Focus Matrix Approach

Research Support for Ministry Decisions in Church Planting

Supporting Choice of Target Group

GOAL: Pragmatic breakdown of distinct population groups

Sample Case

1. majority Greek Cypriots, middle-aged (business, politics)
2. majority Greek Cypriots, youth & young adults (night life, arts)
3. minority Turish Cypriots (Turkish zone)
4. immigrant house-maidens, mostly Philippino (Greek wealthy districts)
5. British expats (mostly in British townships)
6. African and Middle East (Lebanese) refugees (refugee centers)

Type of Support Data

1. Majority population: total, urbanisation, demographics
2. Native minority populations: percentages, languages, lcalisation
3. Immigrant population: breakdown by ethnicity, milieu, localisation
4. Sinus-Milieus: socio-cultural habitats (classes/values)
5. Faces, stories and prayer profiles

Supporting Choice of Ministry Location

GOAL: Highlighting „strategic“ target locations (= „needy + promising“)

Sample Case

Spain, Barelona region: Towns without witness, but with personal connections to surrounding churches

Type of Support Data

* Whitespot maps: church to population ratio
* bound to target groups!
* nation/ province/ city level
Need-Resource Portfolio for prioritisation

Supporting Cultural Relevance

GOAL: Uncovering communication keys and open doors

Sample Cases

• A „cultural insights“ study revealed that Russians view children as their only symbol of hope. This led to a stronger emphasis on Christ's Incarnation in a Christian-education training program.
• A North Aftican Berber evangelistic television series was talked through by a camel.
• Oustanding openness of East Germans towards Americans, of Poles towards Germans.

Type of Support Data

Piece-Child Analysis
Comparative Values Studies:
* Inglehart (World Value Survey),
* Hofstede (Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance etc.)
* Ethnographic Studies: Conversion Patterns...

Supporting Ministry Collaboration

GOAL: Facilitating partnerships: cooperation & collaboration

Sample Cases

• Norwegian missions looking for local Spanish partners
• Polish strategist looking for German short termers
• American prayer and resource hub for France
• DAWN alliances in Portugal, Norway et. al.

Type of Support Data

National umbrella organisations and portals
International resource hubs
Contact data
Coalitions or networks for church planting
Strategy processes and papers
Envisioning Tools

Applied Research - Catalyzing SCP Strategies

1. Support church planters with locally relevant information
2. Help missions strategists to monitor SCP processes
3. Empower mission mobilisers with impacting visuals
4. A collaborative learning network of mission researchers across Europe
5. Training regional research champions
6. Mobilising a “research movement”
7. Pursuing global synergies
8. Pioneering novel forms of research

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