Mission Insite offers Demographic Tools for Churches

As congregational leaders we are called into the mission of the United Methodist Church - Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. One of the primary responsibilities of congregational leaders is to help their congregation answer three fundamental questions that the mission inspires: What do we mean by the term disciple? How do the disciples we are nurturing transform the world? and, who are the people we have been sent to nurture into the life of discipleship?

The last question, which is best summarized in the question who is our neighbor? is a question about our mission field. To whom is your congregation actually sent?

One of the ways congregational leaders can become more aware of their mission field is through the use of demographic information. Our Conference has a contract with MissionInsite, a demographic service that brings to most up to date demographic information to congregational leaders in ways that help them to understand their mission field?

You can obtain a variety of reports on your mission field for free. The Executive Insite report is very complete. The Quick Insite report is more compact and focused and serves as a great tool for church council discussion. The Quad Insite report is a new offering that actually gives you information about the religious attitudes and preferences of the people in your mission field.

Demographic information is not the only tool to help you more effectively engage your mission, but it certainly helps and often provides a powerful corrective to the out of date assumptions your leaders are making about the people around the church.

Go to the Mission Insite page on our conference website for more information and to download a getting started sheet that will guide you through the process of obtaining this information for your congregation. If you have questions about the why or how, please feel free to be in touch with me: steve@umoi.org or 971-237-2040971-237-2040.