24, 2006, Associated
Press and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
February 15, 2006
65
From the pages of
4
Whos really there every time the doors are open?
A Gallup analysis reveals the percentage of
members who attended services weekly or almost
weekly, by denomination
From the pages of
5
!_at_
74 of Americans say they encounter profanity in
public either frequently or occasionally,
according to a recent AP poll. 66 say they
believe people swear more than they did 20 years
ago. So is cussing becoming acceptable? Not
likely. 74 of women and 60 of men are bothered
by hearing foul language. Source Associated
Press and Ipsos Poll and The Week, April 21, 2006
From the pages of