Who is my neighbor?

New tool helps you better understand your community, connect and meet needs more effectively

by Mark Bender

It’s been said, “Change is the only constant.” We see it in our lives, workplaces and neighborhoods. So, how can we better understand who our neighbors are? How can we better connect with them and meet their changing needs while sharing the hope of our unchanging God?

MissionInsite is a new ministry tool to help corps, adult rehabilitation centers and divisions do just that. It provides demographic information and trends like median income, family size, education, and expected population growth or decline from trusted analytics leaders like Synergos Technologies, Inc. (STI), Experian, American Beliefs Study, and Epsilon.

Registered users have access to custom maps, reports and more to learn a lot about the people around them. Predefined and custom demographic reports can be generated easily.

ExecutiveInsite gives a unique narrative accompanied by graphs and tables.

QuickInsite provides a colorful 11-page report including the MOSAIC lifestyle types (household behaviors, lifestyle and attitudes). This data is updated annually and suggests ministry applications based on 19 groups and 71 distinct household types and their lifestyles, demographics and concerns.

MinistryInsite explains ministry and program preferences, life concerns and media choices. MissionInsite uses STI Pop Stats to monitor current population trends and make forecasts. This information is updated twice a year based on the United States census, current year population estimates, five-year projections and 10-year forecasts.

MinistryInsite Priorities summarizes and prioritizes Ministry Insite topics.

ReligiousInsite shows religious and spiritual attitudes and practices, social and moral values, and faith involvement in a specified area. ReligiousInsite and MinistryInsite reports use data from the Quadrennium Project, a national survey of American religious preferences, practices and beliefs.

ReligiousInsite Priorities summarizes and prioritizes ReligiousInsite topics.

What can you do with all this data? It can be used to find new ways to love the people in your corps, neighborhood and community because you have a much clearer idea of what they need and how to meet those needs and more effectively communicate the love of Jesus to them.

Opportunity Scans help you analyze and identify regional, community and neighborhood ministry potential, down to the block. You can create maps and data tables with top ministry target areas for your corps or division.

You can create and print maps to visualize an area’s projected growth, racial and ethnic groups, employment demographics, or MOSAIC household types. Custom reports provide insight into likely religious preferences, practices, beliefs and media preferences. You can choose the information you want for these reports, so you can develop specific ministry strategies.

So, who in your community needs your help the most?

Are you curious about your community’s diversity and wonder if your corps reflects these demographics?

Have you wondered which neighborhoods in your community are growing?

What are your neighbors’ concerns, and are there things your corps could be doing that address those concerns?

Hopefully your interest is piqued. Email the Territorial Corps and Community Mission Department to discover more: USC.THQ.CorpsandCommunityMission@USC.SalvationArmy.org