Demographics: A Lens to See Clearly
God knows your community perfectly. You don’t.
Those perfectly unremarkable two statements are at the heart of why the Diocese of Georgia offers demographic data from the Percept Group to every congregation. As the statistical study of a population, demographics offers a church an objective basis for considering how best to serve a given area in proclaiming the Gospel and reaching the lost and left out.
At the diocesan level, we can see the rapid groth expected in a few areas, like Rincon, the town on the northwest side of Savannah which is expected to grow 21.3% to 27,675 in the coming five years. Other areas, such as the town of Cuthbert on the west side of the Diocese where we no longer have a church, the population is expected to decline by 3.1% over that same time period to 4,373. But beyond this broader data, more interesting are trends within the population, the areas getting older while others get younger, or the retirement areas that stay the same as new retirees move in. One can also see where large Latino populations exist as a church considers a Spanish liturgy, or where there are a lot of single Moms as a very different outreach is contemplated to lighten their load.
I really experienced the value of using demographics from the Percept Group when going to Camden Couty to start what became King of Peace Church, and proved how accurate this data is. Over the coming weeks, I will share more about demographics and how you congregation can use them. For now, I want to offer every reader of From the Field a glimpse into the demographics of your church’s community. [Note: in From the Field where this column first appears, I shared how to register with our Link2Lead site to find demographics on the area around our congregations. Those in the Diocese of Georgia who wish to receive this information may contact me at the Diocese of Georgia office (912) 236-4279 and I will assist you with that data.]
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Percept offers a suggested vestry meeting format for looking at this data together which I have posted online here: First View Workshop PDF
This is just a glimpse as we have more detailed information which is available by county, by zip code, by radius, or by drawing any shape on the map. But I will get to that more detailed view in a later column. For now, take the time to follow the steps above and enjoy this brief look at your community’s data. Then come back next week to read more about how to use demographic data.
The Rev. Canon Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary
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