BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Assembling the Team
In the coming weeks, you and your team will be working toward a thoughtful strategy. Assign specific roles to facilitate the process and ensure work isn’t being done by one individual . Your team should include:
Senior Pastor – Leadership and guidance throughout
Marketing Plan Coordinator (MPC) – A staff member or lay leader; gathers data, distributes surveys, helps input the marketing plan and coordinates communication.
Administrative Assistant – Contributes thoughts and records proceedings
Trustees or Members of Committees – Provides ideas and counsel from research
GET YOUR
CMPT GUIDE
RESEARCH & VISION
understanding yourself & your community
SECTION 1
STATISTICS & DEMOGRAPHICS
get the numbers
The following reports should be requested 4–6 weeks before a one day Marketing Team Retreat. Your Senior Pastor or the Marketing Plan Coordinator should gather a series of reports that will help build the foundation of your plan. The best part? Your reports are at no cost, and simple to request.
Step 1: Order Your Church Profile
At UMData.org, you can access statistics about your church ranging from membership to giving to total income and more. To view your church’s data, click on the “Churches” button in the upper left corner of the page. On the page following, enter your church’s information and click “Search.” It’s that simple. Get your free reports.
Using UMData.org
Step 2: Order Your Community Profile
Additionally, your annual conference communicator or United Methodist Communications can offer in-depth reports—through a provider called MissionInsite — that feature demographic and lifestyle data. Many annual conferences currently subscribe to this service, and there is no added charge for United Methodist churches. To ask for your free report(s), contact the Local Church Outreach department at [email protected] with the street address of your church.
Your community profile will include:
- A letter explaining how to understand your data.
- An Executive Report, which carries data about your community including population growth, income and more. This report analyzes the current state and future of your church’s community.
- A quadrennial report, which examines religious preferences and attitudes every four years.
Community Profile Example Data Gallery (click a thumbnail to enlarge.)
Step 3: Print Your Church Budget
Knowing your available financial resources is critical. These numbers will help your team understand which marketing tactics are realistic given the costs.
NOTE
When these reports are ready, forward them to your Marketing Team in advance of your one-day retreat. This will help team members complete the brief questions in their homework and prepare for discussion times.
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