Church Builders Plus

Megachurch Economic Impact An analysis by The New York Times of the online public records of over 1,300 megachurches shows their business interests are as varied as basketball schools, aviation subsidiaries, investment partnerships and a limousine service. At least 10 own and operate shopping centers, and some are adding residential developments to their holdings. Some are becoming catalysts for local economic development, challenging a conventional view that churches drain a town financially by generating lower-paid jobs, taking land off tax rolls and increasing traffic. Although community outreach is almost always cited as the primary motive, these economic initiatives may also indicate megachurches are seeking sources of revenue beyond the collection plate to support their increasingly elaborate programs, suggests sociologist Mark Chaves. (NY Times 11/23/07)

Church Drop Outs 70% of young adults who attend a Protestant church for at least a year in high school will stop attending regularly for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22. (Facts & Trends 11-12/07)

No Religion In '01 almost 30 million people claimed 'no religion', double from '91. (American Religious Identification Survey)

Income Disparity In the U.S., 1% of the population makes more than $350,501 per year, while 0.01% earns more than $9.6 million. The 0.01% with the most income accounts for approximately 5.1% of all U.S. income. (Time 12/3/07)

Mega-Gifts ($1 million or more) most often go to colleges and universities. Religious organizations, services for the needy, and umbrella campaigns are the big losers, according to an Institute for Jewish & Community Research report. Higher education received 37% of gifts and 44% of dollars. For gifts of $10 million or more, higher ed receives 46% of gifts and 47% of dollars. Health and medical causes received 14% of gifts of $10 million or more. Religion and federated appeals received just 3%of gifts, and 2% of dollars. 55% of dollars came from private foundations, 28% from individuals, 8% from corporations, and 9% from community foundations, donor advised funds, anonymous gifts and miscellaneous sources. (ReligionNews.com 12/13/07)

Religion and Spirituality are an integral part of happiness for most American young people. 44% say religion and spirituality are either a very important or the single most important thing in their lives, with more than 1 in 10 reporting the latter. Those for whom religion and spirituality play a bigger role in life tend to be happier. 80% of those who say spirituality is the most important thing in life say they are happy with life in general, vs. 60% of those who say spirituality is not an important part of life. (MTV Research 8/20/07)

Top 10 Surnames Smith remains the most common surname in the U.S., according to recent analysis by the Census Bureau. For the first time, two Hispanic surnames - Garcia and Rodriguez - are among the top 10 most common in the nation, and Martinez nearly edged out Wilson for 10th place. (AOL News 11/17/07)

Eating Out Americans spend an average of $390 billion a year in restaurants vs. $364 billion in the grocery store. (Time 12/3/07)

Fast Facts:

28.7% of Evangelicals (vs. 20.5% of the overall U.S. population) prefer to have as few possessions as possible.
In the U.S. 74% of Evangelicals say they enjoy owning good-quality things.
23% of U.S. Evangelicals admit they often buy clothes they don't really need.
22% of U.S. Evangelicals say they tend to spend money without thinking.
77% of Evangelicals in the U.S. agree that financial security for retirement is an individual responsibility.
A residential move is the most frequent reason adults switch churches.
Today only 73% of luxury U.S. hotels provide a Bible compared with 99% of economy hotels.
69% of Americans believe the story of Jesus turning water into wine is literally true. (Barna 7/17/07)
68% believe Jesus fed 5,000 men using 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. (Barna 7/17/07)
64% of U.S. adults believe the flood, Noah and the ark full of numerous animals really happened. (Barna 7/17/07)
56% of adults believe the story of the devil as a serpent tempted Eve to sin by eating the forbidden fruit. (Barna 7/17/07)
49% of the population accepts the story of Samson and Delilah as completely accurate. (Barna 7/17/07)
73% of adults who attended worship services as a child say it has had a positive influence on their life.
55% of adults that no longer attend feel their childhood religious attendance gave them a good moral foundation; 48% say it gave them important religious knowledge; 35% believe it helped them grow spiritually; 34% feel it helped them prepare for life as an adult; 27% say it deepened their spiritual faith.
16% of born-again Christians believe in Darwin's theory of evolution.
If myspace.com were a country, it would be the eighth largest in the world.
The number of text messages sent daily exceeds the population of the planet.
The amount of technical information is doubling every 2 years. By 2010, it is expected to double every 72 hours.
4.7 million people get married each year in the U.S.
1.5 million people have a first child each year
2 million people buy their first home each year
1.9 million people get divorced in the U.S. each year
43 million people move each year in the U.S.
1.4 million people retire each year in the U.S.
A typical office uses about 350 pounds of wastepaper per employee per year.
Americans now owe a record $915 billion on their credit cards.
30% of homeless adults in the U.S. spent time in foster care.
1 in 3 youths who turn 18 and leave foster care resort to stealing, prostitution, or selling drugs; 1 in 4 spends time in jail or prison.
80% of couples that have a special needs child will divorce.

Information compiled and edited by Gary Foster, President of Gary D Foster Consulting, a firm that assists Christian ministries and product companies in solving management, marketing, donor/customer service and product development problems. Contact Gary at: 419.238.4082, GFosterCns@rmi.net or go to www.GaryDFoster.com