(Feb. 21, 2007)
Researchers release results of 2006 synod survey
Researchers from Towson University and the University of Maryland School of Social Work have released the results of the synod survey which was taken during 2006. "The Delaware-Maryland Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: 'A Church With a Mission'" is identified as "A Descriptive Research Study of Rostered Leaders and General Members as They Work To Move from Maintenance to Mission." Principal investigator was Jodi M. Jacobson, Ph.D., LCSW-C, currently an assistant professor at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work. Co-investigator was Ann Rothschild, LCSW-C, who served as the synod's part-time Coordinator for Youth Ministry prior to accepting appointment as a lecturer in the Department of Family Studies and Community Development Department of Towson University. Several research assistants from University of Maryland and Towson University were involved as well.
Two surveys, one for rostered leaders and one for general members, were designed by the research team with input from the Research Advisory Board, a group of synod volunteers. Data were collected anonymously in a survey completed online, with paper surveys available on request. All 11 conferences of the synod were represented in the 534 surveys completed (109 rostered leaders and 425 general members).
The Executive Summary highlights the most important findings and recommendations arising from the survey, as determined by the research team and members of the Research Advisory Board. Read more numbers, and the results of those numbers, in the Executive Summary of the 2006 research project on the synod undertaken by Towson University and the University of Maryland, School of Social Work.