Culture

Megachurch Trends

Charisma Staff

Wondering where all the young single adults in your church have gone? If you’re the pastor of a small- or medium-size congregation, you may want to check the nearest megachurch.

That’s because singles are three times as likely to attend a megachurch and make up one-third of those churches’ congregations, according to a study by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research that surveyed nearly 25,000 people at 12 megachurches throughout the country.

U.S.

Idaho Church Launches Global ‘Reformation’

Charisma Staff

Idaho Church Launches Global ‘Reformation’After years of advocating creation care, Vineyard Boise is broadening its focus to address seven areas of world crisis

A Vineyard church in Idaho is calling on local congregations to launch a reformation.

Through a ministry called RE:FORM, Vineyard Boise church is helping local congregations learn ways to address seven areas of “world crisis” which include environmental decline, world hunger, poor health and disease, corrupt leadership, and spiritual confusion.

U.S.

Carrie Prejean Loses Miss California Title

Charisma Staff

Christian beauty queen Carrie Prejean said she is “looking forward to where God leads” her after losing her Miss California title on Wednesday.

“I know He has big plans for me,” she said in a statement Thursday. “I am proud to be the strong woman God has molded me to be. I will always stand for the truth, respectfully, and never back down.”

MIss California USA officials said Prejean was fired for a continued breach of contract. During a press conference last month, pageant executive director Keith Lewis and other officials said Prejean had been unavailable to attend Miss California USA events but was participating in unsanctioned events supporting traditional marriage.

U.S.

Pentecostal Musician Larry Dalton Remembered For Talent, Faith

Charisma Staff

A memorial service will be held Wednesday for Larry Dalton, a world- renowned pianist, conductor and composer who once served as music director for evangelist Oral Roberts’ television broadcasts. Dalton died in Tulsa, Okla., on May 30 of a heart attack. He was 63.

“I was shocked to bury Larry at 63,” said evangelist Terry Law, who formed Living Sound musical ministry with Dalton in 1969. “It was Larry’s musical brilliance that made Living Sound a special team. He could take mediocre-quality musicians and make them sound like angels from heaven.”


World

Underground Church Growing in Muslim-Dominated Indonesia

Charisma Staff

Pentecostals on the tsunami-ravaged coast of Indonesia are experiencing a wave of conversions and healings.

In the strongly Muslim Aceh province of northern Sumatra—where 167,000 people died in the 2004 tsunamiâ—the underground church movement is growing, with Pentecostal congregations thriving.

Indonesia has an official policy of religious tolerance, but in Muslim-dominated areas Christians face open hostility and persecution. In Aceh province, churches must register with the authorities and are not permitted to evangelize. Many Christians choose to meet in unregistered—or underground—churches.

World

Christians Pray for “New China” on Anniversary of Historic Massacre

Charisma Staff

House_church

Twenty years after the Chinese government-run People’s Liberation Army opened-fire on thousands of unarmed student protesters and allowed armored tanks to roll over the crowds, killing hundreds, Christians are praying for a “new” China to emerge that respects democracy and religious freedom.

Tonight Christian leaders from the U.S. and China are gathering in Washington, D.C., for a prayer service aimed at remembering the victims of the June 4, 1989, massacre.

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