DEMOGRAPHYCS
Demographics—Identifying “Your Crowd”
Calling An American Baptist Minister CHURCH REFLECTIONS 1
DEMOGRAPHYCS
What is demography?
Demography is the study of populations.It answers questions like the following: Is our neighborhood growing? Are there any children around the church? How many families are headed by single parents in our church’s neighborhood? Do the members of the church look like the people in the church’s ministry area?A demographic study of the church’s ministry area can help you to see your neigh-bors from a different perspective.Not only can such information be helpful in planning new outreach; it can also be helpful in describing your church and community to a prospective new pastor.
How to define your area of interest
When conducting a demographic study, it is important to define the area you are studying. Here are some questions to consider. What is the extent of the study? What level of detail do you need to consider?Does the area you wish to study have a center--your church location, perhaps, or a potential site for a new church or a new building?Do you want to draw a circle or some other shape around the center?Do you want to determine distance in terms of miles or drive time?Perhaps you may wish to study your whole city or town as a unit.
A number of different levels of geography are commonly used for local demographic studies. You may wish to use city or town, ZIP code, or census tract.Note that while ZIP codes are convenient, especially if you are contemplating a direct mail campaign, the purpose of ZIP codes is to deliver the U.S. mail. The Census Bureau relates demographic data to ZIP codes by the use of ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate ZIP Code boundaries.
You can begin this part of your homework by driving around the area you wish to study and noting boundaries such as streets, rivers, or railroad tracks. Then look at a map to define the area to be studied.Affordable mapping software such as Street Atlas USA from DeLorme ( may be helpful, but you can use paper maps, as well.
Which pieces of information do we need?
There is more information at our fingertips than we can easily absorb, so we need to be selective.To create a summary description of your community for a prospective new pastor, for example, you might look up the racial/ethnic makeup of the population together with information on age, household wealth, and household type and size.If you are thinking of starting a new, cross-cultural ministry, you may wish to identify the different language groups represented in your study area and the parts of the world from which the most recent immigrants to your area have come.
How do we present our discoveries?
There are different ways to present what you discover in your demographic study.In general you should avoid presenting reports with many columns of numbers and try to tell the story naturally, instead.Numbers should be summa-rized, and charts or graphs should tell one story.USA Todayroutinely does thiseffectively.
Consider your audience and the forum of your presentation. If you will present your findings to prospective new pastors, a combination of narrative describing your community together with simple charts and a map can be very helpful. If you are making a presentation to members of your church in a congregational meeting, a clear oral presentation supplemen-ted by maps can be helpful in telling the story.Maps can be especially helpful in contrasting and comparing the neighborhoods within your ministry area. Remember:keep it simple!
What do we do with this information?
It is important to use demographic reports obtained from a database or a company in conjunction with what you or other informants know about an area. The mile high view needs to be qualified by the ground level view! Demographic reports can prompt you to ask questions that require further investigation at the local level. Demographic studies are not magic and do not provide answers to the question: what should we do? However, they can help you to frame your questions.
Where can we get help?
National Ministries has prepared some resources to help you find demographic information for your church. If you have Web access, navigate to:
These materials are periodically updated. You may also call the Rev. David Cushman at 800-ABC-3USA, ext. 2494, to ask for help.
Calling An American Baptist Minister CHURCH REFLECTIONS 1