With this issue, LEADERSHIP introduces this new column, a companion to "To Illustrate . . ." For seven years, readers have turned to "To Illustrate . . ." for stories and illustrations that communicate with impact, and they've given it high marks for its usefulness in their preaching.

However, increasingly, church leaders recognize the need for an additional persuasive tool: accurate, forceful statistics. Statistics that take the pulse of society, that support or dispel assumptions, that clarify what's happening around us.

For each "To Verify . . ." column, the editors will select current statistics of greatest value to pastors, teachers, and other Christian communicators.

Fast Facts

Percentage of Americans earning less than $15,000 a year who say they have achieved the American Dream: 5

Percentage earning more than $50,000 a year who say this: 6

Percentage of American children living with just one parent, in 1960: 10

Percentage now: 24

Current total of U.S. AIDS patients: 63,726

Estimated number ...