As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“While still the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States, from 2017 to 2018 PC(USA) saw their active membership decline by 62,375 people, going from approximately 1.41 million to approximately 1.35 million.” - Christian Post
“In the case of the OPC—a denomination of around 30,000 people—a single killer is one too many, but hardly a sign of widespread, anti-Semitic radicalization among our youth.” - Who’s to Blame When the Shooter Is One of Our Own?
“The ERLC announced … the theme of this fall’s event will be ‘Caring Well: Equipping the Church to Confront the Abuse Crisis.’ The conference — offered in partnership with the SBC Sexual Abuse Presidential Advisory Study.” - BPNews
“The San Diego synagogue, Chabad Poway, had no security guards – it couldn’t afford them. An off-duty border patrol agent was among the congregants, and there are reports he both tried to disarm the shooter and then chased after him outside of the synagogue.” - RNS
“Many people I have baptized were former Cultural Christians who could not answer these types of questions. In their frustration, they began to realize something really was dissonant. The Christian faith they claimed to have held had little to do with anything the Bible said, outside of trying to be a good neighbor.” - Challies
“Traditional Plan survives legal review, but could still set the UMC on path to division over gay marriage and clergy as Judicial Council also approves exit plan for dissenting churches.” - Christianity Today
“Mike chats with Mark Vroegop, lead pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis, about a variety of issues including pastoral ministry, worship, and lament.” - GARBC
“By 2040, Muslims will replace Jews as the nation’s second-largest religious group. And by 2050, the U.S. Muslim population is projected to reach 8.1 million and 2.1% of the nation’s total population—nearly twice the share of today.” - Facts & Trends
Our IFB church (which has a friendly atmosphere and solid, Biblical preaching and teaching) has a thriving K-12 Christian school near a town of about 300,000 people. We also have an inner city bus ministry that brings in kids (and teens) from poor areas of that town. We have separate youth groups for the Christian school teens and the inner city teens (so that activities and training can be more specifically geared to each group’s needs).
“This article compares church membership data for the 1998-2000 and 2016-2018 periods, using combined data from multiple years to facilitate subgroup analysis. On average, 69% of U.S. adults were members of a church in 1998-2000, compared with 52% in 2016-2018.” - Gallup
Discussion