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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

September 25, 2011 edition of

The FOSTER Letter—Religious Market Update

Future Growth Is International Technically the recession has been over for 2 years, but a new Bain & Co. survey of business managers indicates there is still considerable concern worldwide about the near-term economic outlook and its impact on consumers. 60% of respondents representing major firms ($2 billion+ in annual revenues) believe consumer spending patterns won’t bounce back to pre-recession levels for at least another 3 years. Almost two-thirds said growth is a key priority and that they are planning to put greater focus on growing revenues over the next 3 years. And almost half see growth coming from foreign markets, as they believe international revenue growth will outpace domestic revenue growth between now and 2015. 80% still believe innovation is more important than cost reduction for long-term success. (Media Daily News 8/19/11) 

One-Person One-Religion Americans have drifted from clearly defined religious denominations to faiths fitting their personal preferences. America is a designer society. We want everything customized to our personal needs — our clothing, our food, our education, and now our religion, claims researcher George Barna. Barna laments, “People say, ‘I believe in God. I believe the Bible is a good book. And then I believe whatever I want.’” A LifeWay Research study of Protestant pastors finds 62% predict the importance of being identified with a denomination will diminish over the next 10 years. Sociologist Robert Bellah, professor emeritus at Univ. of California Berkeley, says, “You lose the capacity to make connections. Everyone is pretty much on their own.” (USA Today 9/14/11) 

Chinese Retail Sales in 7/11 rose 17.2% to CNY 1.4 trillion (approx. USD 222 billion) from a year earlier. Urban retail sales increased 17.3% year-on-year to CNY 1.25 trillion, while rural retail sales climbed 16.4% to only CNY 191.9 billion. (National Bureau of Statistics 8/11)  

Global Retail Growth Between ’01 and ’10, retail sales in developing markets went from 35% of the global total to 42%, with per capita growth of nearly 100%, from USD 2,009 to USD 3,847. (AT Kearney 6/11)  

Religious Decline The percentages of Americans who know God exists (64%), say they’ve had a born-again experience (36%), and who pray several times a week (69%) have remained steady since the ’80s. The percentages who read the Bible at least weekly (31%), watch religious TV (28%), feel extremely close to God (31%), consider themselves very or extremely religious (26%), or believe in heaven (86%) or hell (73%) haven’t changed much during the 17-year period over which they were measured, says Dr. Mark Chaves of Duke Univ. However, in 1957, 3% of Americans had no religious affiliation vs. 17% in ’08. The weekly church attendance rate is closer to 25% than the 35% or 40% often reported. The percentages who never attend religious services rose from 13% in ’90 to 22% in ’08. The percentage who grew up with religiously active fathers fell from nearly 70% for those born before 1900 to 45% for those born after ’70. Over the last 30 years, the percentage who believe the Bible should be taken literally fell from 40% to 30%. The percentage who have a great deal of confidence in leaders of religious institutions has slipped from 35% in the ’70s to 25% today. (American Religion: Contemporary Trends, Mark Chaves, Princeton Univ. Press 2011)

Declining Denominational Brand Loyalty LifeWay Research finds that, of more than 900 U.S. Protestant pastors polled, 76% personally consider it vitally important to be part of a denomination; however, 62% believe this will decline over the next decade. For example, in recent years church planters have avoided including a denominational affiliation in the church name in an effort to attract new believers. The higher the level of education attained by a pastor, the more they value denominational identification. Overall, the older a pastor, the higher they value denominational identification.  (OneNewsNow 9/16/11) 

In-Store or Online 8 out of 10 consumers research purchases online. While 42% research online and then buy online, 51% research online and then buy in-store (Google & IPSOS OTX 9/10)  

Fresh Thoughts Do you have relationships with people outside the company who can bring in fresh ideas and offer third opinions? Every organization should have someone like this on retainer, someone not bound by company politics or the tyranny of the urgent. I can serve this purpose for your organization. 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com.  

