Archive for January, 2007

Bogus Surveys, Bad Question Design, Web Polls and other Research Pet Peeves!

Wednesday, January 31st, 2007

I have a few pet peeves about ministry research I’d like to vent about. I don’t like the phony surveys people use for outreach. I cringe at ill-conceived research questions. And those website polls that masquerade as research also get on my nerves. I know, I need help. Maybe getting a life would help too! Recognizing you have […]

Why Your Last Ministry Survey was Wrong! (And What to do About it!)

Sunday, January 28th, 2007

Your last survey was all wrong–but don’t worry—all surveys are wrong! Even professionally done surveys are incorrect! Every survey ever conducted by George Barna is wrong! Thom Rainer  is all wet often too!  Pew Research reeks with error! Don’t get me trotting out how the folks at Gallup just aren’t correct!
How do I know all surveys […]

What in the World is Weltanschauung?

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

Move over “Postmodern” and “Emergent!” Step aside “Missional!” Go home “House Church!” Make room for the Grandfather of all Christian buzz words: “W O R L D V I E W.”
In ministry, communicating the truth of God’s Word to real people will run you headlong into their personal application of epistemology, also called worldview. Yeah, […]

Getting in Touch with Your Inner Psychographic Researcher

Friday, January 19th, 2007

Let’s get to know each other better. Imagine you are meeting someone you would like to get to know. If you had an afternoon to hang-out, what kinds of questions would you ask the other person to get to know them?
Where do you work? Tell me about your family. Do you have kids? Where did […]

Would Jesus Use Demographics?

Monday, January 15th, 2007

It never fails. Whenever I talk about demographics with ministry leaders, someone comes up with what they seem to think is a theological insight I have not considered, “Uh, excuse me…Jesus didn’t use demographics. So why should we?” I usually want to respond with an equally theologically obvious point, “No, but news flash, we ain’t Jesus […]

Location, Location, Location

Sunday, January 14th, 2007

You have heard the old real estate marketing adage, “The three most important things are: location, location, location”. Understanding where you serve geographically in ministry really maters to how you conduct outreach. That should be obvious, right?
When coaching churches, I have found many who are unaware of basic things going on around them in the […]

The Parable of the Cool Ministry Leader

Saturday, January 13th, 2007

[I have a few more words about geographics before we move on to Demographics, Psychographics, and Ethnographics.  I think it would be fun to share a parable with you.]
The Parable of the Cool Ministry Leader
John is a new pastor just out of seminary, who happens to be a really cool guy. He likes cool things like blogging, […]

How to Use Demographic Data in Church Marketing

Thursday, January 11th, 2007

We have already talked about how you can’t reach people just based on who you think they are; you can most effectively reach them based on who they think they are.
This is not saying people can not be grouped in various ways that they don’t also consciously perceive. If such were the case, the field of […]

Put Your “Missional” Money Where Your Ministry Mouth Is–Do Research!

Monday, January 8th, 2007

You hear a lot of talk these days about being missional. It’s now a cool new buzz-word in Christian circles. There is lot of missional ministry talk going on over expensive and frothy coffee these days. But in all the missional talk, how well does a church plug in the missional walk?
Being missional is not […]

The Fallacy of Thinking You Can Reach the Unchurched

Thursday, January 4th, 2007

There is a crazy perception out there that by developing targeted ministries for the unchurched and promoting them to the unchurched you can reach them. Hogwash!
Let me help you put this wackiness to rest by making two points. One, the unchurched don’t really exist as a group.  Two, you can’t really reach people based on […]

How to Get Inside the Minds of the Unchurched People in Your Community

Monday, January 1st, 2007

When I was growing up it was popular to think of the world as like a melting pot, with all the various people mixing cultures making up a new blended whole. Then when I became a missionary, I learned the truth. People are not melting into anything much at all.  No doubt the world is […]