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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

October 25, 2008 edition of

The FOSTER Letter—Religious Market Update

Mini-Denominations “Megachurches are creating around them structures and especially functions that once were done by the denominations. They are creating alternative ways for churches and for religious people to get resources to do ministry, to do missions, to connect with other churches,” says Scott Thumma, author of Beyond Megachurch Myths and Hartford Seminary professor. (Christian Post 9/13/08) 

NPO Burnout More than 45% of young nonprofit professionals recently surveyed predicted their next job would not be with a charity. The respondents cited burnout and low pay as the main reasons they would leave. The survey also found charities are doing little to prepare younger staff to assume leadership roles. More than 70% of the more than 1,650 young workers surveyed don’t ever expect to serve as chief executive at a charity. (Nonprofit Times 9/8/08) 

Outside Point-of-View Does it seem like something is wrong, but you’re not quite sure what? Let me help you pinpoint problems and needed changes through a custom-tailored management or operations audit. Contact 419-238-4082, gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com. 

Outreach 100 For the first time since Outreach magazine has compiled its annual report of the largest churches in America, all 100 churches (103 this year) had weekend attendance of 7,000 or higher. Topping the 5th annual list again was Lakewood Church in Houston with 43,500 people, followed by Second Baptist Church in the same city with 23,659, and then North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA., with 22,557. Overall, the combined attendance of all 103 churches was 1,128,451, which is an increase of 111,527 people from ’07. Some well-known churches showed a drop in attendance over the last year. Lakewood (Pastor Joel Osteen) saw a dip from 47,000 in ’07. Willow Creek Community Church (Pastor Bill Hybels) experienced a drop from 23,500 people to 22,500, placing them at #4 this year. Also, Saddleback Church (Pastor Rick Warren) fell from 22,000 weekend attendants to 19,414, dropping them from #4 in ’07 to #8 in ’08. (The Outreach 100, ’08)  

 “People Like TV,” says telecom analyst Chris King. “And as Americans, we would rather cut off our arms than cut off our TV service.” If people are forced to trim spending, they will give up premium cable TV services such as HBO, but they don’t want to give TV up entirely, even if the economy is going down the tubes. Some Wall Street analysts say people may be less-willing to sacrifice it in a recession. (Wired Blog Network 9/16/08) 

A Moral Positive One of the biggest shifts in Web use over the past decade is the fall of interest in pornography. Searching for porn has dropped to about 10% of searches, from 20% in ’98, as social networking traffic has increased. (Online Media 9/17/08)

 

Security Checks 60% of churches pastored by Baby Boomers (ages 43 to 61) more frequently conduct security checks for children’s ministry workers, compared with 52% among pastors 42 or under and 55% among those 62 or older. (Barna Update 11/6/07) 

Christian Retail The #1 way people become aware of a particular book is seeing it in a store, according to recent Bowker research. “Active” Christians spend more than 66% more on Christian books than do “Professing,” “Private,” “Liturgical” and “Cultural” Christians combined. Also, Active Christians buy 63% of their books on impulse, and they also buy more of their books at Christian retail stores than any other retail outlet. When Christians-in-general shop Christian retail, their average spend is 42% higher than their spend on Christian books in big-box or online, and it’s 103% more than when they shop mass merchandisers. (Bill Anderson, CBA Retailer’s +Resources 9/08) 

Game Kids According to a new Pew Internet & American Life Project survey 97% of U.S. teens (12-17) play video games; that’s 99% of boys and 94% of girls. 7% don’t even have a computer at home, but they do have a game console, such as PlayStation, Xbox or Wii. Half play daily, and 80% play 5 or more different game genres, with racing, puzzles, sports and action the most common. About a third of parents (mostly those under 40) play video games with their children some or all of the time. (USA Today 9/17/08) 

Google is scanning microfilm from newspaper archives to make them searchable online, first through Google News and eventually on the papers’ own Web sites. But many newspaper publishers view search engines like Google as threats to their business. Many also see their archives as a potential source of revenue, and it is not clear if they will willingly hand them over to Google. (NY Times 9/9/08) 

Boomer Women (55 and older) are more than twice as likely as the average consumer to use “green” or eco-friendly products, followed by men 65-to-69 who are more than 1.7 times as likely to buy and use green products as the average American. Conversely, men and women ages 25 to 34 are the least likely. (Media Daily News 9/9/08) 

Doctrinal Dilemma While evangelicals are over 50% more likely to give “ideal” answers to the questions about what churchgoers believe on 12 historical doctrines, 1 out of 3 of their responses differ from what Protestants historically have believed. According to a LifeWay survey, only 54% of churchgoers have what B&H Publishing Group President Brad Waggoner considers a “high view” of Scripture. Another 18% somewhat agree the Bible “is the written Word of God and is totally accurate in all that it teaches.” 58% strongly agree “eternal salvation is possible through God’s grace alone; nothing we can do can earn salvation.” Waggoner observes, “The fact that so few regular churchgoers have an accurate biblical understanding and conviction about salvation says we are a long way from where we need to be. We diminish our emphasis on doctrinal truth to our own harm. We are like the captain who is unconcerned about the leak in his ship. While it may not seem like a big deal at the time, eventually it will sink the ship.” The study also showed a majority of Protestant churchgoers believe a person can find eternal life in religions other than Christianity. 1 in 3 churchgoers disagree strongly with this, while another 8% somewhat disagree. Close to a third of churchgoers cannot strongly affirm the Trinity or the resurrection. (The Shape of Faith to Come, Brad J. Waggoner, B&H Publishing Group 2008) 

