Company Helps Churches Stay Abreast of Cultural Shifts
by Mary Rettig
November 15, 2004
(AgapePress) - The head of a business that specializes in church demographic studies says some interesting trends are changing the way churches do ministry.Anthony Healy is president of an Atlanta-based company called Visions-Decisions. He says many churches and groups are missing some of the demographic trends taking place within the U.S. population, and what his business tries to do is help them identify niches and needs in their communities.
For instance, Healy notes, one demographic trend that is creating a niche in America is the aging of the population. "One of the factors of that," he says, "is many people who are church members [are seeing] their children growing up and leaving home. And one of the problems that does occur is that, sometimes, church attendance begins to drop off among people who have empty-nest households."
Another change, the head of Visions-Decisions points out, is that more young adults today are taking more time for education and career options and putting off getting married and starting a family. Such demographic trends, he notes, have an effect on what people look for in a church, and so a church needs to know the trends in order to respond to people's needs.
Healy says a church can also use current data on population trends to examine "how that church might be shaped in the terms of the ministry, how it's put together -- the strengths of relationships between people within the church, for an example."
This sort of information, the demographics expert adds, can help churches consider "what kinds of theological stance seems to be appropriate and things of that nature, which help them fit within [a niche] and provide real, meaningful ministry to people."
Where perhaps most people once chose a church based on location, Healy asserts that people now go to a certain church not because it is close, but because it has programs suited to their needs. He says churches today are becoming more regionalized and increasingly made up of members with similar lifestyles.
