I love it when churches of all sizes, cultures and denominations come together with innovative ideas to benefit the church nationwide and even worldwide! Churches all across the country are preparing for “National Back to Church Sunday,” on Sept. 16. “National Back to Church Sunday” is a community outreach program designed to invite the nation back to church! The program is supported by LifeWay Research, outreach.com, churchleaders.com and sermoncentral.com. Churches that participate receive tools and information to invite friends, family members and neighbors back to church. Also, churches are also encouraged to reach out to people who have never been to church before!

From backtochurch.com:

• Although 83 percent of American adults identify themselves as Christians, only about 20 percent attend church on any given Sunday.
• Studies show that 82% of unchurched people would attend if someone invited them! Yet fewer than 2% of Christians ever invite an unchurched person! National Back to Church Sunday was designed to change that.
• Last year 7600 churches participated from 34 denominations and together gave millions of invitations to church. It’s amazing to hear the testimonies of record attendance and the number of people that came to Christ through this powerful weekend. Churches responding to a post-event survey welcomed an average of 34 new visitors and increase of 25.4 percent in attendance. Survey results also show that 96% of participating churches would take part in Back to Church Sunday again.
• Since the initiative began in 2009, “National Back To Church Sunday” has seen increased success. Some 3,800 churches participated in 2010.
• It’s free – You can sign up your church for free on the roster. There are optional resources available to help you plan and equip your members to invite your community.
• “Our church almost broke the attendance record for the year and we beat Easter service. Definitely worth doing and pursuing.”–Northgate Wesleyan Church
• “We broke all our previous attendance records with 145 people including 20-30 first time visitors. That’s an increase of 70% over our normal Sunday attendance. There were multiple commitments/renewals and several others who requested more information about the church. ‘Back to Church Sunday’ is one of the most successful outreach events we have ever hosted.”–Victory Christian Church

And I love this rap video with pastors inviting people back to church, and it’s not even corny  …It’s actually hilarious!

So if you have stopped going to church, why? And would you come if someone invited you? If you have never been to church, would you come if someone invited you?

In other religious news, seems like folk in the U.K. are losing their religion as a hotel in England is replacing the Bible with “Fifty Shades of Grey!” (Clutching my faux pearls! If you haven’t heard of the book, it’s a trilogy of erotic books that have been referred to as “mommy porn.”) I wonder what the Gideons (the organization responsible for putting Bibles in hotel rooms nationwide and even in other parts of the world) have to say about this! Read the story on msn.com.

Finally, the NAACP has developed a manual to help black church leaders speak with their congregants about HIV and AIDS, which haven’t been a topic for open discussion in the black church. According to “The Washington Post,” “African-Americans make up almost half of all new HIV infections, and blacks are less likely to get treatment and more likely to die of complications from AIDS than any other race.” Read the entire article at “The Washington Post.”

Any thoughts?

The post Pastors Rap to Invite People “Back to Church,” “Fifty Shades of Grey” replaces Bibles and other religious news… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

It is so easy to get wrapped up in what is going on in our church or our city or even our state so I decided to post links to stories dealing with religion and faith all around the nation and world so that we can make sure that we really know what is going on the world around us…

First of all, according to new study conducted by The Washington Post and The Kaiser Family Foundation, black women are the most religious group in the United States…that is no surprise to me…I’m just surprised that nobody called me…lol…Some of the results of the survey are below…(The only problem I have with the survey is that it appears that only black and white people were surveyed…)

• 74 percent of black women said that living a religious life is very important to them versus 70 percent of black men. Also, 57 percent of white women agree with that statement versus 43 percent of white men.
• 87 percent of black women said that religion or faith in God plays a very important role in helping them get through tough times versus 79 percent of black men. 66 percent of white women and 51 percent of white men agree with that statement.

There are some other interesting findings that have nothing to do with religion and faith. For more information, take a look at the complete survey results from The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Now on to other interesting news in the religion and faith biosphere….

