Creating the Map
This can be an activity for the whole congregation, as well as a PCC, DCC or other group. You need a large map of your parish, on which you have marked as best you can, the parish boundaries. Crosshatch or lightly shade (or fade down if printing digitally) the area around the boundaries if possible.
Everyone in the regular congregation(s) is then invited to place a sticky dot (or a pin if you wish) in the location of their house, if they live in the parish. If they live outside the parish, then they place their dot beyond the boundary line in the approximate direction they live. This is the basic map.
Developing the Map
You can, if you wish, develop the people mapping further. People could use a different coloured dot, for example, to represent where immediate family members (who don’t go to church) live in the parish. It is also worth looking at where the large institutions (big employers, shopping centres, schools, medical practices etc.) are, and placing larger coloured squares on the map. Does the map show any areas where there is a major concentration of churchgoers, or an area where the church has no real contact? What does this mean for engagement or opportunity?