Family A team of researchers from Child Trends, a nonpartisan research center, reported that “family structure clearly matters for children, and the family structure that helps children the most is a family headed by two biological parents in a low-conflict marriage.” (LA Times 9/19/08)

 Men are significantly more likely to claim no religious affiliation than are women; nearly 1 in 5 men have no formal religious affiliation, almost 7 percentage points more than women. Men are also twice as likely to say they are atheist or agnostic as compared with women (5.5% vs. 2.6%). Women are more likely to be affiliated with nearly every major Christian group; nearly 54% of women are Protestant, for instance, vs. 49% of men. But men are slightly more likely than women to associate with other religious traditions, including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. (Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life 9/08)

 Advertising isn’t working as it did a few years ago. TV, radio and newspapers all bemoan the decline in ad results. “Wizard of Ads” Roy Williams claims he’s discovered and proved that (a) Internet surfing has trained us to disregard empty words, and (b) Relevance has become more important than repetition. The audience is still there; what’s gone is their willingness to pay attention to drivel. He says to make your advertising work like it should, you’re going to have to: (1) Talk about things your customer actually cares about. (2) Write your ads in a style that rings true. (3) Avoid heroic chest-thumping. “We are the number one…” is now considered gauche and passé. (4) Close the loopholes in your ads. Offer evidence to support what you say. (5) Be specific. Details are more believable than generalities. (6) Deliver a real message. Substance is more important than style. Creativity and repetition can no longer cover up for an ad that actually says nothing. You’ve got to have a message that matters. For an analysis of your ads, contact 419-238-4082, gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com. (Monday Morning Memo, Wizard of Ads 3/5/07) 

Teen Depression Research recently appearing in the Journal of Health Economics finds sexually active young girls often experience feelings of guilt, low self-esteem, regret and shame, and they are far more likely to suffer from depression than those who remain chaste. Sexually active teen girls have more than double the rate of depression of those who are not sexually active–19% vs. 9.2%. The study concludes, “sexually active female adolescents are at increased risk of exhibiting the symptoms of depression relative to their counterparts who are not sexually active.”  (LifeSite News 8/23/08)  

Ad Budgets 53% of major marketers expect their ad budgets will be reduced within the next 6 months because of the spiraling economy. And 87% say they have already made cutbacks in their marketing and ad plans. An Association of National Advertisers poll also finds while 53% of marketers expect additional cuts to be modest (1% to 10%), 27% expect cutbacks to be more substantial (11% to 20%). About 10% are expecting that their budgets will be gutted, decreasing 30% or more. 69% expect to reduce media budgets, 63% ad production budgets, 63% travel and expense, and 61% will either drop or delay new projects. And 63% also plan to put more pressure on their ad agencies to identify cost reductions.  (Marketing Daily 8/22/08) 

Miracles Baylor religion researchers report nearly half of Americans have had at least 2 supernatural encounters. Among the most common religious and mystical experiences reported by Americans include protection from harm by a guardian angel (55%); calling by God to do something (44%); witnessing a miraculous, physical healing (23%); and hearing the voice of God (20%).  (What Americans Really Believe  by Rodney Stark, Baylor University Press, 2008) 

DaySpring Cards has started a new direct sales business called Blessings Unlimited that offers gifts, home décor products, greeting cards, items for quiet times with the Lord and many other products for sale direct to consumers through independent consultants. To learn more, visit http://www.blessingsdirect.com/ourproducts.html. This is a Christian product company willing to risk entering a new market channel. All new endeavors involve risk. Let me help you assess the risks in any new direction you will pursue. Contact me at 419-238-4082, gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com. (Foster Network 3/28/07) 

Gideons International celebrated the 100th anniversary of their first Bible placement on 10/4/08. It all started in 1908 in Louisville, KY., when a Gideon trustee proposed they furnish a Bible for each hotel bedroom in the U.S. Gideons International is now in more than 180 countries worldwide and has given away 1.3 billion Bibles, enough Bibles to reach almost 1 in 5 people on the earth. (christianpost.com) 

Financially Burdened The U.S. Census Bureau finds 15% of American homeowners with a mortgage spent half or more of their income on housing in ’07. That’s more than 7.5 million people vs. 7.1 million in ’06. Most lenders consider a homeowner spending 30% or more on housing costs to be financially burdened; this definition now covers almost 38% of U.S. homeowners (19 million) with a mortgage. The slightest financial problem, from a lost job to higher gas prices and insurance premiums, can put a family in a precarious position of behind on their mortgages and into the realm of foreclosure. (AP 9-23-08)

Foster Letter---Religious Market Update, E-mail us at: subscribe@garydfoster.com