Know Your Mission Field

POTENTIAL SOURCES 
  • First View Report from Percept  at link2lead.com 
  • Demographic & Census Data (link)
  • Area realtors
  • Chambers of Commerce
  • Public Schools
  • Local Newspapers
  • Local Civic Club 
  • City & Community Publications
  • Observation/Conversations:
    • Teams driving or walking through the area and carefully observing the community
    • Door-to-door surveys (if accepted positively in community)
      • How long have you lived in the community?
      • What do you think are the three best things about living in this community?
      • What are the three most significant problems or concerns in the neighborhood?
      • What have the existing churches in the area done to address these concerns?
  • Conversations with public leaders, community and/or city employees
  • Personally developing long-term relationships with neighbors & residents
  • Involvement in local community activities & events
  • Volunteer service in community organizations 

 

SUGGESTED INFORMATION TO GATHER & CONSIDER

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

Age?  Ethnicity?  Language spoken at home?

Education levels?  Income?  Employment Status?

Housing type (owned, rented)?  Transportation Availability?

Family/Marital Status?  Average Family Size?

% of Newcomers?

 

BELIEFS & PRACTICES

What other churches are in the area?

Are they well attended?  Effective?

Are they reaching the entire population?

Are there mosques?  Temples?  Palm Readers?

Obtain phone numbers of other religious/spiritual leaders in the community.  Meet with them to share perspectives and learn from them about the community.

 

LIFESTYLES / LIFE STAGES

There is some overlap of definition in the terms "lifestyle" and "life stage."  Generally, "lifestyle" represents more external conditions of life (affluent, impoverished, at-risk, etc.).  "Life stage" generally indicates a natural or progressive passage of life such as adolescent, student, newly married, parents of toddlers, empty nest, widowhood, etc.

 

COMMUNITY/PUBLIC SERVICES & INSTITUTIONS

Schools, Hospitals, Critical Care Units

Community Medical Clinics, Nursing Homes

Retirement Centers, Adult Day Care, Child Care Centers

Detention Centers, Half-way houses, Correctional Facilities,

Shopping centers, Grocery stores, Specialty Stores

Parks, Playgrounds, Community Centers

Which of these are located in the area?  What needs are they serving?  How do things look?  Well-kept or not?  Who is going in and out of the facilities?  Is there any information available to the public?

 

HOUSING FACILITIES

Apartments?  High-rise, multi-unit?  New?  Old?

Single Residences:  Age?  Price range?  Appearance?  Condition?

How many for sale?  Occupied? Vacant?

 

OTHER INDICATORS

What does the community look like during the day?  At night?

Is it gated?  Are people outside?

Trash & Litter or Well-manicured lawns?

Children playing?  Adults loitering?

Playground?  Toys in front yards?

Recreational vehicles?  Bicycles, Boats, Campers?

Types of vehicles? American-made cars?  Trucks with gun racks?  SUV's?

All these and others can give you clues about how people live and what their concerns might be.  As you get to know people in the neighborhood, discover how they spend their leisure time, what their concerns are, where they work, and where their children go to school.

 

PHYSICAL / SOCIAL NEEDS

What needs are indicated by what you have observed thus far?

What do public servants, officials, and community leaders say?

What do the neighbors say?

 

SPIRITUAL NEEDS

Signs of excessive materialism?  A self-absorbed lifestyle?

Sexually oriented businesses?  High incidences of loitering?

Signs of gang activity?

Palm-readers?  Temples?  Mosques?

What can you observe about the spiritual condition of the community?

As you talk with people, what concerns do they express?

How do they spend time and money?

What is the status of their family life?

 

CHANGES

Observe all signs of change:

Population increases or decreases?

Economic growth or decline?

New construction of homes or businesses?

Homes for sale? residences, multi-housing complexes or businesses vacant?

 

RECEPTIVITY

Are there signs of receptivity to spiritual things?

Temple, mosques, palm readers may indicate spiritual seeking.

Are there members of the community willing to become a part of your core group or launch team?

Is there a person in whose home you can meet?