Did you know that Yahoo has a “buzz index”? That the reading patterns of your neighbors (and potential church-goers) are just a few clicks away? That considerable (and free) information about your communities is easily available?
Never has it been more important to understand the environment in which we minister. Fortunately, never has so much useful information been so readily available. Here are a few, and perhaps unusual, Congregational Development resources for you to explore:
Buzz
I talk so much about the importance of creating “buzz” about the church that one congregation gave me a baseball cap embroidered with the word! While this site won’t create buzz for you, it will tell you what is creating buzz in the cyber world – especially among the under 40s. Spend some time with it; this is what is occupying the free time of a lot of people:
Books
Even in the digital age, people are reading books, and the largest bookseller in the world is Amazon.com. Knowing what books are being purchased in your city, at the university nearby, or even at the company where parishioners (and potential parishioners) work may be suggestive for your congregational ministries. Take a look at the following website, and click on “Purchase Circles,” found on the lower left hand side:
Posted by mbarlowe at February 24, 2006 05:13 PM