Muslims Repair Church

Muslims have repainted and repaired a Catholic church attacked in the Punjab region of India. The damage was done by a mob of more than 100 Sunday night. They stormed the Protestant Church of North India in Malerkotla, reportedly because of rumors that the Quran was being burned in the U.S. Several police officers were injured trying to prevent the burning of Bibles during the attack. The Jalandhar diocese says the Muslims who offered help replaced doors, ceiling fans and bought new benches for the church. Malerkotla is the only Muslim majority town in Punjab, which is dominated by a Sikh majority.

Salaries at Megachurches

The average salary for the head pastor at a megachurch is $147,000 - ranging from up to $400,000 to as low as $40,000. Leadership Network defined megachurches as congregations with weekly attendance of 2000 or more. The typical megachurch has a budget of more than $5 million and more than 50 full-time staff. The median age for the senior pastor in surveyed churches is 49.

Biggest & Fastest Growing Churches

Here are the 5 biggest U.S. churches according to Outreach magazine:
1. Lakewood Church, Houston, Texas, Joel Osteen, (43,500)
2. North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, Ga., Andy Stanley (24,325)
3. Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas, Ed Young Sr. (24,041)
4. Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, Ill., Bill Hybels (24,000)
5. Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Ky., Dave Stone (19,230)

Here are the top 5 fastest-growing churches:e:
1. 12Stone Church, Lawrenceville, Ga., Kevin Myers (30% growth of 2,226)
2. Experience Life Church, Lubbock, Texas, Chris Galanos (60% growth of 1,061)
3. The Rock Church and World Outreach Center, San Bernardino, Calif., Jim Cobrae (25% growth of 2,646)
4. People's Church, Oklahoma City, Okla., Herbert Cooper (58% growth, of 1,085)
5. Faith Church of St. Louis, Fenton, Mo., David Crank (36% growth of 1,200)

Texas has 17 of the largest and 16 of the 100 fastest-growing churches. California has 16 churches. Florida and Illinois each has 8 of the fastest-growing 100 churches.

Peter Marshall Dies

Author Peter Marshall has died at the age of 70, two days after he had a heart attack in Massachusetts. He wrote The Light and the Glory, From Sea to Shining Sea, and Sounding Forth the Trumpet. His father, the senior Peter Marshall, was twice Senate Chaplain and his mother, Catherine, wrote the best-selling novel Christy.

Suit Over Vaccinations

A New York couple has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to avoid vaccinating their son. Andrea and Paul Polydor object to a Catholic high school insisting their 14-year-old to get state-required vaccinations in order for him to enroll. The couple says it is a "violation of God's supreme authority" and are suing Kellenberg Memorial High School. Experts say the suit is unlikely to succeed because Kellenberg is a private institution.