MissionInsite
Discovering your church’s ministry opportunities has never been easier. MissionInsite provides instant access to community information for your church via The MI System. You’ll get desktop, web-based access to demographic data for a variety of geographic levels. Click the link for an Introduction to MissionInsite.
The MI System provides you with a new way to access demographic information. It moves beyond the static reports you order to a powerful “discovery tool” for exploration and “out of the box” thinking for church ministry, church planting, church growth and outreach.
The system also provides the ability for local churches to locate their church members and others affiliated with their church on your map. This is referred to as Congregant Plot. So, while there are a few things you need to learn, the system is designed to be user friendly and provides you with additional services not available from other systems. Have fun exploring your mission context and remember there is no possibility of accidentally harming the system or data.
Before getting registered, you are encouraged to explore the documents in the Local Churches Resource area especially How to Register.
Registration Information
As part of the Northwest Conference, you have free, unlimited access to MissionInsite. www.missioninsite.com
- To register as a first time user of MissionInsite: Go to: http://www.missioninsite.com/clients/register.shtml
- Click on the “Register" button on step two of the instructions
- Enter the Agency Account Number: (contact the NWC office for the account #) and click SUBMIT
- Select your city and then select your church from the drop-down menus
- Follow the directions to register and create your own username and password
*It is recommended that you DO NOT check the box stating that you do not want to receive email correspondence from MissionInsite. The activation email that you need to complete your registration will not come to you if you do!*
After you register you will receive an email to activate your user account. Make sure you check in your spam or junk mail folders and authorize MissionInsite as a trusted source.
Follow the steps outlined in the activation email. You will be prompted to click on a link, enter the activation code in the email that you received and enter your password. Upon authorization you will be ready to log in and begin using the MI System!
Logging in for the first time
Enter your newly created Username and Password and click the “login” button. That’s all there is to it!
Other Tools:
Percept Group
Since its inception in 1987, Percept has supplied thousands of churches and parishes, and hundreds of regional and national denominational agencies (click for current list) with demographic resources to help them engage in mission within their particular context. Percept adds value to its demographic information by integrating data about the religious attitudes, preferences and behavior of the American people. Percept has regularly been recognized as one of the best strategic information companies in the country.
U.S. Census Bureau
The official site of the U.S. Census Bureau, here you will find links to many different types of studies.
The American Church Research Project
TheAmericanChurch.org seeks to provide accurate religious research for a comprehensive picture of the church today. Most of the research is not readily available anywhere, let alone gathered together in one place. Dave Olson is the Director of Church Planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church, and as a hobby has been collecting research data for the last 15 years. This research grew out of Dave’s frustration that no one really knew how the American Church was doing, and instead Christian leaders were often making wild guesses and declarative statements based on inaccurate hearsay. Exaggerating the challenges, overestimating the progress or ignoring reality have been common Christian responses to the missional challenges for Christians in the United States. This research was undertaken because we cannot know where to go and how to get there until we find out where we are and why we are in that situation.
