Board of
Congregational Life
Dr. Rodney T. Smothers
Director of Congregational Development
rsmothers@bwcumc.org
1-800-492-2525, ext. 432
Baltimore Washington
Conference of the
United Methodist Church
7178 Columbia Gateway Dr.
Columbia, MD
21046-2132
www.bwcumc.org
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The resources found here will help you
find information about your community to better equip you to open your minds, your hearts and your doors
so others may find the love of being a disciple for Jesus Christ.
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Percept: link2lead.com
 Link2lead.com
is a new web site for local church pastors and lay leaders. The
Baltimore-Washington Conference has had a contract with Percept, a
leading information provider to religious organizations, for the past
13 years. Up to 5 persons from each local Baltimore-Washington
Conference congregation can register to use the Percept materials.
The Conference Board of Congregational Life is dedicated to
providing you and other leaders with the latest information about
your community. Link2lead.com is a hands-on tool to better
understand and develop your own capabilities to reach new people to
be disciples of Jesus Christ. When you log into the website, you will find the following information:
Getting Started: Find out what this
site is about, who's behind it, getting your browser ready for action,
etc.
 | My Self: Find out more about
yourself and how you deal with change.
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| My Community: Explore the latest
demographic information for your ministry area.
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| My Congregation: Explore how your
congregation compares to the larger community you serve.
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| My World: Know what all the change
in the past 30 years has meant for the church.
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| What's Next? There are many tried
and proven resources available to assist church leaders in their
work. Check out what's available here.
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Here's what to do...
Just simply log on to the Link2Lead
website at www.link2lead.com and register as a user at no cost. Follow
the instructions on the site and begin a new adventure into the
information world that will assist you and the leaders of your church
in planning for mission and ministry!
Here are a few other demographic
products found at link2lead.com...
 Map Compass
a product that allows a church to customize the particular geographic
area for which demographic information is needed. When you sign in on
the Link2Lead. com and Perceptnet. com web sites, you will have access
to order many of the demographic products used in building your
congregation. Map Compass is available to order for $175.00.
 Would
you like to know how the programs your church offers match up to the
interests of people living in your community?
If so, then click the
MinistryMatch
link to go to Link2lead.com (you'll have to sign in, or register if
you haven't yet done so) and take the
MinistryMatch
survey. Percept will compare your program list to the likely church
program preferences in your community and produce an instant,
complimentary
MinistryMatch report.
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All Regions (West
Virginia, Maryland, D.C.)
The U.S. Census bureau provides demographic information for each
county in the United States. This is a good resource for a
congregation to find regional information and see trends for the
future. This information, like all demographic information stimulates
conversations in the local church about trends that cause questions to
be raised. Localized questions are best addressed by talking with
community leaders (elementary school principals, local business
people, civic associations and local elected officials) to see how
various groups are engaging people in the neighborhood of the church.
Click here to enter
www.census.gov
website and click on QUICK FACTS ICON. That will take you to a
page where you can pick the state and county within the state.
Maryland (All counties and cities)
The Maryland Department of Planning Data Center website provides
information for each county within the state. Click here to enter
www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc website. If you look across the top
of the homepage you will see how to get Census 2000 QUICK FACTS.
Baltimore Region
(Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Harford County, Carroll County,
Howard County)
The Baltimore Metropolitan Council provides demographics and trends
related to the region. This is a good resource to assist business,
church and civic groups in planning for the future.Click here to enter
www.baltometro.org website
to look at this data. 
Washington Region
(Washington DC, Montgomery County, Howard County, Prince Georges
County)
The Washington Metropolitan Council provides demographics and
trends related to the region. This is a good resource to assist
business, church and civic groups in planning for the future.Click
here to enter www.mwcog.org
website to look at this data.
2000 Baltimore 264 Neighborhood
Statistics.
2000 Baltimore City Racial Ethnic
Statistics provides population Racial/Ethnic information for
the 264 Baltimore City neighborhoods. To find the information related
to people living in the neighborhoods around your church, click on the
button below.
[demographics/baltimore/index.htm]
Conference Census Data
At Annual Conference
2001, Dr. Edwin C. DeLong gave a detailed presentation on the
Baltimore-Washington Conference Demographics. The presentation
included information on Race and Ethnicity, Population by
Baltimore-Washington Conference regions, Population by counties,
generational makeup of the regions and other information on the
population living within the neighborhoods of our conference.
Included in this page are two formats of the PowerPoint presentation
from Annual Conference. The background information used to develop
the presentation is listed
below and can be displayed by clicking on the bulleted items as
follows:
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In this Issue:
·
News
You Can Use
·
Get
On Board With CCN
(Marketplace Ministry)
·
What's New At CCN (CCN
Broadcast Library on DVD)
·
Tech
Talk (News and Gadgets)
·
Feature (New Book by Dr.
Henry Cloud:
Integrity)
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News |
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Marketplace Ministry
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 Looking
for ways to connect with the business
community?
CCN offers leadership training
programming that’s as relevant to the
workplace as it is to the church. Invite
business professionals to your church
for seminars that will expand and
develop their leadership skills, and let
them experience how your church connects
to their lives.
CCN
Marketplace Ministry
seminars include such topics as leader
recruitment, team management, and women
in leadership, plus the popular monthly
Ultimate Leadership
series.
Click here to learn more about CCN’s
Marketplace Ministry programming.
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New@CCN |
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 The
CCN Broadcast Library on DVD!
CCN
Programming Delivered Right To Your Door
Now CCN subscribers can purchase the
monthly library of CCN broadcasts on
DVD! You'll receive CCN's outstanding
teaching on high-quality, convenient
DVDs, delivered right to your church in
streamlined packaging!
This annual collection includes 30
selected programs throughout the year, a
$900 value, all for just 12 monthly
payments of $19.95 plus shipping and
handling.
 Look
for this icon on our website. It
identifies programs that are included in
the CCN Broadcast Library.
Click here for more information on The
CCN Broadcast Library
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Tech Talk |
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News:
The End of TV (As You Know It)
(Business Week)
Internet:
Grabbing the Grassroots: Google Markets
Via Blog (Business Week)
Product:
Hasbro Gadget to Show Downloaded
Nicktoons (CNet)
Internet:
AOL Video On Demand (CNet)
Church Presentation Software:
http://www.mediashout.com
http://www.easyworship.com
http://www.sundayplus.com
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Feature |
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New Book by Dr. Henry Cloud, PhD.
The following article on character is an
excerpt from Dr. Henry Cloud's new book,
Integrity: The Courage to Meet the
Demands of Reality, which
will be released February, 2006.
 While
character includes our usual
understanding of ethics and
integrity, it is much more than that
as well. Another way of putting it
is that ethical functioning is a
part of character, but not all of
it. And it certainly is not all of
what affects whether or not someone
is successful or becomes a good
leader...
(More
from
Integrity:The Courage to Meet the
Demands of Reality)
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United Methodist TV commercials shifting attitudes about
church; first-time attendance, worship attendance Increasing at test churches ..more
Americans
Describe Sources of Spiritual Fulfillment and Frustration
“Those who are disassociating from
church…..are people who love to worship God, study the Bible
regularly, give money generously to causes that help people, engage
in relationships in which spiritually accountability is a primary
feature – and feel that they can be spiritually connected and
growing more effectively outside of a normal congregational setting
than within it. They are growing in numbers and influence.” There
are people who would like to be part of a faith community that is
focused in discipleship making rather than membership making. For
more information
click here and see what else George Barna has to say on his 2005
State of the Church Report or contact the Office of Congregational
Life, Baltimore-Washington Conference, UMC (800) 492-2525.
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