QUESTION:
What are your top 10 church logos and why?
- Sydney, Australia 

ANSWER:
Narrowing the list down to a top 10 is too difficult. So I created a list of my favorite top 20 church logos.

I chose these 20 church logos because they best match my definition of what makes a good logo.

A good logo design is…

Distinctive. Memorable. And timeless.
It is aesthetically pleasing.

It is scalable, looking good while as large as a billboard or as small as a dime. It looks good in color as well as black and white. And it is simple enough that it can be applied to a media spectrum as broad as paper to plastic and t-shirts to websites.

Most importantly, a good logo communicates the unique qualities of its brand.

View the top 20 church logos.  

Because so many churches have been improving the quality of their graphic design in recent years, I will be keeping the list updated as I come across other great church logos.

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One out of every 12 full-time workers in the United States admit illegal drug use in the past month according to a new survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. Among those who admitted using illegal drugs in the past month:

• 19.0% were ages 18 to 25
• 10.3% were ages 26 to 34
• 7.0% were ages 35 to 49
• 2.6% were ages 50 to 64

Based on these numbers, 1 out of every 5 students that a college ministry wants to reach has a problem with illegal drugs.

I am surprised by how common illegal drug use is, but this is a good reminder that despite the “everything’s okay” appearance that people project on the outside, people often have hidden problems that need God’s help.

[via Yahoo! News]

GenDigital shares some research from the Youth Trends’s Lifestyle Report that shows that blogs are growing in popularity among young people.

• 44% report reading a blog site at least once in the past week
  an increase from 36% last fall

• 32% report commenting on another blog site at least once in the past week 

• 22% report updating their own personal blog at least once in the past week
  an increase from 13% last fall
  >> 25% of males
  >> 19% of females

Teen blog use is expected to continue increasing, which suggests that blogging is starting to be and will be an excellent way for youth groups and college ministries to keep their students informed. 

[via Ypulse]

comScore reports that 75% of Internet users watched online video in May 2007 for an average of 158 minutes per user.

Online video may be considered a novelty to some, but its growing popularity is quickly establishing it as necessity in church communications. In fact, many churches are already viewing streaming video online as an effective and efficient way to communicate.

The Church Report just published a list of the 50 Most Influential Churches in America of 2007. The research was conducted by Dr. John Vaughan of Church Growth Today. I recommend reading The Church Report’s short but informative article to learn how the data was collected, some history about the churches, as well as how they differ by denomination and geography.

If you enjoy learning the principles and techniques behind the successes of other churches, lists such as this one can be quite helpful and worth your time to study. I also find it helpful to know what other “lists” the churches have made and to have the opportunity to visit the churches’ websites.

So here is a list of the top 30 churches from 2007’s 50 Most Influential Churches in America with the church names hyperlinked to their websites and with recognition of which of the other eight below lists they have made:

List Reference

• 07 TMC = Outreach magazine’s 2007 America’s Top 25 Multiplying Churches
• 07 AMIC = Outreach magazine’s 2007 America’s 25 Most Innovative Churches 
• 06 FGC = Outreach magazine’s 2006 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
• 06 LC = Outreach magazine’s 2006 100 Largest U.S. Churches
• 06 MIC = The Church Report’s 2006 50 Most Influential Churches
• 05 FGC = Outreach magazine’s 2005 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
• 05 MIC = The Church Report’s 2005 50 Most Influential Churches
• 04 FGC = Outreach magazine’s 2004 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches

Top 30/50 Most Influential Churches in America of 2007

1. Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL) :: Bill Hybels
   >> 07 AMIC (#20)
   >> 06 FGC (#8) :: 05 FGC (#30)
   >> 06 LC (#5)
   >> 06 MIC (#1) :: 05 MIC (#2)
2. Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) :: Rick Warren
   >> 07 AMIC (#18)
   >> 06 FGC (#39) :: 05 FGC (#5) :: 04 FGC (#15)
   >> 06 LC (#6)
   >> 06 MIC (#2) :: 05 MIC (#1)
3. Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) :: Ed Young Jr.
   >> 07 AMIC (#4)
   >> 06 FGC (#37) :: 05 FGC (#20) :: 04 FGC (#5)
   >> 06 LC (#9)
   >> 06 MIC (#4) :: 05 MIC (#4)
4. North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) :: Andy Stanley
   >> 07 AMIC (#3)
   >> 04 FGC (#4)
   >> 06 LC (#12)
   >> 06 MIC (#3) :: 05 MIC (#3)
5. LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) :: Craig Groeschel
   >> 07 AMIC (#1)
   >> 06 FGC (#11) :: 05 FGC (#4) :: 04 FGC (#8)
   >> 06 LC (#13)
   >> 06 MIC (#7) :: 05 MIC (#16)
6. Granger Community Church (Granger, IN) :: Mark Beeson
   >> 07 AMIC (#2)
   >> 05 FGC (#62) :: 04 FGC (#27)
   >> 06 MIC (#14)
7. Lakewood Church (Houston, TX) :: Joel Osteen
   >> 06 FGC (#1) :: 05 FGC (#3) :: 04 FGC (#1)
   >> 06 LC (#1)
   >> 06 MIC (#5) :: 05 MIC (#5)
8. Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) :: Mark Driscoll
   >> 07 AMIC (#9)
   >> 06 FGC (#15) :: 05 FGC (#54)
   >> 06 MIC (#22) :: 05 MIC (#23)
   >> 07 TMC (#2)
9. The Potter’s House (Dallas, TX) :: T.D. Jakes
   >> 07 AMIC (#12)
   >> 06 FGC (#25) :: 04 FGC (#3)
   >> 06 LC (#20)
   >> 06 MIC (#8) :: 05 MIC (#8)
10. Seacoast Church (Mt. Pleasant, SC) :: Greg Surratt
    >> 07 AMIC (#6)
    >> 06 FGC (#54) :: 05 FGC (#28)
    >> 06 LC (#86)
    >> 06 MIC (#15) :: 05 MIC (#27) [More]

The Australian reports the British Museum has announced the discovery of a clay cuneiform tablet that offers “proof of the accuracy of the Old Testament.”

It is rare evidence in a non-biblical source of a real person, other than kings, featured in the Bible.

The tablet names a Babylonian officer called Nebo-Sarsekim who, according to Jeremiah 39 was present in 587 BC when Nebuchadnezzar “marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it”.

Very exciting.

Good news from the National Center for Health Statistics, from 1991 to 2005:

• the percentage of teens that have had sexual intercourse decreased from 54% to 47%
• the teen birth rate decreased from 39 births per 1,000 young women (ages 15-17) to 21 births per 1,000 teen girls, which is a record low

Obviously, teens having sex and getting pregnant is still a major problem and one that youth groups will always have to address, but it is very encouraging to see the trend changing towards a positive direction.

[via Yahoo! News]

One thing I learned very quickly while teaching preschoolers at my church was that the cultural appetite of today’s preschoolers is much more mature than that of a preschooler two decades ago.

MyVoice Research of the United Kingdom surveyed parents of small children and discovered:

• 44% said they were singing pop songs and TV theme tunes instead of nursery rhymes
• 40% cannot recite a single nursery rhyme all the way through

If young children are raised on pop songs intended for teenagers, what will they be listening to as they begin to grow older and look for something that is edgier, cooler, and more impressive?

[via Ananova & Ypulse]