By Bob Smietana NASHVILLE, Tenn. — This Halloween, millions of Americans will carve pumpkins, dress up in costumes, decorate their yards, and gobble down the candy they get while trick-or-treating. America’s preachers also hope they’ll consider coming to church, according to a new phone survey of 1,000 Protestant senior pastors from Nashville-based Lifeway … [Read more...]
Few Protestant pastors, churches prioritize prison ministries
By Bob Smietana NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Most Protestant pastors go to jail, at least for a visit, and want to help prisoners and their families. But their churches often lack the training or finances to run an effective prison ministry. Those are among the findings of a new phone survey of 1,000 Protestant senior pastors from Nashville-based Lifeway Research. Researchers … [Read more...]
Protestant pastors support, but rarely preach, animal welfare
By Lisa Cannon Green NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Protestant pastors overwhelmingly agree humanity has a God-given duty to care for animals. They just don’t mention it much from the pulpit. In a survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors, sponsored by Every Living Thing, a national campaign for the Evangelical Statement on Responsible Care for Animals, Lifeway Research finds a distance … [Read more...]