News

Go Figure

Recent stats on church life, the Bible, and spirituality.

Church Life

272 Messianic congregations in the United States, not counting small house-church fellowships.

150 Messianic congregations in 2003.

Source: ChristianSourceLists.com

Bible

68% Americans who can identify that the 3 in John 3:16 refers to the third chapter of John.

103,923 Wikipedia searches for John 3:16 the day after Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow threw for 316 yards in a playoff game.

18,327 Wikipedia searches for John 3:16 the day after Focus on the Family aired a John 3:16—focused ad during the next Broncos game.

Source: David Kinnaman, Barna Research

Spirituality

66% Churchgoing Americans who say they have “felt a real and personal connection with God” there.

44% Weekly churchgoers who say they feel that connection weekly.

18% Weekly churchgoerswho say they feel that connection monthly.

Source: Barna Research

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See our past “Go Figure” postings from February 2012, January 2012, December 2011, November 2011, October 2011, September 2011, August 2011, July 2011, June 2011, May 2011, April 2011, February 2011, January 2011, December 2010, and earlier issues.

See CT’s news section and liveblog for more news updates.

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.

Cover Story

The Missing Factor in Higher Education

Vicarious Humanity: By His Birth We Are Healed

Wilson's Bookmarks

Review

Could God Have Created a World Without Suffering?

Michael Patton Brews a Potent Theology

My Top 5 Books On Archaeology

Review

The Heart of Christian Life: Pillars of Hospitality

Are Secular Television Shows with Moral Messages Good for Christian Children?

Why Are Our Communion Meals So Paltry?

Interview: Julie Lee

The 'Above All' Commandment of the Sabbath

Family as Calling: Finding Vocation In and Near the Home

News

Evangelical Foundations See Surge in Donations

Editorial

The Supreme Court's Religious Freedom Reality Check

The Evangelistic Question That Died

News

Persecution in VBS Materials: How Much Information is Too Much for Children?

News

Tsunami Aftermath: Second Chances in Japan

Excerpt

Your Church Is Too Safe

Sailing into the Storm: Philip Ryken and D. Michael Lindsay on the Challenges in Christian Higher Education

News

Presbyterians Form a New Denomination, Court Upholds Ultrasound Law, and More

Letters to the Editor

News

City Shuts Down Church Club

Learning Life Lessons from Russian Babushkas

Little Colleges That Could

GCB: Desperate Christian Housewives

News

Quotation Marks

News

Is Mercury Pollution's Effect on Newborns a Pro-Life Issue?

Review

Out of the Darkness of Porn

More Media

Books to Note

Two Minutes With ... Julie Lee

Folkie Finds Love

Online Poll

News

Passages

Why Last Saturday's Political Conclave of Evangelical Leaders Was Dangerous

View issue

Our Latest

Review

Needing Help Is Normal

Leah Libresco Sargeant’s doggedly pro-life feminist manifesto argues that dependence is inevitable.

Review

Don’t Give Dan Brown the Final Word on the Council of Nicaea

Bryan Litfin rescues popular audiences from common myths about the origins of Trinitarian doctrine.

News

Died: John Huffman, Pastor Who Told Richard Nixon to Confess

The Presbyterian minister and CT board member committed to serve the Lord and “let the chips fall where they may.”

The Pastor Who Rescues People from Japan’s ‘Suicide Cliff’

Yoichi Fujiyabu has spent three decades sharing God’s love to people who want to end their lives.

An Ode to the Long Season

Why fans love a game designed to break their hearts.

Is This Heaven? No, It’s Banana Ball

What baseball’s most amusing team gets right about joy in sports.

News

A Sudden Death: Voddie Baucham, Who Warned the Church of Fault Lines

Known for confronting critical theory, moral relativism, and secular ideologies, Baucham died a month into leading a new seminary in Florida.

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