June 10, 2002 - The State Of The Apostolic Nation

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The State of the Apostolic Nation - Spiritual Disciplines

June 10, 2002

Everyone knows how their Christian peer group is - or isn’t - doing spiritually, but where do Apostolics stand as a worldwide movement? Are we primed for revival, or simply giving God lip service? Are we communing with Him through devotions and honestly searching the scriptures, or are we happy to remain Professional Pentecostals, enamored with traditionalism? That’s what ninetyandnine.com wanted to know when we asked these questions to the worldwide Apostolic body in an online poll between April 29 – May 6, 2002.

This type of poll is always dangerous because you can end up with respondents honestly, but optimistically, answering their hearts (“I’m trying to pray 30 minutes each day so I’ll choose that.”) over their daily reality (“I’m lucky to pray 15 minutes a day.”), or you have the other danger, which has typical Apostolics who don’t wish to examine their walk with God too closely not participating.

Still, you can’t host a survey and then insist reality is different. After all, just because the survey might not be a perfect mirror of the body of Christ today doesn’t mean it doesn’t represent the reality of today’s leaders and influencers.

Some interesting survey factoids worth noting:

* ninetyandnine.com’s core audience is in the 18-30 age group, yet this survey skewed higher (age-wise) than last winter’s media survey. With total respondents being nearly identical, the 31-40 age group was up seven percent while the 24-30 age group was down 10 percent.

* With total respondents being nearly identical to our last survey, there was an eight percent jump in female respondents.

* The lowest statistics per category were nearly always below 10 percent, and thus, go largely undiscussed in the Noteworthy Statistical Breakdowns. (Since you can get 10 percent of almost anything on any question.)

As the astounding percentage of dedicated churchgoers proves, a walk with God - particularly attending church - provides a needed anchor against the turbulence of our busy, complicated lifestyles/schedules. It doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon.

Now it’s your turn to analyze:

* What statistics ring true and what are questionable?

* What numbers are the most important indicators of where we are today?

* Where does this survey indicate revival is heading?

Absorb the results and tell us what you think!

Special thanks to Shirley McDonald and Nita Curry for crunching most of this data into shape, as they have in the past.

One final note, if you use these findings when writing, teaching, or preaching, please reference ninetyandine.com as your source.

-The Editors

Gender of Respondents

Female	62%
Male	38%

Age of Respondents

18 - 23	32%
31 - 40	25%
24 - 30	22%
Over 40	16%
Under 18	6%

How often do you engage in personal devotions?

Daily	51%
Every Few Days	32%
Hardly Ever	9%
Weekly	8%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

* 92% of male respondents over 40 have daily devotions.

* 57% of male and female respondents 31-40 both have daily devotions.

* 48% of female respondents 18-23 have devotions every few days.

* 26% of male respondents 24-30 have weekly devotions.

How much time do you pray daily?

6 - 15 Minutes	37%
16 - 30 Minutes	28%
Less Than 5 Minutes A Day	16%
30 - 59 Minutes	13%
60 + Minutes	5%
About 20 Seconds Before My Meal	Less Than 1%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

* 53% of male respondents 18-23 pray 16-30 minutes a day.

* 50% of female respondents and 47% of male respondents 24-30 pray 6-15 minutes a day.

* 8% of male respondents 31-40 only pray before their meals.

How often do you fast?

When The Pastor Makes Us	29.1%
At Least One Meal A Week	29%
1 - 3 Meals Each Week	26%
I'm An American! I'm Not Supposed To Fast!	9%
No Answer Given	4%
4 + Meals Each Week	3%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

* 32% of female respondents and 28% of male respondents 24-30 fast 1-3 meals per week.

* 8% of male respondents over 40 fast at least 4 meals per week.

* 59% of male respondents 18-23 fast only when asked.

* 16% of male respondents 31-40 never fast.

What non-meal items do you regularly fast?

Other	32%
Sweets/Soda	28%
No Answer Given	18%
TV/Internet	16%
Music/Radio	5%
Communication With Boyfriend/Girlfriend	Less Than 1%
Cell Phone/Home Phone	Less Than 1%

How often do you read your Bible?

3 - 5 Times Each Week	54%
Daily	41%
When I'm At Church	4%
When I Find A Gideon Bible In My Hotel Room And The TV Is Broken	Less Than 1%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

* 62% of male respondents and 60% of female respondents over 40 read their Bible daily.

* 76% of female respondents and 63% of male respondents 24-30 read their Bible 3-5 times a week.

* 65% of male respondents and 57% of female respondents 18-23 read their Bible 3-5 times a week.

How much of the Bible do you regularly read in your devotion time?

2 - 3 Chapters	47%
1 Chapter	36%
4 + Chapters	16%
No Answer Given	Less Than 1%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

* 65% of female respondents over 40 read 2-3 chapters of their Bible in their devotion, while only 23% of male respondents over 40 read 2-3 chapters in devotion.

* 55% of female respondents and 53% of male respondents 18-23 read 2-3 chapters of their Bible in their devotion time.

I attend __ church services each week

Sunday And Bible Study Night	89%
One Sunday Service	5%
Both Sunday Services	4%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

* 94% of male respondents and 88% of female respondents 18-23 attend Sunday service(s) and Bible Study night every week.

* 92% of male respondents and 85% of female respondents over 40 attend Sunday service(s) and Bible Study night every week.

* Said one commentator, “I guess I'm most surprised by the 89% faithfulness stat. I expected somewhat lower. I know that is not representative of the young adults in our church.”

For Sunday School…

I'm Punctual Every Week!	56%
I Teach A Class	24%
I Attend Every Week, But Rarely Hear The Start	9%
I Dream About It Every Sunday Morning	8%
No Answer Given	5%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

* 71% of male respondents and 53% of female respondents 18-23 are punctual to Sunday school.

* Only 15% of female respondents over 40 teach Sunday school, while 31% of male respondents over 40 teach.

* 36% of male and female respondents 31-40 teach Sunday school. (The largest percentages of any grouping.)

* 21% of male respondents 24-30 dream about Sunday school (from their beds) each week.

How much do you regularly give?

Tithes, Offerings And Missions	42%
All Of The Above Plus An Outside Charity	16%
10% Of My income (Tithes)	15%
Tithes, Offerings, Missions, And Building Fund	14%
I Give A Portion Of The Above When I Can	12%
None Of The Above	Less Than 1%

Noteworthy Statistical Breakdown

* 38% of male respondents over 40 give in every church category plus an outside charity, while only 10% of female respondents over 40 do the same.

* 61% of female respondents 31-40 give their tithes, offerings, and missions, while only 32% of male respondents 31-40 do the same.

* 47% of male respondents and 38% of female respondents 24-30 give their tithes, offerings, and missions.

* 41% of male respondents and 39% of female respondents 18-23 give their tithes, offerings, and missions.

So what do you think? Give us your thoughts in feedback for a special Letter’s Column on Apostolic Spiritual Disciplines.

ã 2002, ninetyandnine.com

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