TN129 Collecting data for mission

First published on this website in December 2020 and last updated in December 2024

Synopsis

Many churches fail to collect the data they need for wise decision-making. These notes outline the kind of information churches could use to direct their efforts in mission. There are three parts. GDPR compliance is assumed throughout.

The first part outlines the information about each church member that can be useful such as contact details, family information and team involvements.

The second and main part explains nine types of general data worth collecting under the following headings:

1. Membership
2. Attendance
3. Leadership and staffing
4. Small groups
5. Finance
6. Life events
7. Challenges
8. The local community
9. Other examples.

The third and final section provides advice on how to go about collecting data such as:

• Don’t do too much!
• Keep mission as the purpose
• Use interviews
• Don’t under-estimate the work of analysis.

These notes were updated in December 2024 with some minor amendments.