Adoption Agency Reports Sharp Increase in Adoption
A Christ-centered adoption agency reports a sharp increase in adoption placements during the first half of this year. Bethany Christian Services says that overall, international and domestic adoption placements are up 26% over the first half of 2009. Bethany's vice president of marketing, Marc Andreas, attributes much of that increase to concerns for children orphaned by the January earthquake in Haiti. "We've seen a great increase this year over last year," he said. "Part of it is due to people really being impacted after watching the Haiti earthquake and the tragedies." He said that with television cameras walking into orphanages, "it became very personal for people to see what it is like for a 6-month-old or a 6-year-old that is in great need, struggling to survive in Haiti."

World Vision Urging Prayer for Africa
World Vision is asking for prayer and action to help stop the violence in Africa, as Congress considers the Conflict Minerals Trade Act. World Vision says that the measure is designed to stop companies from using minerals obtained through violence in Africa. "First," says Rory Anderson, who monitors public policy for the ministry, "it maps the key areas of conflict that are continuing to drive conflict in eastern Congo. The bill also prohibits the importation of blood minerals into the United States; and, the bill requires importers who use conflict minerals to certify that their products do not contain conflict minerals. And finally, companies who do use blood minerals will be published and publicly available." "This," says Anderson, "is a smart and sensible way to basically defund the conflict."

Back to Church Sunday
Momentum is building for "Back to Church Sunday," set for September 12th. Organizers say that more than 1500 churches across the nation have committed to inviting people who once attended church, but who don’t anymore, to attend special worship services. Last year, hundreds of churches took part in the first "Back to Church Sunday," which saw members invite more than 700-thousand friends and family. This year, an estimated one-million so-called "unchurched" and "dechurched" people will be invited to the special day.

Right-to-Die Billboard Condemned
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark is condemning a right-to-die billboard placed in Hillside, New Jersey, by the group, Final Exit Network. The billboard says, "My life, my death, my choice," and lists the group’s Web site. The organization counsels people who are terminally ill and in pain on how to end their lives. A spokesman for the archdiocese said that the group's message cannot be condoned. Also, some therapists have called the billboard irresponsible, saying that it could serve as a "tipping point" for troubled teens, or others, at risk of suicide. The 15-by-49-foot billboard went up along State Route 22. The group also placed the billboard in San Francisco, with another planned for Florida.

Bible Society Encourages Christians to Take Salvation Message to the World
The president of the American Bible Society is encouraging Christians to take the salvation message and the Bible to the world. Lamar Vest, president of the American Bible Society, says that the Bible is losing its impact on the culture. "There is not only an abandonment of reading scripture," says Vest, "but, there is a growing hostility in this nation towards scripture." He encourages Christians to pray and share the scriptures. "If we don't dialogue with people who do not believe, we will never be able to get the message of Christ across to this generation," says Vest.

Court in India Sentences Member of State Assembly
A court in Orissa, India, has sentenced a member of the State Assembly to seven years in prison, after he was convicted of involvement in the murder of a Christian during a spate of sectarian violence in 2008. International Christian Concern says that more than 100 Christians were killed, and at least 50,000 were displaced, during the violence. Jonathan Racho, a regional manager with ICC, says, We are happy that the Indian justice system is finally starting to take action against the perpetrators, "but don't believe 7 years is enough for murdering a Christian." He says that the government of India should provide the victims of the violence with housing, medical assistance and basic needs.

Study Looks at Compensation for Southern Baptist Pastors
A survey, by Lifeway Research, finds that compensation for Southern Baptist pastors is staying ahead of inflation. The study looked at nearly 11,700 staff positions in churches of the nation's largest protestant denomination, from 2008 to 2010. Lifeway associate director, Scott McConnell, says, "Southern Baptist senior pastors, who are working full-time at their church, actually saw their salaries rise less than 1%, 0.78%. But, over that 2-year period, the compounded inflation rate that we get from the U.S. Department of Labor is actually a little less than that." With other benefits factored in, the value of the entire pay package for the full-time senior pastor rose by nearly 7%, far out-pacing inflation.