QUOTE: "If there's one thing that Christians and non-Christians have in common, it's this: We're both uptight about evangelism. … Far too often we don't know how to cross over [to our culture]. Far too many Christians today are unnecessarily offensive, hopelessly lame and generally inept at communicating.” —Greg Laurie, before his annual Harvest Crusade in Southern California, where the prominent pastor and evangelist compared not sharing the gospel to having the cure for cancer and keeping it to yourself [christianitytoday.com, 5/6/10]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has started awarding “Energy Star” status to churches and other houses of worship that have higher than average standards for energy efficiency, according to the Washington Times.

The “Energy Star” label, which is more commonly associated with household appliances and electronics, has been given out to nine churches across the country so far. To be eligible, a church must be more efficient than 75 percent of similar buildings.

First Parish Church in Needham, Mass., was awarded “Energy Star” status after a $3.3 million renovation to its building, which still has beams from the original construction in 1774. Among the renovations were temperature controls for each room so energy isn't wasted in areas that aren't being used, a ventilation system that adjusts to the number of people inside by measuring the carbon dioxide being exhaled, and new insulation in the meetinghouse walls.

QUOTE: “At the beginning, everybody was alert [about the situation in Haiti], but now things seem to be shifting in a different direction. The problem is still there, and I feel it is my responsibility to go back.” —Guy Francois, pastor of First Biblical Baptist Church of Palmetto, Fla., after he struggled to gain support for a missions trip to Haiti . Francois, who is from Haiti originally, has had trouble raising funds and getting interest from medical volunteers for the two-week trip. He fears that other events, such as the BP oil spill, are distracting Americans from the continued plight of the Haitians. According to the AP, 1.6 million people in the country are still living under tarps, and less than 2 percent of the rubble has been cleared in Port-au-Prince. Conditions are getting worse now that the rainy season has begun. [bradenton.com, 7/6/10, baltimoresun.com, 6/2/10]

Women and African-Americans are more involved in church group activities than other American Christian demographics, according to a recent Barna report. The survey also found that older, married Christians and those from the South are also more likely to participate in church activities.

The survey looked at different types of expressions of “group faith,” such as church attendance, small groups, adult Sunday school programs, church volunteering and house church involvement. Women were consistently more likely to be involved in all these types of activities. They make up more than half (53 percent) of church attendees. Some 60 percent of those who attend small groups and 57 percent of church volunteers are women.

Home churches are the only place where men (56 percent) are more likely to be involved than women.