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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Related Elsewhere:

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

The Bulletin

Young Republican Texts, Anglican Split, and George Santos Released

Controversial Republican texts, Anglican Communion splits, and George Santos’s sentence is commuted.

Review

Do Evangelical Political Errors Rise to the Level of Heresy?

A Lutheran pastor identifies five false teachings that threaten to corrupt the church’s public witness.

Highlights and Lowlights of 1957

In its first full year of publication, CT looked at Civil Rights, Cold War satellites, artificial insemination, and carefully planned evangelism.

News

Will There Be a Christian Super Bowl Halftime Show?

Conservatives suggest country and Christian artist alternatives for game day.

News

As Madagascar’s Government Topples, Pastors Call for Peace

Gen Z–led protests on the African island nation led to a military takeover.

News

Amid Fragile Cease-Fire, Limited Aid Reaches Gazans

Locals see the price of flour rise and fall as truce is strained and some borders remain closed.

News

Federal Job Cuts Hit Home as Virginia Picks Its Next Governor

Meanwhile, the GOP candidate draws from Trump’s playbook to focus on transgender issues in schools. 

Religious OCD and Me

Scrupulosity latches onto the thing we hold most dear—our relationship with God.

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