“Why Is MapDash for Faith CommunitiesTM cost more than other demographic programs?”
It’s a question we get asked a lot. And it is true that an annual diocesan subscription to MapDash is more expensive than other programs, though renewal costs in subsequent years are somewhat less than the first year. And this is before adding the cost of guided strategic missional assessment and planning that we recommend for the first year. Which brings us to a second question we get asked a lot…
“Why would I want to pay more for MapDash and even more for several days of consultation over a 3-6 month period? Why can’t we just use the cheaper program and do the missional assessment and planning work ourselves?”
I know, that’s actually two more questions. And all three are reasonable questions to ask.
And yes, of course you could do all those things. You could pay a lot less by subscribing to a less expensive program and doing all the demographic assessment and planning without any help.
But there are a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t do those things… and why you should invest more in MapDash subscription and in guided strategic missional planning.
There’s a reason that MapDash for Faith Communities is costs more.
It has to.
It has cost more because it is loaded with judicatory and congregational analytics that aren’t available anywhere else.
Analytics are what the name implies: practical faith community metrics derived from an analysis of key internal and/or external factors. And MapDash for Faith Communities contains eight faith community analytics unavailable elsewhere:
- Congregational Vitality Index (CVI)
- Congregational Sustainability Index (CSI)
- Sustainability–Viability Margin Index (SVMI)
- Missional Opportunity Index (MOI)
- Missional Context Report (MCR)
- MissionWebs
- DriveTime Analysis (15 min)
- Study Area Stats
Of course, we could provide MapDash for Faith Communities at a lower cost if we left out these eight judicatory-specific analytics. But that would make it less valuable.
Which brings us to a second reason that you should invest more in MapDash…
Because it IS more valuable.
The analytics it provides makes MapDash exponentially more valuable.
Where else could you go to get an annually updated assessment of vitality for every congregation in your judicatory with a single mouse-click? Or a five-year projection each congregation’s sustainability?
Where else could you go to see every area of projected emerging missional opportunity in your judicatory at a glance? Or every area of emerging missional challenge?
Where else could you go to see the area of greatest influence and attraction of every congregation in your judicatory? Or the areas of greatest competition among congregations?