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 MissionInsite
By the Rev. Dr. John
Dorhauer
We need to begin wrapping
our heads around an important notion: we are fast becoming a
conference fully committed to the building of new churches and the
rebuilding of our existing congregations.
Growth opportunities have come and gone here in the Southwest, and we
have missed opportunities to successfully grow new churches during
many of them. Leaders in this conference are just beginning to
challenge ourselves to learn everything there is to learn about how to
be more effective, more passionate and more successful in these
efforts.
To that end, the Conference has purchased access to a database called
MissionInsite.
Our national UCC offices negotiated a contract for these services,
greatly reducing our cost.
All of our local churches have access to the database. Holly Herman is
prepared to walk your congregation's leaders through the registration
process. I will lead workshops in the coming weeks in settings
throughout the Conference to help leaders properly navigate
MissionInsite's website and their database. For an additional
$75, congregations can purchase tools to help them plot their members'
residences on maps provided by the website - opening up whole new
arenas from congregational development and research.
And just what, then, does
MissionInsite provide? It is a resource for:
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- statistical data
on population bases, shifts and trends;
- emerging demographics in our communities that may escape our
attention;
- information about the prevailing characteristics of the
various groups residing near our churches;
- data on income levels, housing trends, education, age
categories, languages and ethnicities. |
Churches that have growth on their mind, churches thinking about
developing programming as a tool for outreach into their community, or
churches thinking about forming, planting, birthing or satelliting a
new congregation will all want to make use of this remarkable tool.
Churches that have no idea what their communities think, act like,
believe, do, or desire will find this resource useful.
I am only beginning to make full use of this resource. I strongly
encourage the leaders of our churches to begin to explore its possible
uses in their settings.
Log onto their
website to get
a feel for what they offer.
Contact Holly Herman, in our Conference office, to ask about how your
church can register to use the database through the Southwest
Conference's access number or how your church can purchase the more
refined data.
We are grateful to David Schoen and our National leaders for
identifying this resource and for negotiating an annual fee that is
manageable for us.
May our commitment to new growth, for the sake of the unique
proclamation of the Gospel that belongs to the United Church of
Christ, never wane or waver.
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