Basic Information Needed

The following are listings of information are considered essential to describing the presence and progress of the Gospel, and the conditions of society. These data should be available to the Body of Christ in the nation and beyond. The following describes information that needs to be maintained at the national level for the country, people groups, rural and urban areas-for both, the harvest force and harvest field. The listings that follow do not comprise a complete listing but do include many or most of the essential variables for a reference data base. Each ministry will have its own unique data requirements. It should be the goal of a national research function to obtain and maintain the data on an ongoing basis. Yesterday’s truth can be today’s fiction in these dynamic times. A society is “generational”, new souls being born every second. New statusing and descriptive data is required on a continuing basis. Periodic surveys will be needed.

Outline
I. Harvest Force Data
II. Harvest Field Data
III. Spiritual Warfare

Harvest Force Data

1. Institutional Data. It is necessary to document as thoroughly as possible the total "harvest force". This includes all organizations (institutions) actively involved in the Great Commission enterprise, and their activities, i.e., denominations, agencies, and para-church organizations having ministry in the country from within or without. The following are basic data. Statistical summary data needs to be maintained where possible for 5 year intervals, and especially the last 10 year period for each organization, to facilitate good analysis. Note: the following data should be gathered for denominations, agencies and para-church organizations as applicable.
a. Year work began
b. Country of origin
c. Current number, type and location of workers, province, city, etc.
d. Type and location of ministry being carried out
e. Number and location (province, state, district, etc.) of related congregations/churches
f. Number and location (province, state, district, etc.) of related outreach/preaching points
g. Average worship service attendance
h. Number of active baptized members
i. Number baptized (for each year)
j. Number of Bible Studies Groups
k. Number emailed in Bible Study Groups
l. Number, type and location of educational institutions
m. Number of students enrolled in educational institutions (re-E j. above)
n. Number of foreign (expatriate) missionaries sent (target countries and people groups)
o. Number of domestic (national) missionaries sent (target areas and people groups)
p. Key factors of growth and non-growth (for congregations/members)
q. Growth program title and goals (especially for new members and congregations)
r. Community development status and ministries (health care, water, education, energy, etc.)

2. "Work Among" List for each organization (agency, national Church, para-church, media, and et. al.) the people group/language group they are working among plus the following:
a. The first year work began in the group by this organization
b. Types of ministry(ies) by geographic region/area e.g. province, city, region, etc.
o. Current number of workers (Note year data applies to)
d. Language(s) for each ministry (note whether "mother tongue" or "trade language")
e. Number of congregations (related to this organization)
f. Number of attendees in these congregations (if only "roll" membership is known, provide this dale., but note it is for "roll", so not confused with "active members" or "attendees".)

3. “Targeted” List"of people groups, language groups, cities, villages in a country being targeted (work not begun) by each organization. The following additional data is needed:
a. Year work is planned to begin
b. Type of ministry and geographic area targeted
c. Planned language(s) of ministry
d. Measurable goals for work in the group(s)

Harvest Field Data (the context in which the Church finds itself, i. e., all non-believers)

1. Country. Documenting a variety of social, religious, cultural, economic, political and demographic conditions and status is needed for each country. Certain data are essential for establishing a reference database for supporting the various ministries. Some of these are:
a. Country population and annual growth rate
b. Index of provinces (state, etc.) and their population (supply population year)
c. Index of languages and dialects, and their populations (supply population year)
d. Index of major cities and their populations (cities over 50,000)
e. Index of religions and their adherents (and/or percentage of population)
f. Total number of towns and villages (by province); number without any congregations
g. Attitude of government (official and unofficial) toward Christianity and the spread of the Gospel)
h. Percentage (estimate) of the population currently subject to the presence and/or proclamation of` the Gospel on a regular basis

2. Language Groups. A complete listing of each language and dialect in the country/area that is being documented is needed. Documentation of alternate names will also prove helpful. A master language reference is the Ethnologue published by Wycliffe.
The following is considered basic data needed for each language (and for many dialects):
a. Language/dialect name and code (provide matching Ethnologue language code if possible)
b. Province(s) and location description
c. Population in this country, and total global pop for the group (including year and info source)
d. Scripture and translation status
e. Radio status (type of broadcast and originating country and station)
f. Religious adherents/number of believers /active members-for each religion
g. Number of congregations (including denominational identity)
h. Number of preaching points and small group Bible Studies
i. Community development status (access to/presence of health care, good water, shelter, clothing, energy, education, arts and entertainment commerce, telephones
j. Christian organizations working among them -(a cross- reference for “Work among ")
k. Cultural distinctives (customs carried on by this people)
l. Religious distinctives (include practices for punishment, forgiveness, sacrifice, etc.)
m. Distribution/dispersion (other countries by pop and cause e.g. migration due to wars, etc.)
n. Resistance/receptivity (scale estimate) to the Gospel

3. Other People Groups. There are many other people groups in the country based upon their ethnicity, culture, social grouping, etc.. Essentially, the same information needed for is required for them, including the language(s) they speak. It is needful to document the type of group by providing data that describes the group's uniqueness.

4. Unchurched Areas
Identification of people groups and geo-political areas having no congregations and/or preaching points is crucial. Cities/city zones, towns, villages, provinces , districts, language groups, ethno-cultural groups are all entities which need to be identified if they have no local churches.

5. Cities.. In addition to the index of cities in the country profile listed above, more in-depth data is needed for major urban areas. Description of urban areas would include similar variables (or fields) as those listed for or describing country and language/people groups.

Spiritual Mapping

Spiritual mapping involves discerning the spiritual condition and history (both recent and early) Of the various levels of geographic, geo-political and certain ethnographic entities, including urban, rural, national, sub-national, regional, continental, area and global. It involves identifying the strongholds of Satan, identifying territorial spirits and their jurisdiction, investigating the connection between physical events and phenomena and the spiritual backdrop/forces, investigating causes for resistance and responsiveness to the Gospel, and other insights into the strategies and strongholds of the enemy (the Prince of the Kingdom of darkness). See the article on "Spiritual Mapping" for more information.