Explore these useful mission resources

Research Tools, data collections, and research resources.

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Here you will find links to websites, articles, books, tools and other resources helpful for mission research.

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Mission Research Websites

Research Services

Research Software & Tools

On-Line Research Databases

Research databases of value to international mission work.

	Joshua Project A research initiative seeking to highlight the ethnic people groups of the world with the least followers of Christ; contains information on every people group in the world.
	International Mission Board (IMB) Global research for church planting movements among all peoples.
	World Christian Database Comprehensive statistical information on world religions, Christian denominations and people groups. Extensive data are available on 9,000 Christian denominations, 13,000 ethnolinguistic peoples, as well as data on 5,000 cities, 3,000 provinces and 239 countries.
	Mission InfoBank Free online mission research database.
	UN Data A wealth of statistical data from various UN agencies in an easy-to-use format. A database offering information on continents, regions, and the entire world.
	Geohive Global statistics by country and province.
	Yale Divinity School Library - Missions and World Christianity A collection of articles, journals and other research resources on Christianity.
	Burke Theological Library - Missionary Research Library Collection
	Eurostat A treasure trove of statistics on population, health, education and training, living conditions, and culture. Run by the European Commission.
	CIA World Factbook U.S. government profiles of countries and territories around the world. Information on geography, people, government, transportation, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities.
	U.S. Census Bureau Data provided by the U.S. government about population, economics and geography.
	Data.gov A massive collection of U.S. data spanning across many fields. An excellent research tool.
	DevInfo Database of some countries with statistics helpful for monitoring human development.
	Adherents A growing collection of over 43,870 adherent statistics and religious geography citations: references to published membership/adherent statistics and congregation statistics for over 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, ultimate concerns, etc.
	Association of Religion Data Archives Strives to democratize access to the best data on religion for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and researchers. Data included in the ARDA are submitted by the foremost religion scholars and research centers in the world.

Research Reports

Mission research reports available for download.

	Spiritual State of the World's Children OneHope solicited direct feedback from young people in many countries regarding their heartfelt needs and current conditions, in order to help design more effective ministry programs.
	Engage! Survey of 1,800 full-time cross-cultural missionaries with 20 agencies designed to reveal key factors that impact missionary engagement, commissioned by the World Evangelical Alliance Mission Commission.
	Impact! Research to identify key issues bearing on the effectiveness of the life and ministry of mission agency field leaders.
	Church's Response to AIDS GMI led the research and compiled the report prepared for the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies exploring how local congregations in India, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Honduras and Peru are responding to the AIDS pandemic.
	FlightPlan A collaborative study documenting the status and exploring the future of mission aviation ministries around the world.
	Report on Evangelicals in the U.S. and Canada A study related to the concentrations of evangelicals in the U.S. and Canada. You can view both the report and the summary PowerPoint presentation.
	Status of the Protestant Church in Thailand A PowerPoint presentation created by Dwight Martin of the THAI Christian Resource Center.
	Breakthrough in Shared Measurement and Social Impact A report released by FSG Social Impact Advisors highlighting 20 examples of social enterprises that have developed innovative and coordinated Web-based approaches to reporting performance, outcome and impact measurements over multiple social enterprises and stakeholders.
	Does Child Sponsorship Work? Wydick, Ruthledge and Chu analyze the long-term impact of child sponsorship by drawing a random sample from a list of formerly sponsored children in a program that was rolled out across villages in Uganda in the early 1980s to see the differences made.
	Fruitful Practices A collaborative effort of agencies called to bless Muslim peoples. Their findings have been compiled into the book: Where There Was No Church, which brings together stories that show what God is doing through his people among Muslims, and brings to life fruitful practices that have helped followers of Jesus invite Muslims to follow him.
	Operation ACCESS! Mission Aviation Fellowship's Operation ACCESS!—a five-year global research project designed to help shape international evangelism, ministry and humanitarian strategies for the next 20 years. The study focuses on pockets of people who are forgotten or unreachable as well as barriers to and solutions for better access to the Gospel, development, healthcare and education.
	Global Survey of Evangelical Protestant Leaders Key findings of a survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life of 2,196 evangelical leaders from 166 countries and territories who were invited to attend the Third Lausanne Congress of World Evangelization, a 10-day gathering of ministers and lay leaders held in October 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa.
	Philippine Church Research Information about Evangelical/Full Gospel churches in the Philippine Islands.
	Thailand Church Research A report on church growth in Thailand.
	Church Planting Movement in Slovakia A report on Slovakia from demographic and cultural viewpoints as well as from the perspective of the evangelical churches. Research report available in PDF form.

Books, CD/DVD-Roms

Academic Institutions

Organizations, Associations & Networks

Groups with a significant commitment to mission research.

	MisLinks A directory of links to mission-focused academic societies.
	Lausanne Researchers International Network To promote the sharing of skills, resources, materials and ideas among those engaged in church-related research, to encourage each other in conducting church-related research and to provide a basis for communication between people involved in church-related research.
	Ethne Researchers Network A global network focused on seeing each people group reached with the Good News of Jesus Christ; Ethné is the UPG network of the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, the World Evangelical Alliance Mission Commission and Transform World.
	The Great Commission Research Network The Great Commission Research Network is an affiliation of leaders who share research, examine case studies, hear from thought leaders, and network with fellow church leaders who are committed to helping expand the kingdom through effective disciple-making.
	Christian Research in Action Network (CRIAN) A Ning network of Christians researching to make a difference. Researching innovation through reflective practice, action research, narrative enquiry, and qualitative enquiry.
	Movement for African National Initiatives (MANI) A network of networks focused on catalyzing African National Initiatives and mobilizing the resources of the Body of Christ in Africa for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
	European Missions Research Groups (EMRG) A network of mission researchers who collaborate toward catalyzing church multiplication in Europe.
	Campbell Rinker Marketing research for the nonprofit world; serves Christian ministries, colleges, and other nonprofits.
	The Barna Group A research and resource company focused on the intersection of faith and culture; offers a range of customized research, resources and training to serve churches, nonprofits, businesses and leaders.
	Pew Research Center A nonpartisan "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does so by conducting public opinion polling and social science research, by reporting news and analyzing news coverage and by holding forums and briefings.
	Gallup A premier research institution that provides daily news, consulting, university level research and press that educates and informs the people who govern, manage, teach and lead the world's citizens.
	SIL International Serves language communities worldwide, building their capacity for sustainable language development, by means of research, translation, training and materials development.
	PROLADES Extensive Latin American religious research organization led by Dr. Clifton Holland. PROLADES provides ongoing research and information services on Latin America, the Caribbean and Hispanic churches in the US. Their site includes on-line searchable databases of churches, denominations, and organizations.

Research Events