China Aid said 250 people were present at the Bible training when more than 20 police officers entered the home of Xue Weimin. Police arrested 80 of the people present but released 10 people. Those being detained are being charged with "making use of a cult to violate law enforcement." Of the 70 being detained 50 (39 women, 11 men) are being held in prison.
China Aid also reported that three minors were being detained in Xinyuan County, Xinjian Province.
Survey suggests definition of church changing VENTURA, Calif. (W.) March 3, 2008 -- A new Barna Group study says the definition of church is changing in America. Barna says with Americans pursuing a growing number of "church" options, some of the traditional measures of church health also are being redefined. Barna says popular measures such as the percentage of people who are "unchurched" - based on attendance at a conventional church service - are now out of date. Why? Because there's an emergency of new forms of faith communities, such as house churches, marketplace ministries and cyberchurches, which Barna says must be figured into the mix. The study says as a result of these new forms of church, calculating the percentage of Americans who can be counted as "unchurched" is more complicated. The fact that millions of people are now involved in multiple faith communities - for instance, attending a conventional church one week, a house church the next, and interacting with an online faith community in-between - has rendered the standard measures of "churched" and "unchurched" much less precise, Barna says. According to Barna, one way of examining people's participation in faith communities is by exploring how they practice their corporate faith engagement. Unveiling a new measurement model, Barna identified the following five segments: Unattached, who don't attend a conventional church, which represents 23 percent of adult Americans; Intermittents, who are "under-churched," meaning they they've gone to church periodically in the past year but not necessarily during the past month. They represent about15 percent of adult Americans; Homebodies, those people who don't go to a conventional church but attend house church. They represent about 3 percent of adult Americans; Blenders, those who experiment between traditional churches and other forms of faith communities. They also represent about 3 percent of adult Americans; and Conventionals are those who go to traditional, congregational-style local church. They represent 56 percent of American adults. The Barna study found an increase in ministry crossover in the U.S. According to the study, one out of five adults had been involved in two or more types of churches: a conventional church, a house church, a real-time ministry event online, etc. Here's a glimpse at what Barna found: However, six out of 10 adults in the Unattached category (59 percent) consider themselves to be Christian. Barna said even more surprising was the revelation that 17 percent of the Unattached label themselves born again Christians - defined as people who have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that they consider to be very important in their life, and who believe that they will experience Heaven after they die because they have confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior. "The numbers consistently point out that those who live without a regular face-to-face faith connection tend to be relatively isolated from the mainstream of society, tend to be non-committal in institutional and personal relationships, and typically revel in their independence," said George Barna, who runs the Barna Group. "Attempting to get them involved in the life of a church is a real challenge. The best chance of getting them to a church is when someone they know and trust invites them, offers to accompany them, and there is reason to believe that the church event will address one of the issues or needs they are struggling with at that moment."
The study also found, that compared to regular churchgoers, the Unattached are:
"As Black History Month comes to a close and we move forward, we cannot forget the devastating impact abortion on demand has had and continues to have on African-Americans," said King. "Abortion has wiped out one out of four blacks in the United States. That's 15 million Americans who have been denied the most fundamental civil right, the right to life."
King will join other leaders for prayer vigils at abortion facilities, a press conference at the Family Research Council, and an afternoon Capitol Hill reception at the Cannon House Office Building.
After his induction Wednesday, Dungy told students that his parents, who were both educators, instilled in him three important lessons: "They told me, 'Whatever path you take, do it with gusto and fire, representing the Lord; treat everyone you come across with respect; and, wherever you settle down, make your neighborhood a better place to live.'"
Dungy is only the fifth inductee into the Society of World Changers, which Indiana Wesleyan University launched to honor exemplary individuals who are impacting their professions with a vibrant religious faith.
In his first NFL head coaching stint, Dungy led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to four playoff appearances in six seasons and became the winningest head coach in Tampa Bay history. In 2002 he was named head coach of Indianapolis, where he began a streak of six consecutive double-digit victory seasons and playoff berths, including the Super Bowl XLI championship.
Dungy also is the author of "Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices and Priorities of a Winning Life," which has been on The New York Times best seller list since the book was released last July.
Dungy's appearance at IWU was arranged by All Pro Dad, a program sponsored by Family First, a Tampa, Florida-based not-for-profit organization, which Dungy helped launch while coaching Tampa Bay.
Dungy was given an honorary doctorate of humane letters during yesterday's ceremony. A life size bronze bust of Dungy was also unveiled and will join those of other World Changer inductees in the rotunda of the University's Jackson Library.
The emphasis of the day is that Web evangelism is for everyone, not just the "technically gifted," organizers said.
"There are many ways to share your faith online, without any technical background at all," said IE Day Coordinator Tony Whittaker.
Christian leaders are also enthusiastic: "I am glad to commend Internet Evangelism Day," said Dr. John Stott.
Churches can start planning their focus day now. More information: InternetEvangelismDay.com
Internet Evangelism Day is also a year-round resource about online outreach. It explains many ways that Christians can share the good news, including through church websites. Churches often find it difficult to create a site that will engage with outsiders in their area.
"How can our church website help us reach out into our community?"
A new online tool has been released by IE Day, which provides churches with a free 15-page evaluation report. Users assess their own website by answering 55 simple questions in the tool questionnaire. Their customized report is immediately displayed online, ready to print or save. Its recommendations are tailored with specific practical suggestions, based on the questions that were ticked. View the evaluation tool here: InternetEvangelismDay.com/design
A church site which has been prioritized for non- Christian visitors can be remarkably effective in reaching the community. "Week in, week out, more visitors turn up at our church on a Sunday because of the website, than anything else," writes one growing church in London UK.
The tool also provides the parable 'A Tale of Two Golf Clubs' (which is available to republish) to illustrate the principles of effective church websites: www.InternetEvangelismday.com/golf
"This checklist is an invaluable tool to identify critical areas for improvement. Every church should study this regularly and act on it," said Gary McClure, LifeWay Ministries.