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August
22, 2006 | Issue #32 |
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Whether you're starting a new church, expanding your
ministry to another site, beginning afresh at a new
church or needing a second wind in your current ministry,
you will benefit from getting to know your community
better. The Internet offers resources to acquaint you
with the religious, economic, and ethnic makeup of your
community. Some of the helps are fee-based and offer
custom services, but much of the information is yours
for the taking.
HELP
FOR FREE
Would
you like to know the country of origin of the
people living in your community?
The site www.peoplegroups.info,
powered by the International Mission Board and
the North American Mission Board of the Southern
Baptist Convention, is based on 2000 census
data and offers national origin data regarding
people living in the United States. You can
identify the dominant groups, as well as niche
groups in your community.
Would
you benefit from a demographic profile of your
community? |
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At the Association of Religious Data Archives site,
you can build a profile of the social, educational,
economic and religious characteristics of your community.
Especially recommended are the community
profiles it offers.
Want a cluster map of the members of your congregation
without having to use a bulletin board and pins?
At www.frappr.com,
Rising Concepts created frappr as a way to see where
all their high school and college friends were living.
Using this service, churches can get a visual of where
members and prospects live.
Would you like to keep your fingers on the pulse
of America?
You can perform keyword searches or browse by topic
through the archives of The
Barna Group. The site also offers books, short films
and other resources.
Would
you like a feel for the shifts and trends in U.S. religious
life from one census to another?
Check the results of the
2000 Glenmary study on churches and religious bodies,
funded by the Lilly Endowment.
Are you interested in the role religion plays
in American public life?
The site www.pewforum.org,
developed by the Pew Foundation, publishes findings
from their studies and polls . . .
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Learning
to Lead Capital Campaigns
Church Solutions is offering a one-day
training seminar in three different cities,
featuring pastor Steve Stroope and proven fundraising
techniques he has tested over 30 years of ministry.
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Isolation
Is Common in America
A trend toward isolation surfaced in the last
U.S. census figures, showing that one-fourth of
the nation's households--27.2 million of them--consisted
of just one person, compared with 10 percent in
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Innovative
Church Conference Fosters Creativity
Join Mark Beeson, the Granger (IN) Community team,
Mark Batterson, Perry Noble and Shane and Shane,
September 21-22 for a practical conference that
will inspire your ministry team with the latest
thoughts and trends in the culture and church. |
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The new
Joy LifeShapes Leadership Center is now
the base for LifeShapes in North America.
Born out of St. Thomas' Church in Sheffield,
England, the operating system of LifeShapes
exists at the forefront of ministry in a
postmodern world. |
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The Joy LifeShapes Leadership Center--further
developed out of the ministry of Community Church
of Joy in Glendale, Arizona--serves mission-minded
church leaders as a relational resource for those
God is inspiring and calling through LifeShapes.
The group's vision is to see the church effectively
reach our postmodern world.
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Learn How to Tap into Marketplace Leaders
How can your church do more and be more--without investing
huge sums in additional paid staff? In many cases, the
answer is tapping into the talents and energy of marketplace
leaders already in your congregation.
To help pastors and other church leaders better understand
the potential of this underutilized resource, Leadership
Network and LifeWay Christian Resources are bringing a
helpful half-day
event to cities all across the nation.
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Leadership
Network Featured in REV! Magazine
As a new regular feature in the USA TODAY-style pastors'
magazine REV!,
Leadership Network is providing a monthly column for the
magazine on various ministry topics. The inaugural July-August
2006 column focuses on multi-site churches with
insights from .
. .
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Staffing and Structure of Multi-Site Churches
A brief comparison of the basic staffing strategies of
five multi-site churches answers questions such as: To
whom does the campus pastor report? And, how do you find
or recruit new staff? Find the answers to these questions
and more at the Leadership
Network web site.
Transferring the DNA in Multi-Site Churches
Profiles of five churches include a comparison of the
churches' approaches, examples of a major DNA quality
and how leaders learn the DNA. Go to: www.leadnet.org.
Both reports are by Warren Bird.
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You
can find valuable information on a variety of ministry
topics by visiting the Leadership Network Advance
Archives. Some past issues include these feature articles:
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Using
a Great Day of Service to Shape Your Church's
Culture |
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Perfect Match ... Church Retirees Help Transform
Local Schools |
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Missional
Skills for Missional Thinkers |
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Megachurch
Study Debunks Myths, Gains Spotlight |
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