Here’s a study that shows, if you attend church in Australia you are far more likely to be university educated. So which is the chicken and which is the egg?
Category Archives: Research
Jesus number one in Oz
27 November, 2009 – 10:37 PM
New research reveals that a majority of Australians (54%) rank Jesus as the number one most influential person in history. Albert Einstein came in at second place (16%). 83% responded that Jesus was a real figure from history. Of these believers 43% believed Jesus had miraculous powers and he was the Son of God. 2 [...]
Pentecostal power
17 November, 2009 – 5:56 AM
What is remarkable about this new strain of Pentecostalism is the heroic intensity of the ministries, which have not yet evolved into tired bureaucracies. The founders of these programs are driven by a sense of calling, a feeling of thankfulness for how God has intervened in their personal lives, and they are constantly reinventing their [...]
God’s option for the poor
14 November, 2009 – 7:11 AM
Researchers Donald Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori went looking for fast growing churches in the developing world addressing social needs in their community. The churches had to be led and funded indigenously. No foreign money or leadership. Is it any surprise that 85% of the churches that fitted the criteria were Pentecostal or charismatic? Their conclusion [...]
The Reformation of Machismo
28 April, 2009 – 3:59 PM
The conventional wisdom is that Christianity reinforces the oppression of women. Elizabeth Brusco, a feminist Marxist scholar conducted fieldwork in Columbia from 1982-1983, and found that pentecostal conversion transformed traditional gender relations by giving women a moral authority in the home to challenge their husbands’ drinking, gambling, or adultery. She wrote up her findings in [...]
British churches grow smaller and larger
23 April, 2009 – 12:21 AM
Peter Brierley reports on trends in the size of British churches. Here are a few of the findings. The average size of a church has dropped from 123 people in 1989 to 84 people in 2005. Take out Roman Catholic churches and the average size for Protestant churches has dropped from 87 in 1989 to [...]
Why Muslims choose to follow Jesus
20 June, 2008 – 6:11 AM
foto A recent survey of 750 Muslim background believers revealed five common reasons why they chose to follow Christ. The lifestyle of Christians. Former Muslims cited the love that Christians exhibited in their relationships with non-Christians and their treatment of women as equals. The power of God in answered prayers and healing. According to the [...]
How to attract young foreign men
19 May, 2008 – 8:48 AM
Turned up this interesting finding from the Australian National Church Life Survey (NCLS). Church plants are more likely to attract three groups: young people, males and overseas immigrants. All three groups are under represented in established churches. “Young” of course is anyone under 50. After that you’re “mature”. Church PlantingNCLSTrends
How to become a multiplying church
15 May, 2008 – 1:30 PM
Do you want to become a multiplying church? Don’t copy what the top 25 multiplying churches DO. Copy what they VALUE. Reaching unchurched people. They are driven by a belief that God has sent them as a missionary to their community, state and world. Staff and membership involvement. Both staff and members invest in new [...]
A few thoughts on multiplying churches
14 May, 2008 – 6:30 AM
Following up on the list of top 25 multiplying churches in the US, here a few observations. . . It helps if you’re not too old Older churches (pre-1970) did poorly when it came to multiplying. Only one multiplying church in the top 25 was started in the 1920s. Two each from the 50s and [...]
