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The Foster Letter —

Religious Market Update

The FOSTER Letter is a bi-weekly e-mail religious market intelligence report targeted to Christian market channel and ministry leaders.  Each issue reports on news, trends, events and research that will directly or indirectly impact your audiences and businesses in a convenient summary format  Better informed leaders make better choices!

Researched, Edited & Published by Gary D. Foster

Excerpts from the

May 10, 2010 edition of

The FOSTER Letter—Religious Market Update 

May 10, 2010 

Parents Divided Attention Many of today’s parents may not realize how their divided attention plays out with kids. Some studies suggest parents today do have more “face time” with their children than their counterparts decades ago, largely driven by increased time spent with fathers. But a growing number of researchers say that’s only part of the story. The technology that allows parents to spend more time at home (laptops, cell phones and mobile e-mail) is blurring the lines between work and personal life and distracting them from the “family time” kids crave. Studies that show parents who spend more time than ever with their kids today don’t necessarily capture what’s happening between them, says a Michigan State Univ. sociologist. “If you’re not connecting with Mom and Dad (even though you’re in the house with them), what difference does it make?” (USA Today 4/15/10)

More Spiritual than Religious Most young adults today don’t pray, don’t worship and don’t read the Bible, according to a LifeWay Research study of Millennials. In fact, 72% say they’re “really more spiritual than religious.” Disturbingly, 65% call themselves Christian. LifeWay’s Thom Rainer says, “Many are either mushy Christians or Christians in name only. Most are just indifferent. The more precisely you try to measure their Christianity, the fewer you find committed to the faith.” 65% rarely or never pray with others, and 38% almost never pray by themselves, either. 65% rarely or never attend worship services. 67% don’t read the Bible or sacred texts. Half say Jesus is the only path to heaven, and half say no. (USA Today 4/27/10) 

Should CEOs Blog? Forrester Research CEO George Colony predicts within 15 years, CEOs will need to know the ins and outs of new media, social network technologies and social communities before they get the job. There are risks to tweeting on Twitter. The platform with built-in location-based services can supply too much information about location and reveal data about the competitive makeup of the CEO’s job. Colony advises C-level executives to blog 4 to 8 times per year and tweet 12 to 24 times per year. This is not a race for followers but rather a way to stay connected.  (Online Media Daily 4/23/10) 

8 Seconds Until Deleted Your email has just 8 seconds to entice readers to open it. Answering your subscriber's three big questions can increase your email open rate. What are the big three questions? 1) What’s this email about? 2) Why should a subscriber care about it? 3) What should a subscriber do about it? (2Market from Advocace 4/27/10) 

An Informed Objective Opinion As a professional Christian market channel authority, my input in the early development and planning stages of new product or business/ministry strategy can spell the difference between mediocre and out-of-the park success. Contact me at 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com. 

Christian Publishers report increased sales of 1% for March over a year ago, plus an increase in net sales (Sales-Returns) of 8%. This is the first time the group has seen a positive change in net sales in over a year. (ECPA Rush to Press 4/26/10) 

Clergy Income Falling Behind The clergy’s place within the professional middle-class is becoming increasingly tenuous. Mean clergy income has remained relatively flat over the last 20 years, while others with graduate degrees, especially those in medicine and law, have seen their salaries rise. While the average mean salary for a married clergyman with a graduate degree was 11% higher in the ’90s than in the ’80s, salary needs rose 25% for all married males with graduate degrees. For married doctors and lawyers, income rose 37% and 30% respectively. In the ’90s, the average mean household income of married male clergy between 45 and 55 with a graduate degree was $54, 044. Doctors were earning $186,630, and lawyers $155.801. Clergy household earnings also lagged well behind those of teachers ($90,250). In the past decade, those with graduate-level degrees earned an average mean household income of $105,539—almost double that of married male clergy. (Pulpit & Pew) 

Smiling is one of the most powerful methods of conveying thoughts, moods, feelings and emotions. This begs the question: If smiling is so influential, why isn't it recognized as a fundamental value in every aspect of business and marketing? A smile is one of the best ways to make others feel accepted! Why wouldn’t any business mandate all of its employees to connect with stakeholders with a smile to fulfill this basic desire? Smiling exudes confidence, both within yourself and in the perception others have of you. Smiling even makes tasks look easy and enjoyable, suggesting mastery of your subject. Smiling counters feelings of anxiety and intimidation in others and instills a sense of calm. A genuine smile is detectible and instills trust. Smiling also makes you look more attractive. The essence of smiling should extend to every aspect of brand experience. Does your logo embody the spirit and effects of smiling? How about your marketing messages? How about the very product or service you offer customers or donors? Does it come with a smile? To be a great marketer and great brand, you must smile. I can help you make your brand smile.  Contact 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com.  (Online Spin 2/15/08) 

Ideal Job Among employed U.S. adults, 70% say the job they have is the “ideal” one for them. Even among those making less than $12,000 a year, 57% say their job is the ideal one for them. (Brandweek 4/5/10)

