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In 2002, Child Trends released a report called Charting Parenthood (PDF) that takes a statistical look at fathers and mothers in America. Some interesting highlights include:
- 59% of mothers
52% of fathersÂ
think that the most important quality for their child to learn to prepare him or her for life is the ability to think for oneself.
- 17% of mothers
21% of fathers
think that the most important quality for their child to learn to prepare him or her for life is obedience.
- 77% of mothers
91% of fathers
share responsibility for playing with their children.
- 70% of mothers
89% of fathers
share responsibility for discipline.
- 55% of poor mothers :: 18% of poor fathers
22% of nonpoor mothers :: 7% of nonpoor fathers
reported sole responsibility for disciplining their children.
- 52%Â of mothers
56% of fathers
report “calmly discussing problems” as a way of resolving family conflicts.
- 60% of poor mothers
50% of nonpoor mothers
report “calmly discussing problems” in their family.
- 12% of both mothers and fathers report that there is a lot a fighting in their family.
- 21% of Hispanic mothers :: 20% of Hispanic fathers
13% of white mothers :: 11% of white fathers
7% of black mothers :: 8% of black fathers
report that they fight a lot in their family.
- Boys report being somewhat closer to their mothers and their fathers than do girls. This finding holds regardless of parental residential status.
- 87%Â of mothers
73% of fathers
hug or show physical affection to their child at least once a day.
- 85% of mothers
62% of fathers
tell their child that they love him or her at least once a day.
- 90%+ of mothers and fathers hug children under the age of 3 on a daily basis.
74%Â of mothers hug children ages 10 to 12 on a daily basis.
50%Â of fathers hug children ages 10 to 12 on a daily basis.
- 94% of mothers with college degrees
91% of mothers with some college
87% of mothers with a high school diploma
75% of mothers with less than a high school education
hug or show physical affection to their child at least once a day.
- 77% of more college-educated fathers
70% of fathers with a high school diploma
68% of fathers with less than a high school education
report hugging their child daily.
- 22% of mothers & 20% of fathers in single-parent families
8% of mothers &Â 9% of fathers in two-parent families
report disagreeing once per week or more over staying out late.
- 6% of mothers
3% of fathers
report ever having physically abused their children.
- The average daily time children spend with a parent is:
2 hours 21 min for mothers in two-parent families
1 hour 46 min for fathers in two-parent families
1 hour 15 min for mothers in single-parent families
<30 min for fathers in single-parent families
- Among girls in 1996,
39% attended a church-related event with their resident mother.
29% attended a church-related event with their resident father.
13% attended a church-related event with their nonresident mother.
9% attended a church-related event with their nonresident father.
- The percentage of men and women who are married declined modestly between 1991 and 2001 from 64 percent to 61 percent.
- 20% of men
12% of women
agree or strongly agree with the statement that “when there are children in the family, parents should stay together even if they don’t get along.”
- 50% (roughly) of all men and women agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “divorce is usually the best solution when a couple can’t seem to work out their marriage problems.”
- 51% of unmarried women
50% of men, regardless of their marital or parental status
44% of married women
agree with the statement that divorce is the best solution to marital problems.
- 62%Â of men who work less than 35 hours a week
56% of women working less than 35 hours a week
53% of women who are not in the labor force.
47%Â of men working full-time
42% of women working full-time
agree or strongly agree that divorce is a good solution in the face of marital problems.
- Among adults ages 18 to 59 in 1992,
55% of males
43% of females
reported having their first sexual intercourse before age 18.
- 15% of males
6% of females
report early sexual initiation (sexual intercourse prior to age 15).
- 78% of males
71% of females
by age 18-19 are sexually experienced (i.e., have ever had sexual intercourse).
- 33% of single males
15% of single females
4% of married males
2% of married females
had two or more sexual partners in the past 12 months.
Statistics are always fascinating because I believe that they can reveal a great deal about the spiritual condition and spiritual needs of the population they represent. Pastors, the above is a statistical portrait of fathers and mothers in America. They are the people that the American church is called to reach.
PastorsPlace.com is offering four different Christmas design themes for your church to use for free. It isn’t just a bulletin shell or PowerPoint slide. They also come with banner, poster, CD jacket, and CD label artwork.
So if you were planning to preach a sermon themed around Christmas, save some design time and use one of their four design packs if it fits your style.
