Like most U.S. pastors, Robby Gallaty knows someone who has been affected by opioid abuse. But unlike most pastors, he has personally suffered with addiction. Twenty years ago, Gallaty endured a near-fatal car accident. When he left the hospital, the club-bouncer-turned-church-leader took with him several prescriptions for painkillers. “My descent into full-scale drug abuse was […]
Small, struggling congregations fill U.S. church landscape
In many congregations in the United States, new faces in the pews have become rare. A new study from Exponential by LifeWay Research found 6 in 10 Protestant churches are plateaued or declining in attendance, and more than half saw fewer than 10 people become new Christians in the past 12 months. “Growth is not […]
Study confirms: Majority of college students drop out of church
Church pews may be full of teenagers, but a new study says college students might be a much rarer sight on Sunday mornings. Two-thirds (66 percent) of American young adults who attended a Protestant church regularly for at least a year as a teenager say they also dropped out for at least a year between […]
Pew: Christian women more devout than Christian men
Pew Research has found a significant gender gap concerning religious beliefs and practice among self-identified Christian men and women in America. More than 7 in 10 U.S. Christian women (72 percent) say religion is very important to them, compared to 62 percent of Christian men. The gap is larger in the United States than in […]
‘March Mildness?’ Americans share views on sports
Thanks to wild buzzer beaters and unbelievable upsets, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament has become known as March Madness. For most Americans, however, their attitude toward sports is more mild than mad. A study released from LifeWay Research today (March 14) found 52 percent of Americans describe their philosophy of sports by saying, “It’s not […]
Billy Graham statue finds new home at Ridgecrest
A larger-than-life statue of evangelist Billy Graham has been installed at its new location at Ridgecrest Conference Center in the North Carolina mountains. The sale of LifeWay Christian Resources’ 14-acre downtown Nashville campus prompted the move from middle Tennessee to LifeWay’s conference center near Asheville, N.C. The statue was removed from LifeWay earlier this summer […]
Study: Thankfulness still priority at Thanksgiving
For Americans, Thanksgiving is about faith and family, and not much else, a new study shows. More than half (56 percent) tell LifeWay Research the most important part of the annual holiday is “being thankful to God for my blessings.” Nearly 4 in 10 (39 percent) say “time with family and friends” tops their Thanksgiving […]
LifeWay Research: Views on divorce divide Americans
Pastors believe not all divorces are created equal, but for many Americans any reason is as good as another according to new research from Nashville-based LifeWay Research. “Pastors make a distinction about the rightness of a divorce based on the reasons behind it,” says Scott McConnell, LifeWay Research vice president. “They want to account for […]
More churches using background checks
An estimated 1-in-5 background checks processed through LifeWay Christian Resources’ program with backgroundchecks.com reveals a conviction of a felony or other serious offense. This may be part of the reason why a growing number of churches use background checks as a way to better protect children and others involved in ministry. After a six-year partnership […]
True Love Waits relaunched, refocused with True Love Project
In July 1994, more than 21O,OOO cards from teenagers pledging to remain sexually pure were displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In the years that followed, the True Love Waits movement witnessed millions of young people in the U.S. and around the world commit their sexual purity to God. In addition, many who […]