Link2Lead and NextGen Churches

Over the past two years we have been inviting NextGen Churches to register with link2lead.com. This is a service we provide at no charge to member and affiliated churches throughout Northern California and Nevada. We do pay a significant annual fee for this service and are now evaluating its value to the association.

There is no question as to its value as a tool for effective ministry. The demographic information it provides alone is worth much, much more than our annual premium and it is free to you. And Link2lead provides so much more. But, more about that later.

The question is are our churches utilizing this tool?

To date 57 people out of 41 of over 140 churches have registered on the site. That’s less than a third of our churches.

link2lead is available to every NextGen Church. Anyone and everyone on the leadership team of your church are invited to register. All one has to do is go to the website; www.link2lead.com and click on the “Register” link. You will be invited to identify the church you are representing, provide a user name and password and then be given access to the Link2Lead website.

Link2Lead is divided into five areas; “Getting Started,” “My Self,” “My Community,” “My Congregation,” and “My World.”

Getting Started, of course, introduces you to the site and shows you how to get your browser ready for action. My Selfprovides and opportunity to find out more about yourself as a leader and, specifically, how to deal with change. My Community allows you to explore the latest demographic, socio-graphic, psycho-graphic and religio-graphic information about your specific ministry area. My Congregation provides tools to help you find out how your congregation compares with the larger community. And, My Worldprovides critical insights for dealing with a rapidly changing world.

Perhaps the most popular tools on the website are on the My Community link. You are invited to enter either your zip code or the name of your city. You can then click on “10 Basic Facts” about that area. For instance the “10 Basic facts about my zip code (95209) are:

Current Population: 38,603

1. Projected 5 year Population Change: 15.4% (as compared to 4.9% in USA)
2. Largest Lifestyle Group: Affluent Families (as compared to Middle American Families I USA)
3. Non-Anglo Population: 61% (as compared to 33% in USA)
4. Fastest Growing Racial/Ethnic Group: Hispanics & Latinos (same as USA)
5. Households with No Faith Involvement: 47% (as compared to 35% in USA)
6. Average Age: 34.7 (as compared to 37 in USA)
7. Average Household Income: $73,278 (as compared to $64,816 in USA)
8. Single Parent Households: 28% (as compared to 30% in USA)
9. College Graduates: 18% (as compared to 24% in USA)

But to get an even closer look you can click on First-View Report which provides information in four areas: People and Place which looks at projected population density, projected population change, population distribution, diversity and the area dynamic level (which measures the complexity and challenges in a rapidly changing population); Faces of Diversity which analyzes lifestyle groups, non-anglo populations, fastest racial/ethnic growth, generational issues, family structure and education; Community Issues which focuses on primary concerns, RISC Levels (stress conditions) and potential resistance to change; and finally Faith Preferences which measures receptivity, financial support potential, church style, church program preference, and the level of religious preference. The last three pages of this six page report provide details on each of the areas listed above.

And I have just barely begun to scratch the surface!

This is all there for you, at no charge. But frankly, we can’t afford to keep up our subscription if the website is not used. So, register, explore and put this to work for you.

Read the overview provided in the Link2Lead Guide

and view this powerpoint presentation to learn more: