News
Catch the latest news of how God's using IBN around the world.
The Church Growth Gap: The Big Get Bigger While the Small Get Smaller
The US congregations most likely to grow are the 10 percent that already have more than 250 worshipers.
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...
December 31, 1969
What Shakespeare Taught Me About Ash Wednesday
On the first day of Lent, I’m reminded of a love that “alters not” and “bears it out even to the edge of doom.”
Many years ago this winter, I published my first novel. That was a proud day for me. I had a sense of maybe having achieved something of lasting significance. The novel sold...
December 31, 1969
One-on-One with Juan Martinez on the Faith of Latino Emerging Adults
“Young Latino transnational believers in Christ have the relational life skills necessary to be transcultural missionaries and intercultural leaders.”
Ed: How would you describe the state of Christianity and the church among emerging adults—18 to 29-year-olds—today? What are...
December 31, 1969
This Fantasy Novelist Showed Me What It Means to Fear God
How Lois McMaster Bujold’s Hugo Award–winning stories depict reverence in the face of divine mystery.
The fear of the Lord,” says Proverbs 1:7, “is the beginning of knowledge.” Indeed, God’s scriptural appearances are often terrifying. Moses sees only God’s...
December 31, 1969
Are We the Ultraviolet Light of the World? Or the X-Rays?
An astronomer ponders one of Jesus' most memorable sayings.
When Jesus defined himself as “the light of the world,” listeners probably associated those words with common objects well known to them: the hot sun of Judea, the stars twinkling in the sky, the moon shining during the...
December 31, 1969
One-on-One with Charles Stone on ‘Holy Noticing’
A conversation about Christian mindfulness.
Ed: What led you to discover mindfulness?
Charles: My youngest daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 1. Through the first 25 years of her life she had a dozen brain surgeries, two devices implanted into and taken out of her body, and had...
December 31, 1969
How Secularity Will Advance the Gospel of the Kingdom
Religious pluralism has provided space for the Gospel to be heard.
Things aren’t always as they appear. The rose-colored glasses with which we look at our religious past often artificially and inappropriately distorts our perspective on our future. As the great philosopher Billy Joel once...
December 31, 1969
Interview: How Universalism, ‘the Opiate of the Theologians,’ Went Mainstream
Michael McClymond decries the rising popularity of an idea Christians have rejected for most of church history.
Rob Bell made a splash in 2011 with the release of Love Wins, a book that challenged settled Christian understandings of heaven, hell, and divine judgment. But as many critics pointed...
December 31, 1969
Small Town Pastors See More Than Small Wonders
Rural ministry is experiencing a resurgence in the US even as economic and demographic numbers continue their decline.
These days, living in small-town America often means living with less.
2018 marked another year of decline in many rural and small towns: economies suffering; local residents...
December 31, 1969
The Biggest Hindrance to Your Kids’ Faith Isn’t Doubt. It’s Silence
According to two researchers, the key to “sticky faith” is conversation.
During a three-year longitudinal study launched by the Fuller Youth Institute, a parent with three post–high school kids reflected on the changes she’s witnessed over the years: “I think if I were to...
December 31, 1969
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