1 Clifton Church Community Assessment A report by Elder Monte Sahlin Ohio Conference February 25, 2012 Who is Monte Sahlin? o An ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister for 40 years who has done assessments of more than 1,000 local churches and communities. He is director of research & special projects for the Ohio Conference after spending two decades at the General Conference and union conference directing creative ministries. He teaches in the Doctor of Ministry program at Andrews University and the urban studies program at Eastern Baptist University. He is the author of 21 books, 75 research monographs and many articles.
Transcript
1
Clifton ChurchCommunity Assessment
A report by Elder Monte SahlinOhio ConferenceFebruary 25, 2012
Who is Monte Sahlin?o An ordained Seventh-day Adventist
minister for 40 years who has done assessments of more than 1,000 local churches and communities. He is director of research & special projects for the Ohio Conference after spending two decades at the General Conference and union conference directing creative ministries. He teaches in the Doctor of Ministry program at Andrews University and the urban studies program at Eastern Baptist University. He is the author of 21 books, 75 research monographs and many articles.
2
Goals of this Studyo Profile the demographics and religion
of the community surrounding the Clifton Church in Cincinnati.
o Provide a community needs assessment.
o Put information on the table for planning and mission strategy development for the Clifton Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Clifton’s Mission Fieldo A cluster of seven Zip Codeso 93,873 residents in 40,000 householdso Cincinnati metro area has one Adventist for
every 752 residentsn For the entire USA it is 1 to 305n New Guinea: 1 to 25n Zambia: 1 to 22n Jamaica: 1 to 14n Belize: 1 to 10n Antigua: 1 to 8
3
Area Outlined in Green is Clifton Church Target Community
Church Members:13% in Area
3% Downtown
20% Suburbs to the East
29% Suburbs to the North
14% Suburbs to the West
12% Kentucky
1% Dayton
7% out of metro area
4
Who are the people livingin this community?
19 other segments
9%
Middle American Families
8%
Young Adults25%
Urban Diversity
58%
Lifestyle Segments
Urban Diversity – 58%o Low incomes; many children and single moms;
mostly under 35 and most adults are high school dropouts. Most housing is in multi-unit buildings constructed before 1960.
o Key needs: Affordable housing, crime, social justice, child care, substance abuse.
o Involvement in religion is above average with greater numbers interested in Baptist, Holiness, and Episcopal faiths. Want a church that offers small group ministries, food program, 12-step group, parenting classes, child care and parochial school.
5
Young Adults – 25%o Few children, almost all under age 35, high
level of education, largely renters, one fourth have no car, average incomes, ethnically diverse and many group quarters/non-family households.
o Key needs: Education and starting careers, finding friends, social justice, finding direction in life, and food resources.
o Low involvement in religion, with somewhat higher interest in Unitarian, Presbyterian and “New Age” faith. Prefer a church with arts & music program, sports & recreation, spiritual growth and discussion groups.
Middle American Families – 8%o Middle incomes, most are 35 to 69 years of
age, home-owners and employed in White Collar occupations.
o Key needs: Child care, parenting skills, time for recreation, long-term financial security and retirement options.
o Average interest in religion with higher numbers of Catholics, Presbyterians, UCC, Orthodox, Unitarian and “New Age”believers. Prefer a church that offers family life seminars.
6
Black lines are boundaries of study area.
Dark blue, green and yellow = Urban Diversity
Light blue = Young Adults
Red = Middle American Families
*Data for 2015 is projected.
Population Growth
93,354
93,873
94,836
104,324
1990 2000 2010 2015*
Central city of Cincinnati is no Longer growing in population.
Top Needs in the Communityo 46% Achieving financial securityo 44% Maintaining personal healtho 31% Neighborhood crime & safetyo 31% Concern about gangso 30% Dealing with stresso 28% Day-to-day financial worrieso 27% Finding health insurance
18
Purple line = Boundaries of Target Area Zip Codes
Purple line = Boundaries of Target Area Zip Codes
19
Second-level Community Needso 23% Finding time for recreationo 22% Better quality health careo 22% Finding good schoolso 21% Dealing with ethnic prejudiceo 19% Finding a satisfying job/careero 19% Finding friendshipo 19% Dealing with child/teen problemso 19% Achieving a fulfilling marriage
More Needs in the Communityo 18% Finding a jobo 17% Dealing with substance abuseo 16% Finding retirement opportunitieso 15% Affordable housingo 14% Care for aging parents o 14% Finding spiritual teachingo 13% Dealing with social injusticeo 13% Finding a good churcho 13% Finding direction in life
20
Low-priority Community Needso 12% Domestic violence and abuseo 11% Developing parenting skillso 10% Problems in the schoolso 9% Providing adequate foodo 9% Obtaining an educationo 7% Finding child careo 3% Dealing with divorce
Needs Identified by Sustainable Cincinnati Reporto Starting more technology-based businesses
as manufacturing declineso Increase the percentage of workers who
are 20 to 35 years of ageo Increase the percentage of students who
complete a secondary diplomao About a third of workers are not making an
income sufficient to cover the minimum cost of living