Worried Women A new Boston Consulting Group study finds women are more worried about jobs and the economy now than at the height of the recession. 57% of the women polled say managing household finances is their biggest concern; when asked the same question two years ago, they were most worried about not having enough time. And compared to men, women are 21% more likely to feel anxious about the future and 44% more likely to feel a great deal of stress in their lives. Unemployment is a bigger problem among men, who have lost about 85% of the jobs, but if women are married, it makes them worried about the family’s finances. And if they’re single, it means unemployed men are ineligible. They have a lot of anxiety and resentment and they really feel like no one is listening. 73% say they have been personally affected by the global economic downturn. (Marketing Daily 9/9/11) 

Marketsquare International, the largest winter buying show for international Christian product distributors, is set for 1/18–20/12 in Atlanta immediately following the AmericasMart gift show. For more, click here. (Foster Network 9/19/11) 

Race Disintegration Less than 2 out of 6 black children in America are born into a two-parent family.  In 1950, it was 5 out of 6. Only 56% of blacks graduate from high school. Blacks account for 35% of all abortions, yet represent only 12% of the population. 43% of all black pregnancies end in abortion. By age 34, 41.5% of black men are single. Among white males, the number is 28.1%. Blacks made up 51% of new HIV diagnoses between ’00 and ’03. (OneNewsNow Perspectives 8/23/11) 

Losing Favor According to an August Gallup poll, Americans’ view of the retail industry slipped 3 points. Today 44% hold a positive view, 33% are neutral, while 22% have a negative opinion of retail. Americans’ favorable view of publishers fell 9 points with 38% having a positive view, 38% neutral, and 22% negative.  (Center for Media Research Brief 9/6/11) 

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 ensure 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) 

Smartphone Shoppers Of the 40% of U.S. consumers who own smartphones, 70% use them while shopping in-store. 74% of smartphone shoppers made a purchase as a result of using their smartphone. Of these, 76% have purchased in-store and 59% online, while only 35% have made a purchase via their smartphone. (Google & IPSOS OTX 4/11). 

Education Makes a Difference In March ’11, the national unemployment rate was 12% for people with only a high-school diploma, 4.5% for college grads, and 2% for those with a professional degree. (Atlantic Magazine 9/11) 

CEO Turnover Up U.S. companies are hiring new chief executive officers this year at the quickest pace since ’05 as directors seek growth after putting off management changes while riding out the recession. Turnover is running at a 13% rate this year after a 15-year low of 10% in ’10, according to the search firm Crist Keolder Associates. (Bloomberg News 9/11/11) 

The Last 10% of achieving quality or excellence is always the most demanding. If all you’re doing is the standard amount, all you’re going to get is the standard result. The hard part is the last 10% because everyone is busy doing the easy part already. The secret is to invest the extra that others believe isn’t worth the effort. I can help. Contact me at 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com. (Seth Godin’s Blog 5/19/10) 

Combined Attendance of 2011Outreach 100 Fastest-Growing Churches is 638,693. These churches added 97,168 people over their combined previous year’s attendance, an average of more than 970 per church These 100 churches include 246 worship sites. (Outreach 100, 2011)

America’s 5 Largest Churches 1. Lakewood Church, Houston, Texas, 43,500. 2. North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, Ga., 27,429. 3. Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, Ill., 24,377. 4. Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Ky., 20,801. 5. Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, Calif., 19,742. (Outreach 100, 2011) 

Free Speech in the Pulpit A new survey by the Alliance Defense Fund and LifeWay Research has found 86% of U.S. Protestant pastors believe the government should not regulate their sermons. “Pastors and churches shouldn’t live in fear of being punished or penalized by the government,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “Keeping the gospel central to what is preached is not in conflict with addressing the subject of political candidates when warranted. These results show that the desire to keep the gospel central does not mean that pastors want the IRS to regulate their sermons under the threat of revoking their church’s tax-exempt status. No government-recognized status can be conditioned upon the surrender of a constitutionally protected right.” (Church Report 9/12/11) 

Worthy Publishing has acquired specialty publisher Freeman-Smith, which it will operate as an imprint under the continued direction of company co-founder Ron Smith. The popular Hugs line originated by Howard Books is part of the Freeman-Smith catalog. (Publisher’s Lunch 9/14/11) 

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