This upcoming February 28-March 2, Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL) will be hosting its SHIFT Student Ministries Leadership Conference. It is designed to help you make sense of the changes and trends impacting students today and in the future. And the line up of speakers is stunning:
Session Speakers
- Darren Whitehead, Willow Creek Community Church
- Donald Miller, author
- Bo Boshears, Willow Creek Community Church
- Judah Smith, The City Church (Kirkland, WA)
- Jeremy Del Rio, Generation Xcel
- Efrem Smith, The Sanctuary Covenant Church (Minneapolis, MN)
Breakout Speakers
- Chris Brooks, River City Community Church
- Steve Carter, Mars Hill Bible Church
- Adam Durso, Youth Explosion
- Scott Gibson, Compass Counseling
- Craig Gross, XXX Church
- Kristi Hayes, Fairfax Community Church
- Joe Hays, Mars Hill Bible Church
- Adam Ivey, Lifechurch.tv
- Phil Jackson, The House
- Kurt Johnson, Saddleback Church
- Bryan Jones, Willow Creek Community Church
- Steve Keels, Good Shepherd Community Church
- Mike King, Youth Front
- Heather Larsen, Willow Creek Community Church
- Scot McKnight, North Park University
- Preston Mitchell, Fellowship Church
- Kevin Moore, Oneighty
- Jeanne Stevens, North Point Community Church
- Corrie Pospiech, Mars Hill Bible Church
- Kevin Ragsdale, North Point Community Church
- Stella Reed, The Dream Center
- Scott Rubin, Willow Creek Community Church
- Greg Stier, Dare 2 Share
- Bubba Thurman, Lake Pointe Church
- Andy Tilly, LifeChurch.tv
- Sandra Van Opstal, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
To learn more, visit the SHIFT 2007 Conference website.
Church Relevance’s September 2006 newsletter, Continuing Ed, has been added to the site.
According to Writer’s Market Companion, “Every thirty seconds, a new book is published, and even if you were able to read one book per day, you would neglect four thousand others published that same day.†So how do you choose the right book? Better yet, in this world full of information, how do you know what is worth learning?
No matter how hard some people try to stop learning, life is one big continual education process. In fact, I believe that the measure of a great leader is largely based on the quantity and the quality of his or her learned knowledge. And for those in ministry, this means having a good depth and scope of understanding not only for God’s Word but also the world He created. With that said, let’s look first at how to increase the quantity of your education and then explore how to enrich its quality.
Read More >>
We will be posting articles from Church Relevance’s newsletter a few months after we send them to subscribers. If you would like to receive the latest issues of Church Relevance’s newsletter as soon as possible, you may sign up to begin your free monthly subscription to our newsletter.
Ben Gray of openswitch adds great commentary to our earlier post about churchgoers knowing more about popular culture than ministers know. His advice:
- Pastors need to brush up on their pop culture if they ever plan on reaching a generation of people who are entrenched in it. You have to be able to teach in relevant ways or else your message will be lost.
- The average churchgoer needs to spend considerably less time studying pop culture and more time learning about things that matter.
Mark Howell has created a list of five books that will engage your brain. If you are responsible for the creativity, innovation, strategy, and overall management of your church’s efforts to reach the world, check it out. You may find something to add to your Christmas wish list.
Ellison Research recently conducted two surveys investigating how informed pastors and churchgoers are regarding 12 areas popular culture. Unfortunately, the results show that pastors are typically less informed about culture than the people they minister to.
Pastors vs. Churchgoers (percentage who feel very informed)
- 36% vs. 29% on Politics (+7%)
- 24% vs. 24% on Sports (no difference)
- 20% vs. 43% on the Internet (-23%)
- 19% vs. 31% on Television Programs (-12%)
- 18% vs. 27% on Books (-9%)
- 16% vs. 24% on Movies (-8%)
- 12% vs. 20% on Radio and TV Talk Shows (-8%)
- 11% vs. 28% on Music (-17%)
- 11% vs. 17% on Magazines
- 7% vs. 16% on Clothing and Fashion (-9%)
- 5% vs. 16% on Video and Computer Games (-11%)
- 4% vs. 10% on Celebrities (-6%)
It is an average 8% difference, which is a major disadvantage to pastors when considering the following quote:
People are definitely impacted by the culture they consume – the web sites they visit or the music they listen to, for instance. Pastors need to be informed about what’s out there in order to understand how the culture is influencing the people they are trying to reach.
-Ron Sellers :: President :: Ellison Research
Special thanks to The Church Report for highlighting the research.
