(RNS) Christ Fellowship in McKinney, Texas, offers worshippers a Facebook page, online sermons, live chats, QR codes — things that signal ``a willingness to meet new challenges,'' expert Scott Thumma says, as churches aim to expand their reach by using cutting-edge technology. By Cathy Lynn Grossman/USA Today.

CLEVELAND (RNS) Bishop Richard Lennon on Tuesday announced that he will reopen 12 churches whose closings were reversed by the Vatican last month. By Michael O'Malley.

(RNS) Just 9 percent of U.S. adults who left their faith say they've returned to the pews, practices and prayers that shaped them. They're not converts; they're reverts. And religious denominations are stepping up efforts to reclaim, re-energize and re-educate these fallen-away faithful. By Cathy Lynn Grossman.

LONDON (RNS) A Church of England vicar was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for conducting hundreds of bogus weddings and illegally pocketing more than $48,000 in fees. By Al Webb.

WASHINGTON (RNS) The U.S. Commission for Religious Freedom just got two new members, both darlings of conservatives: Princeton University philosopher Robert P. George and Zuhdi Jasser, who describes himself as an alternative voice to established Muslim civil rights groups. By Al Webb and Kevin Eckstrom.

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (RNS) A fake terrorist raid staged to show Christian teenagers the perils faced by Christian missionaries left one 14-year-old girl so traumatized that her mother filed a report with the police, claiming her daughter suffered a busted lip and bruised knees. By Ed Komenda.

TRENTON, N.J. (RNS) As part of a survey to understand why they have stopped attending Mass, a few hundred lapsed Catholics were asked what issues they would raise with the bishop. He would have gotten an earful. By Peggy McGlone.

WASHINGTON (RNS) The Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention remained the two largest U.S. churches in 2011, but both posted a decline of less than 1 percent, the fourth year in a row for Southern Baptists. By Annalisa Musarra.

CLEVELAND (RNS) Catholics fighting church closings across the country are keeping their eyes on the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, where Bishop Richard Lennon's closure of 13 churches was overturned by the Vatican.Copies of the decrees are circulating electronically throughout the U.S. and even in Canada. By Michael O'Malley.

(RNS) As members of the extended Schuller family leave the helm of the dwindling Crystal Cathedral, the sad fate of the congregation in the iconic glass-walled church offers a cautionary tale of family-run ministries. By Adelle M. Banks.

CLEVELAND (RNS) The official Vatican decrees reversing the closings of 13 Catholic parishes finally reached the desk of Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon, giving him 60 days to decide on an appeal. By Michael O'Malley.

LONDON (RNS) New research indicates that Christianity is rapidly losing followers in Great Britain at such a pace that unbelievers will become a majority in 20 years. By Al Webb.

CLEVELAND (RNS) In an extraordinary move, the Vatican has reversed the closure of 13 churches in the Diocese of Cleveland, saying the parishes must be restored and the sanctuaries reopened for worship, according to activists who fought the closings. By Michael O'Malley.

(RNS) A Virginia judge has ordered seven congregations that broke from the Episcopal Church to return all property to the local diocese -- from valuable land to sacred chalices -- by April 30. By Daniel Burke.

(RNS) When the pastor of Grace Community United Church of Christ in St. Paul, Minn., decided to support his denomination's embrace of gay marriage, he lost three-quarters of his church, and learned just how the price can be in supporting progressive causes. By Annalisa Musarra.