Church Growth

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Seven months after Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, about 50 members of a church that was located just a few miles from the destroyed Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant are still looking for a place to call home.

Still leading his dwindled congregation housed in a campsite outside Tokyo, Pastor Akira Sato has authored a book about the story of Fukushima First Bible Baptist Church. Prior to the disasters, Sato’s followers were part of a rural four-campus, multisite church having about 200 members.

Rurou no Kyokai (Exodus Church) is currently the best-selling Christian book in Japan. Written in Japanese, Sato and his publishers are in the process of having it translated into several languages, including English. more >>

Fulfilling the theme to "Be Present," about 13,000 leaders within the Christian community attended this year’s three-day Catalyst Atlanta at Gwinnett Arena, which ended Friday.

Catalyst organizers of the annual event made it clear before the gathering that speakers would try and present leaders with a battle plan for attacking the distractions everyone faces in today’s world.

“Distraction has become the new norm. We get caught up with what happened yesterday and are preoccupied with what may happen tomorrow. Our attention is too often focused on what is happening ‘out there.’ more >>

Ministry, missional and pastoral conferences occur several times throughout the year in which leading movers and shakers and thinkers gather together to give guidance and encouragement to, and get encouragement from, the Christian community. Here is a list of some of the top meetings taking place this October and November.

CATALYST CONFERENCE - OCT. 5-7, 2011 Web: http://catalystconference.com Location: Atlanta

Catalyst involves a gathering of "young leaders – a movement of influencers and world changers who love Jesus, see things differently and feel a burden for our generation." For three days, 13,000 leaders from across the United States and around the world will gather for to help attendees learn to "think unconventionally" and walk away from the meeting "enlightened, rejuvenated and ready to embrace the life to which you’ve been entrusted and the journey to which you’ve been called." Registration remains open. more >>

A global church-planting group portrays the challenge of sharing the Gospel in predominantly Muslim Indonesia in its first video of a series called “Multiply,” released this week.

Pioneers, an evangelical missions movement with 2,400 members, is producing the online video series with the hopes of telling the story of how native and missionary Christians in Muslim countries are able to help increase the number of churches in a primarily hostile environment.

”Multiply Indonesia” is available for free viewing on the group's website. Pioneers begins production of its next video about church planting in the African country of Chad while on location next week. more >>

The Iranian government’s tracking of Christians in Iran has intensified over the last several months, according to Open Doors USA, an organization that provides help to persecuted believers in Jesus worldwide.

In Iran, Christians gather in house churches, which are being increasingly discovered. Members are then subjected to various forms of harassment, including imprisonment, job termination and separation from family.

Open Doors estimates that there are 350,000 Christians from a Muslim background living in Iran. The country’s current regime lost credibility following the turmoil of the 2009 elections, and in an effort to distract attention from continuing protests, it is increasingly lashing out against Christians, Open Doors USA leaders say. more >>

Atheism might be considered "cool" and the concept may sell a lot of books, but people are looking to God more than ever, said Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

Williams said that the growing popularity of atheism has not necessarily led to a decrease in the number of people who describe themselves as religious. His statement comes before the October release of atheist Richard Dawkin’s new book, The Magic of Reality.

"I'd want to know how many atheists The God Delusion created," Williams said during a recent public conversation. Referring to Richard Dawkins' 2006 book, Williams said, "The book sold, but did it make a difference to the number of people who were actually committed one way or the other?" more >>