News

Go Figure

Stats on the Last Supper’s growth, how much megachurches spend on short-term missions, and more.

Media

0.8%

Total news coverage in 2009 devoted to religion, down from 1% in 2008.

1.1%

Total news coverage in 2009 devoted to the death of Michael Jackson.

Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism

Church Life

American congregations who say they can’t find enough people to serve on committees and taskforces, by number of committees and taskforces they have:

17%: Three or less

10%: 4-9

7%: 10 or more

Faith Communities Today

Evangelism

According to a survey of 74 ministries, receptivity to the gospel—on a five-point scale—among first-generation immigrants from

4.2: Ecuador and Guatemala

4.1: Liberia

2.3: Japan

2.2: Iraq and Iran

North American Mission Board/LifeWay Research

Theology

71%

Americans who believe that “when good or bad things happen, they are simply part of God’s plan for me.”

32%

Americans who agree that “there is no sense planning a lot—ultimately my fate is in God’s hands.”

LiveScience/

Sociology of Religion

Art

69%

Growth in the size of the main courses depicted in the paintings of the Last Supper between the years 1000 and 2000.

23%

Growth in the size of the bread.

International Journal of Obesity

Church Life

84.9%

Megachurches that have at least one church-to-church partnership with a non-U.S. congregation.

30.4%

Megachurches that have more than five such partnerships.

International Bulletin of Missionary Research

Missions

32%

Amount of megachurch spending directed abroad that goes to short-term missions trips.

3.7%

Megachurch attendees on a given weekend in 2007 who went abroad on a short-term missions trip that year.

International Bulletin of Missionary Research

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Related Elsewhere:

See our earlier Go Figure postings from April 2010, March 2010, February 2010, January 2010, December 2009, November 2009, October 2009, September 2009, August 2009, July 2009, June 2009, May 2009, April 2009, March 2009, February 2009, and earlier issues.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Our Latest

The Bulletin

Pete Hegseth’s Future, Farmers on Tariffs, and Religious Decline Stalls

Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll

Hegseth scrutinized for drug boat strikes, farmers react to Trump’s tariffs, and a Pew report says religious decline has slowed.

The Debate over Government Overreach Started in 1776

Three books to read this month on politics and public life.

The Call to Art, Africa, and Politics

In 1964, CT urged Christians to “be what they really are—new men and women in Christ.”

Turn Toward Each Other and Away from the Screen

Perhaps technology has changed everything. But God is still here, still wiring humans for connection and presence.

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

BONUS: Amanda Knox on the Satanic Panic and Wrongful Convictions

How elements of the satanic panic and conspiratorial thinking shaped a wrongful conviction.

Death by a Thousand Error Messages

Classroom tech was supposed to solve besetting education problems. The reality is frustrating for students and costly for taxpayers.

The Chinese Christian Behind 2,000 Hymns

X. Yang

Lü Xiaomin never received formal music training. But her worship songs have made her a household name in China’s churches.

The Surprising Joys of a Gift-Free Christmas

Ahrum Yoo

Amid peak consumerism season, I prayed for ways to teach my children about selfless giving.

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