2. I cannot believe this kind of stuff is going on in the name of Christianity…A whites-only Christian conference…From The Huffington Post – Whites-Only Christian Conference Held in Alabama By Pastor William J. Collier’s Church of God’s Chosen

3. This woman is actually selling her soul…Lord, help us…From The Christian Post – Women Sells Her Soul on eBay, Hopes to ‘Deliver Opportunity’ for Salvation

4. Retired Bishop Leontine Kelly, the first African-American female bishop in a major Christian denomination (United Methodist Church) has passed away at 92 years old. I interviewed Bishop Linda Lee of the United Methodist Church for my book. Bishop Lee is first African-American woman to be elected as a bishop in the North Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church and one of three African-American women elected in jurisdictions across the United States in July 2000. According to The Huffington Post, Bishop Kelly was quoted as saying, “”Praise God, I’m no longer the only one.” From The Huffington Post – Leontine Kelly Dead: African-American United Methodist Woman Dies at 92

5. Just in case your dog needs a blessing…Can I get a woof, woof? I know I’m lame…lol..From The Washington Post – Prayers for Pets in downtown D.C.

6. Remember the first Claire Kyle on that hilarious Damon Wayans show “My Wife and Kids?” Well, the actress Jazz Raycole, is back as a pastor’s daughter in TV Land’s “The Soul Man,” the new show with Cedric the Entertainer. And she says she worshiped her way into her new role. From The Christian Post – Jazz Raycole, ‘The Soul Man’ Actress, ‘Worshiped’ Her Way Into Latest Role

7. Apparently, women givers in churches are being ignored despite controlling more than 51 percent of personal wealth in the nation according to a new survey…(Hmmm….have they been to Atlanta? I don’t think we are being ignored here in the A…Pass that offering plate one mo gain plz…lol…) From Newswise – Many Churches Overlook Women as Donors, Despite Their Growing Control of Personal Wealth in the U.S.

Any thoughts?

The post Black Women Are More Religious than Erebody and other religious news… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Yay! We get an extra hour of the weekend baby!

Sooo…check my title…remember that song that song from the ’80s? If you don’t, check the video below…

I remember when I first heard this song…I think I was in the sixth grade…I thought it was so revolutionary because of its message… some of the lyrics are below…

Not a word, from your lips
You just took for granted that I want to skinny dip.
A quick hit, that’s your game.
But I’m not a piece of meat, still you like my brain.
Night is young, so are we.
Let’s get to know each other better, slow & easily.
Take my hand, let’s hit the floor. Shake our bodies to the music.

Maybe then you’ll score.

I’m not even sure a song like that would even be played on the radio now….Anywho, by now, you are probably wondering why I’m writing about this song…well, we all know that premarital sex is frowned upon in the Bible, and I wrote about the topic more extensively last year – so much so that I won’t repeat myself…But as it turns out, a new study has confirmed that holding off on sex promotes more satisfying relationships….

Below are a few points from an article on the study in “The Washington Post.”

• 642 people in relationships were interviewed.
• 56 percent of them had waited until they were seriously dating, engaged or married before getting down with their significant other.
• Participants in the study were asked to rate their emotional and physical satisfaction in their relationships from 1 to 5 with 5 being very satisfied.
• Those that are started out as nonromantic sex partners gave an average rating of 3.8 while those who waited until their relationship was serious had an average rating of 4.2.
• According to the researcher, University of Iowa sociologist Anthony Paik, it’s not the early sex necessarily caused problems. However, it did seem that most people that started their relationship as a “casual fling” were “predisposed to lower relationship quality.”
• Paik’s final point – “So for those looking for happily committed relationships, Paik has a strategy to suggest: “Delay sex. That way you kind of select out those individuals who are predisposed to not look for a long-term relationship. ” That advice, he acknowledges, “is like what one’s grandmother would probably say.”

Any thoughts?

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