Lean Staffing 1 in 7 U.S. churches spends 35% or less of their total budget on staff costs, according to a new Leadership Network and Your Church magazine survey. Churches, on average, spend nearly half their budget on staffing. The total ’09 income of surveyed churches was roughly the same between lean staff churches and other churches that apportion a larger part (more than 35%) of the budget to staff costs. Both lean staff churches and other churches had budgets ranging from $75,000 to over $10 million. Churches with larger attendance numbers were more likely to spend less of the total budget on staff costs. While churches with 100 attenders spent half of their budget on staffing, churches with 6,000 or more apportioned around 42% of their budget to staff costs. Lean staff churches averaged 1 staff member per 86 attenders vs. 1 per 70 in other churches. Multi-site churches had the same staff-cost ratio as single-site churches. Churches with leaner staffing costs had a larger percentage of their budget directed toward “ministry beyond one’s own congregation,” such as missions and community outreach. Overall, churches with lean staff budgets do more with volunteers and lay leadership development, outsource certain staff jobs, tend to have poorer congregations and have extra income sources beyond donations from members. (Christian Post  4/8/10) 

Teen Birth Rates in the U.S. declined in ’08 after increasing in ’06 and ’07, according to the Centers for Disease Control. ’08 numbers show the rate declined by 2% among girls 15-19, with the largest decline occurring among 18- and 19-year-olds at 4%. Pew Research links the decline in all women of childbearing age to the recession. But Valerie Huber, executive director with the National Abstinence Education Assoc., credits the message of abstinence for the drop. (CitizenLink.com, Pew Research Center)  

Relational Media Twitter and Facebook are relational tools, not transactional tools. Contrary to what many think, social media rewards: 1) Generosity; 2) Others-centeredness; and 3) Helpfulness. It is a vehicle that appeals to people’s deep, God-given desire to connect. It works when there is trust. When it becomes just another form of spam (violating people’s trust), it fails to be effective. (MichaelHyatt.com 4/21/10) 

Spring Suicide Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal suicide rates actually increase during the spring months. Many can understand why people can feel down during cold, dark weather, but when spring arrives and new life begins to emerge, those who still don’t feel any better can be pushed to drastic measures. The new warmth and energy can also give some just enough motivation to act on a contemplated suicide plan. Spring can be a particularly difficult time for teens because they face midterms, SATs, proms, college acceptance letters, etc. (The Houston Chronicle 4/17/10) 

Are You Listening to every level of your organization? It’s easy to fall into the habit of listening to only those on your level in the organization. We may be headed for trouble when we think we know what “they” want or what “they” think. D.J. Kaufman said, “Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening … when you’d have preferred to talk.”  An operations audit by me can help insure you are listening to all levels in your organization. Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com or call 419-238-4082. (Mac Lake blog 5/3/10) 

Americans Claim Personal Relationship Barna Group research has discovered 67% of U.S. adults claim to have a “personal relationship” with Jesus that is currently active and that influences their life. Women (72%) were more likely than men (62%) to do so.  Protestants were more likely than Catholics to cite such a relationship (82% vs. 72%). People who describe themselves as mostly conservative on social and political matters were far more likely than those who see themselves as liberal on such issues to connect with Jesus (79% vs. 48%). One highly disturbing finding is that the younger a person is, the less likely they are to claim an active and influential bond with Jesus. Here is how the generations responded: 72% of adults 65 or older, 70% of Boomers, 65% of Busters and only 52% of Mosaics have such a relationship in place. (Barna Update 4/26/10)

English Proficient 62% of Mexicans over the age of 5 living in the U.S. speak English “proficiently” while having a median age of 11 years younger than the country at large, reports the Pew Hispanic Center. “Proficiently” means speaking English solely at home or doing so “very well.” The median age for Mexicans in the U.S. is 25 vs. 36 for the full U.S. population. The 31 million Mexicans also have a lower median age than for all U.S. Hispanic residents. The median income for Mexicans 16 or older in ’08 was just above $20,000, slightly below the full Hispanic population. With 19 million Mexicans who are conversant in English, marketers have some options in addition to Spanish-language media. Still, more than 60% of all U.S. Hispanics don’t view themselves as “proficient” in English. (Media Daily News 4/23/10) 

Dumbed Down A new LifeWay Research study of 18-29-year-olds reveals a steady drift away from church life. Even among those in the survey who “believe they will go to heaven because they have accepted Jesus Christ as savior,” 68% did not mention faith, religion or spirituality when asked what was “really important in life.” 50% do not attend church at least weekly. 36% rarely or never read the Bible. Just 40% say they have a responsibility to share the Gospel. (USA Today 4/27/10) 

e-Profiles The percentage of Americans age 12 and older who have a profile on one or more social networking Web sites has reached 48% of the population in ’10, double the level from ’08. (Center for Media Research Brief 4/23/10) 

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