News

Go Figure

Recent stats on health, giving, and church life.

Health

62%: Adults ages 45 to 84 who attend religious services or other organized religious activities weekly are more likely to be obese than those who never participate. (Another study found a 46% greater risk of obesity.)

Source: TheArda.com

Giving

Donations to missions groups

Change between 2008 and 2009

International: 5.8%

Domestic: -2.7%

Short- term: -4.3%

Change between 2009 and 2010

International: -1.9%

Domestic: -1.7%

Short-term: 13.4%

Source: ECFA State of Giving

Church Life

8% Evangelical churches that have non-English or bilingual worship services.

Evangelical churches that say they want to be racially and culturally diverse:

2% Strongly disagree

6% Disagree

30% Strongly agree

23% Neutral

39% Agree

Source: Faith Communities Today (2010)

Copyright © 2012 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

See our past “Go Figure” postings from 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.

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 Cure for Election Madness

Amy E. Black

Calling All Callings: Amy Sherman on ‘Kingdom Calling’

Interview by Morgan Feddes

News

A Crackdown on International Adoptions

Matthew D. LaPlante in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Review

Strength in Weakness: The Bible, Disability, and the Church

News

Europe's Top Courts Are on a Pro-Life Roll

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

A Pro-Life Plea This Election Season

Jesus and the Goodness of Everything Human

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen

How Bethany Hoang Was Wired for Justice

Mark Moring

Is Cage Fighting Ethical for Christians?

Joe Carter, Ted Kluck, and Matt Morin

Excerpt

J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom on God's Will

J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom

Review

Girl Meets Grace: Lauren Winner's New Reflection on Her Divorce and Desolation

News

Discipling the Dragon: Christian Publishing Finds Success in China

John W. Kennedy

News

Will Immigration Slowdown Prompt a Bilingual Ministry Bust?

Wilson's Bookmarks

John Wilson

How the Physical Form of a Bible Shapes Us

News

Counterterrorism Laws Hamper Humanitarian Aid

Ruth Moon

Editorial

Thou Shalt Not Abuse: Reconsidering Spanking

A Christianity Today Editorial

Blessed Are the Jobless: How Ministries Aid the Unemployed

Elissa Cooper

Six Indie Films You Won't Want to Miss

Kenneth R. Morefield

Readers Write

News

Passages

Natural Length Reading: Christianity Today Launches eBooks

News

Quotation Marks

News

Corporation Switches to Adult Stem-Cell Therapy, Copeland Loses Suit, and More

My Top 5 Books on Christians in Politics

Stephen Mansfield

Commander and Chaplain: The Faith of Presidents

News

Has the Same-Sex Marriage Debate Helped Pro-Life Advocacy?

Compiled by Ruth Moon

Don't Worry, Read Happy: Alan Jacobs on The Pleasures of Reading

Interview by John Wilson

2012 Christianity Today Book Awards

News

Top 10 News Stories of 2011

The Annual Book and Music Awards

Matt Reynolds, CT associate editor

News

As USCIRF Faces Possible Closure, Funding Divides Religious Freedom Experts

Bobby Ross Jr.

View issue

Our Latest

The Bulletin

Midwest Primaries, Taiwan’s Ukraine Lessons, and Abortion Pill Case

Clarissa Moll, Russell Moore

Indiana and Ohio hold primaries, Trump travels to Beijing, and the Supreme Court considers the abortion pill.

News

Sudan’s Civil War Destroyed Hospitals and Churches

Emmanuel Nwachukwu in Khartoum

Local doctors and Christians are trying to rebuild lives in the capital city.

Review

Are Near-Death Experiences Evidence for Heaven?

Three theology books on the afterlife.

Thrifting to the Glory of God

Ann Byle

Shopping secondhand and donating our own items echoes Jesus’ renewal of discarded lives.

‘No-Kids Zones’ Abound in South Korea. But Kids Aren’t Pests.

Ahrum Yoo

In a country with one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, children are seen as a nuisance. But they are a blessing that can pierce the idols of efficiency.

Review

The Lies—and Truths—That Keep Some Black People Out of Church

A California pastor’s book confronts the painful parts of Christian history but points to the healing power of the gospel.

News

Iran Tensions Threaten Kenya’s Largest Export Industry: Tea

Moses Wasamu

Christian farmers struggle to avoid bankruptcy.

Q&A: Douglas McKelvey on Gen Z’s Lack of Rites of Passage

The Rabbit Room’s newest prayer book urges readers to join God’s mission in young adulthood.

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