The Florida-Bahamas Synod MissionInsite Task Force encourages all congregations to participate in the New Movers Evangelism and Hospitality Initiative, which will guide congregations in looking outward – reaching out to new movers in the community with an invitation to connect with the Gospel through your congregation, and in looking inward - preparing a welcome and follow-up process for those who accept that invitation.

By using the MissionInsite resources available to the Florida-Bahamas Synod, this dual effort can be undertaken with more precision and confidence than ever before.

MissionInsite is an online ministry planning resource that incorporates demographic data and analysis geared toward congregational mission and development. Every Florida-Bahamas Synod congregation located in Florida itself has access to this resource through a Synod-wide account, thanks to the generosity of a dozen funding partners. If your congregation is not signed-up, please take the following steps:

Go to http://maps.missioninsite.com/Registration.aspx and enter “ynef3” (without the quotes) for the Agency Account Number of the Florida-Bahamas Synod, and then click “Register.” You will be taken to a registration page. Fill out the form, read the User Agreement Terms, click “Accept Terms” and then click “Register.” Note: make sure you remember your User Name and Password – the Synod’s “ynef3” will not allow you to log-in again unless you are registering someone else.

After registering, go to www.missioninsite.com and login. You will be taken to a page with a map of Florida along with a Welcome window, which contains links to tutorials on how to use MissionInsite. For this initiative, knowing how to use the following features is necessary:

Generate a QuickInsite demographic report – this is a basic report for a geographic area that you select. It provides population numbers and trends as well as MOSAIC information.

MOSAIC Lifestyle Segmentation  –  this is a resource created by Experian that describes 60 different lifestyle portraits within the United States, each with their own habits, preferences, and mindsets. If you see a new store from a national chain appear somewhere, you can be sure that company consulted the MOSAIC system to determine where to put it. MissionInsite brings that information to local churches for the first time.

Mission Application Guide – this resource applies the MOSAIC information specifically to congregational life in the following areas: Leadership, Worship, Hospitality, Education, Small Groups, and Outreach. (This is downloadable – watch for updates!)

Congregant Plot – this feature allows congregations to securely upload their directory to MissionInsite. Once the directory is in the system, local congregations can plot where their members live on the MissionInsite map.

New Mover Lists – for a reasonable fee, local congregations can order contact lists of new movers in any area they desire (the more names on the list, the greater the cost). This too can be plotted on the MissionInsite map.

Step 1 (May): Upload the congregation’s directory to MissionInsite to see (via the Congregant Plot feature) where the congregation is already represented in the community. Directions to do so are available in the Welcome window that appears when you login to MI. Are there one or more neighborhoods or other areas that are under-represented by members of the congregation? If so, the congregation is encouraged to concentrate on one or two of those areas, which may be zip codes, a county, or census block. If the congregation is more evenly spread around the neighborhoods, then consider selecting the neighborhood or area with the most new movers to be the target area. Use the New Mover order wizard (also available in the Welcome window) to get a free glimpse of how many new movers are in that area.

Step 2 (May-June): Using the MissionInsite resource, create a QuickInsite report for the target area. Identify and study the MOSAIC portraits found within the targeted neighborhood(s). Using the Mission Impact Guide suggestions for Hospitality for the MOSAIC portrait(s) found within the target area, design a letter or a mailer and consider an additional means of contact (such as a visit from a nearby member of the congregation) that will connect well to the MOSAIC portraits in the target area.

Step 3 (June-July): Examine the Hospitality practices of your congregation with a small team, including visitor follow-up procedures.  Using the general descriptions on pages 8-9 of the Mission Impact Guide (the PDF pages numbers are 9 and 10), match your congregation’s practices with the four alternatives from the guide. (You can use more than one descriptor.)  Then compare the current practices with the Hospitality preferences for the MOSAIC group(s) found in your target area. What are some of the similarities? What are some of the differences? Imagine what hospitality, including visitor follow-up, would look like within the life of the congregation if the Hospitality preferences of the target MOSAIC portraits were incorporated into the congregation’s practices. Experiment with some or all of the adjustments needed to bring the practices in line with those suggestions.

Step 4 (July-August): Order a new mover list for the target area(s). Upload the list to Congregant Plot. Initiate contact with the new movers using the strategy developed in step 3.  As the new movers accept your congregation’s invitation, your congregation will be prepared to extend to them a more meaningful hospitality experience than ever before, as well being better prepared to follow up with them after their initial visit. Congratulations! (Send your feedback to Rev. Jefferson Cox, convener, and/or Rev. Rita Gardner Tweed, MI Coordinator).

If you need help with any of these steps, please contact your closest MissionInsite coach:

Name                                       Email                                                   Conference(s)

Jefferson Cox                          This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Heart of Florida, Lake

Ellen Cross                              This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. First Coast

Dave Gardner Tweed             This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Gulf Coast

Tom Gemmer                          This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Caloosa

Zach Harris                             This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Pinelands

Michele Hilton                        This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Mid-Gulf

Dan Lyman                             This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Pinelands

Russell Meyer                         This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tampa

Jerry Nordsiek                         This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Gulf Coast

Tom Unrath                             This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Space Coast

Cindy Werner                         This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Space Coast

Art Wuertz                             This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.                    Flagler-Volusia

Rita Gardner Tweed               This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.                             Synod MI Coordinator

Michelle Saxon                       This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.                 Client Relations M