Using Science to Find the Faithful: FaithX and MapDash Feature in WhereNext eMagazine

FaithX and MapDash for Faith Communities were featured in an article published this week in WHERENEXT, an online eMagazine of Esri, the international GIS company that provides much of the data that powers MapDash. The author’s team interviewed FaithX founder Ken Howard, and faith leaders representing several FaithX clients, including:

Scroll down for an excerpt from and a link to the WhereNext article…


Using Science to Find the Faithful

By Jeffrey Peters

Director of Business Development for Esri

Faith-based organizations facing declining attendance are hoping to reinvent themselves and engage unreached populations with help from technology traditionally used by businesses to find and retain customers.

The Reverend Kammy Young has seen the empty pews at Sunday morning service. She has read the surveys that show membership in decline. Once thriving congregations now depend on part-time volunteers to keep their doors open. At a time when the relevancy of religion is in question, she feels a sense of urgency for churches to connect more deeply with their communities.

The challenges faced by Young and the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast are not unique within the Episcopal Church. In fact, they’re not unique to the Episcopal denomination. During the past decade, the percentage of US adults who say they regularly attend religious services has been declining across every denomination and nearly every religion. The central question is how religious institutions might reverse that trend.

Young and many of her Episcopal peers have begun to believe that if they develop a deeper understanding of the communities around their churches, they will be able to connect in new ways with the people who live and work there. With that goal in mind, they’re moving to embrace innovative techniques pioneered by businesses around the world.

In the age of digital transformation, the Episcopal Church is using science to find the faithful.

In the eyes of FaithX’s Reverend Howard, reliable data tells a powerful story…

Click here for complete original article in WhereNext