The news is out! According to the most recent census information released on August 15, the face of the United States is changing. CNN's headline for the U.S. proclaimed, "Explosion of diversity sweeps U.S." The New York Times, referring to New York City said, "Immigrant Numbers Swell New York." The Atlanta-Journal Constitution wrote of a local county, "Immigrants Transform Gwinnett." These recent stories reflect the missional opportunities that exist among this ever-expanding population within our country.

How are Southern Baptists doing in reaching North American immigrants for Christ? We have been trying to answer this question at the Center for Missional Research at the North American Mission Board. Our full study is available at www.namb.net/research.

• The largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. has reported that its baptized membership was 4.85 million in 10,549 congregations last year, a one-year decrease of about 1.6 percent and the 14th straight annual decline in membership.
• Income continues to grow, however, for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, up nearly 3 percent from the previous year to more than $2.67 billion.
• Though the ELCA's confirmed membership also decreased in 2005--to 3.63 million people--the average regular giving to the church grew to $598, an increase f of 4.8 percent over 2004.

Top 10 Churches in Adult Baptisms for 2005

1. Fellowship Church, Grapevine, TX  1,546
2. Second Baptist Church, Houston, TX  561
3. Springdale FBC, Springdale, AR  534
4. Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, TX  524
5. Flamingo Road Baptist Church, Fort Lauderdale, FL  355
6. Mize, FBC, Mize, MS  297
7. Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, TN  282
8. Saint Paul's Baptist Church, Richmond, VA  263
9. Lake Pointe Church, Rockwall, TX  259
10. FBC of Woodstock, Woodstock, GA  247

 Top 100 Churches in Adult Baptisms - 2005