September 2007 marked the end of the first year of a survey campaign by Stonecroft Ministries we call “100 Voices.” Through this campaign, the Stonecroft Marketing Team sent surveys via e-mail to 100 women who agreed to participate. Some are involved with Stonecroft. Some are not.
The survey questions started off general. As we began to learn more about our survey takers, we asked more specific questions. These ranged from what types of magazines people read to some of people’s biggest fears in sharing their faith with others.
A year has gone by and we are learning and gaining so much from these surveys, we want to continue them. Our ongoing desire is to learn how to serve you better every day. Here is some of the information we’ve learned from over a year of surveys—along with the questions these findings have raised.
100 Voices – What we’ve learned through the first year
RELATIONSHIPS
The majority of people surveyed make time for friends over anything else in their schedule. They frequent restaurants, coffee shops, and homes most when getting together.
This is a good indicator that people crave face-to-face interaction in their lives and place great value on having and maintaining relationships.
PRAYER
Prayer, personal spiritual growth, and listening to God are the top three answers for what they are most interested in learning at an event.
People need and want intimacy with God. How can we help facilitate that? STONECROFT STUFF
When asked which products they were most interested in, the 20- to 30-year-old 100 Voices participants selected travel mugs, water bottles, and tote bags as their top three. The 30- to 50-year-olds are interested in products that cater to an on-the-go lifestyle, but were also interested in jewelry and apparel.
This is a generation on-the-go. How can we cater to this lifestyle?
MENTORING
The majority of participants are not in a mentoring relationship and listed limited time as the biggest factor.
Time is the biggest factor keeping people from mentoring.
When asked what would most help them feel more equipped to lead, participants needed improved biblical knowledge first and mentoring second.
However, as indicated above, most are not in mentoring relationships because they believe it takes time they do not have.
BIBLICAL KNOWLEDGE
Survey 7 revealed people felt they needed to or wanted to improve their biblical knowledge. Most people prefer to study the Bible in a group led by a teacher or in a discussion group.
People don’t seem to be confident in their own biblical knowledge and feel they can learn best from studying with others.
BIBLE STUDIES
When asked questions about how long a mentoring relationship should last and a Bible study should last, 43 percent of those in their 20s thought a Bible study should last about six months, while only 18% of those in their 30s and 40s felt it should last that long. The majority of older participants believed a study should only take up the duration of two to three months.
What is it that keeps the older 100 Voices participants from wanting to get too committed in something that requires a larger amount of time investment?
When asked, “Where do you purchase Bible study materials?” the majority in both groups purchase materials from Christian bookstores.
What can we do to make people aware of Stonecroft Bible Studies?
SHARING OUR FAITH
We asked: Do you share your faith with those who do not know Jesus Christ? The most popular answer was “Once in a While.”
How do we change this? What’s keeping people from sharing more?
The open-ended question, “What are your biggest fears about sharing your faith with people?” was asked. The top repeat answers were: people were afraid they wouldn’t have all the answers, people were afraid of offending people by seeming too pushy/judgmental, people were afraid of rejection.
People enjoy the relationships they’ve built and are afraid of losing them by bringing up their faith. How can we help them through these fears?
