Casting Crowns is extending its Come to the Well tour into spring with an additional 44 dates, while the Newsboys embark on a 60-plus-stop tour this month. Two multi-artist tours—Winter Jam and the Rock & Worship Roadshow—also launch their nonticketed shows this month.

Of the many areas of ministry in your church, what area is often the most overlooked and under-nourished…. Young Adults. This group has trouble finding a place of ministry, service, and value in almost every congregation. Need some help with ministering to Young Adults? Church of God Youth and Discipleship may have what you have been looking for.

Cleveland, TN– A dedicated Web link for the 2012 Church of God General Assembly will be active on the Church of God Web site starting Monday, January 9, 2012 at 12 noon EST.

The latest version of the popular NIV Bible translation has had its verses on homosexuality reworded, making them clearer in denouncing the practice, a theologian who helped with the translation says.

The Assemblies of God recorded its second-highest ever number of new church openings in the United States, planting just more than one church a day, with 368 new churches opening in 2011.

Domestic ticket sales for movies continued to plummet in 2011 from their highs in the early 2000s, when The Lord of the Rings, The Passion of the Christ and Spider-Man ruled the box office, according to figures released recently by Hollywood.

Media scholar Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission, thinks many in Hollywood have lost touch with Middle America.

Nigeria (MNN) ― Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in parts of the country following attacks from the Islamist group Boko Haram.

Boko Haram means “Western education is a sin.” The group is pushing to establish Sharia law and has been the source of explosive discontent over the last few years. They have been carrying out increasingly deadly attacks throughout 2011, including an August suicide bombing of UN headquarters in Abuja and Christmas violence that triggered fear and anger.

Focus on the Family launches its “Be a Voice for Life Campaign” this month as part of a yearlong effort to promote the dignity of human life at all stages. The emphasis during the first quarter of the campaign is preborn babies.

Besides being the Year of the Dragon in China, 2012 is full of global observances. World Peace Day was Jan. 1, World Rabies Day is Sept. 22 and the World Day for Laboratory Animals (huh?) is April 24. There is also Global Hand-washing Day (Oct. 15), Star Wars Day (May 4), International Cat Day (March 1), and—for all Johnny Depp fans—International Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept. 19).

I don’t know who comes up with these odd celebrations, but I’d like to add one more. Can we declare 2012 the Year of Discipleship?