Mississippi missional landscape: an analysis of the penetration of regions, communities and cultural groups
The Mississippi Baptist Convention was formed in 1836 and is one of the original nine state conventions that formed the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845. With more than 2100 churches and 63 associations, Mississippi Baptists claim more than 246 thousand attend one of their churches each week. But who in the state are they not reaching? The study compares the population to the number of attendees in worship services in 6 types of social environments, 5 regional areas of the state, and 6 basic ethnic groups. From the study, it was determined that Mississippi Baptist strengths were in upscale and country social environments, the capital river, and gulf coast regions, and overwhelmingly among white ethnicity.
Process
This case study utilized census data coded by various taxonomies compared to worship attendance data across the churches of the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The report that was created included graphs, tables, and text that explained various dimensions of community data compared to the religious data. The data for the project included the following:
Population data
- Estimated population counts from the American Community Survey, Census Bureau
- Estimated ethnicity counts from the American Community Survey, Bureau
Geographic data
- Communography social environments, SlavnikLabs
- Mississippi regions, Mississippi Tourism Association
Religious data
- Worship Attendance data, Annual Church Profile, Mississippi Baptist Convention
Data Analytics
- PENDEX: Penetration Index
Download the Report
Process
This case study utilized census data coded by various taxonomies compared to worship attendance data across the churches of the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The report that was created included graphs, tables, and text that explained various dimensions of community data compared to the religious data. The data for the project included the following:
Population data
- Estimated population counts from the American Community Survey, Census Bureau
- Estimated ethnicity counts from the American Community Survey, Bureau
Geographic data
- Communography social environments, SlavnikLabs
- Mississippi regions, Mississippi Tourism Association
Religious data
- Worship Attendance data, Annual Church Profile, Mississippi Baptist Convention
Data Analytics
- PENDEX: Penetration Index