o Maintain a balance in which more than a third of the land is devoted to homes and another third to agriculture/natural reserve
21
Needs Identified by Sustainable Cincinnati Report - 2
o Continue to reduce the volume of solid waste per person per yearn 1.9 tons in 2000 to 1.2 tons in 2005
o Reduce the number of days of unhealthy smog
o Reduce the number of stream miles of unclean water sources
o Improve health indicators among the population
Wellness: Cincinnati Compared to Other Ohio Metro Areas
22
Wellness Index for Cincinnati Metro Area by Gallup Poll
o Life Evaluation – 132o Emotional Health – 151o Physical Health – 113o Healthy Behavior – 164 <<<o Work Environment – 73o Access to Health Care – 58
o Lower score is better
Community Health Statuso 23% of adults report no exerciseo 73% eat few fruits or vegetableso 25% have high blood pressuren Up to 34% in 2011
o 23% smokeo 8% diagnosed with diabetes
23
Food Deserts in Cincinnatio 31 of 52 neighborhoods do not have a
single grocery storeo Oakley has 4 grocery stores, the
highest concentration in the cityo All 52 neighborhoods have some
areas without good access to food
o “Cincinnati Food Security: A Community Assessment” by Brandy McQueary, Miami University, 2003
Indicators of Healthy Communities
o Employment: 1 in 5 adults unemployedo Poverty: 29% below poverty thresholdo Ozone Level: too high 19 days a yearo Air Quality: good 161 days a yearo Infant Mortality: 10 deaths per 1,000
births, significantly higher than both U.S. average and other industrial countries
o Low Birth Weight: 10% of infantso Teen Births: Above the national average
24
Indicators of Health Communitieso Prenatal Care: below the national averageo Children in Poverty: one in fiveo High Cholesterol: 28% of adults testedo Overweight Adults: increased from 56% in
1999 to 64% in 2010o Dental Health: 37% of adults have delayed
visits to a dentisto Alcohol: 19% report binge drinking in the
last montho Heart Disease & Cancer: deaths above
national average
Church Program Preferences
11
6
1
-9
Socialservices
Spiritualgrowth
Personaldevelopment
Recreation
25
Church Programs People Wanto 43% Bible study & prayer group o 29% Family activities & outingso 26% Youth activitieso 25% Family counselingo 25% Active retirement programo 22% Doctrinal classeso 18% Care for the terminally illo 18% The arts, music, drama, etc.
Church Programs People Wanto 15% Spiritual retreatso 14% Marriage enrichment eventso 12% Food & clothing resource centero 8% Parent training classeso 6% Day care for childreno 6% Sports or campingo 6% Church-sponsored schoolo 5% 12-step groupo 3% Divorce recovery
26
Worship Style Preferences
24%
39%
11%
25%23%
39%
11%
27%
Emotionallyuplifting
Intellectuallychallenging
Both Notinterested
Cincinnati National
Worship Style Continued
30%27%
23%19%
27%27%26%20%
Traditionalformal
Contemporaryinformal
Both Notinterested
Cincinnati National
27
Purple line = Boundaries of Target Area Zip Codes
Worship Music Preferences
27%32%
18%22%
25%
31%
19%
24%
Traditional Contemporary Both Notinterested
Cincinnati National
28
Church Focus
27%
35%
20%17%
26%
37%
22%
14%
Spiritualgrowth
Communityservice
Both Notinterested
Cincinnati National
How I prefer for churchesto contact me …
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Door to door
Telemarketing
Phone for a visit
Cable TV
Newspaper ads
Radio spots
Direct mail
NoYes
29
Source: Center for Metropolitan Ministry
Survey of the General Public in Major Metropolitan Areas
Never heard of the Adventist
Church66%
Know nothing about it
15%
Know something inaccurate
12%
Know one true fact
7%
Analysiso Research has shown that growth in
Adventist churches comes from:n Community involvementn Strong spiritual lifen Intentionality (goals, planning)n Positive atmosphere in the congregationn Activities for the unchurched on Sabbath
30
The Adventist Paradigm for Outreach & Evangelism
o Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching people. He mingled with men as one who desired their good, showed sympathy for them and ministered to their needs. He won their confidence. Then, He bade them, “Follow me.” – Ellen White, The Ministry of Healing, p 143
“Christ’s Method”
Discipleship Program
Friendship Evangelism
Community service
Community visibility
Community assessment
31
Examples of Adventist Churches that are Implementing this Strategy
o Mount Dora Church, Floridao Aldergrove Church, British Columbian Pastor David Jamieson wrote about the growth
and development of this church in a DMindissertation at Andrews Univ.
o Walk of Faith Fellowship, Clevelandn Pastor Kevin Kuehmichel is writing a book about
this urban church planto Stillwater Church, Dayton, Ohion A dying church discovered new life!
Resourceso One Minute Witness – good introduction in
32 pages designed to be handed out to church members
o Chapter 2 in Adventist Congregations Today contains the research on church growth
o Mission in Metropolis contains more research, focusing on urban and suburban churches in metropolitan areas
o Understanding Your Community provides tools for doing a community assessmentn All are available at www.AdventSource.org
32
Discussion Questionso How well known and visible is the
Clifton Church in the community?o What has been done to “plow the
ground” in Cincinnati through serving the needs of the community?
o What relationships do church members have in the community that can be a bridge to possible candidates for Bible studies?
o Contact information for Monte Sahlinn [email protected] (937) 748-9075
