Summary
Thanks to all units that participated in the Central Territory Demographic Survey. Because of your responses, we have been able to create a map that reflects the racial/ethnic diversity across the territory, as well as the different languages that are spoken within it. The map includes all the units in the territory differentiated by color according to each Division. The data reflected on the maps is as of June 2024.
Of the 228 units surveyed, 183 units responded, which provided an 80% representation of the whole territory.
Each unit was asked to respond to the survey by providing the percentages of the racial/ethnic representation in the following five areas: Sunday Morning Meeting, Youth Ministries, Women’s Ministries, Men’s Ministries, Social Services, and the languages spoken in their units.
The definition of these is as follows:
- Sunday Morning Meeting – Worship service celebration held at a Salvation Army facility each Sunday morning.
- Youth Ministries – Religious and character-building programs that can include Sunday school, youth troops, music classes, athletics and sporting events, arts and crafts, camping, and other activities for youth.
- Women’s Ministries – Encompasses numerous opportunities for all women where they are valued, encouraged, equipped, and invited to catch the joy through Christian faith and fellowship. The mission is to provide opportunities to win women for Christ, and assist in their spiritual growth, nurturing and awareness of the needs of the family, the community, the nation, and the world.
- Men’s Ministries – The mission of the Men’s Ministries is to lead men into a relationship with Christ, and into community with other men who love and serve Him. It focuses on four areas: fellowship, education, worship, service, and big events.
- Social Services – Assistance provided in a wide range of services such as food and clothing distribution, rent and utility assistance, Christmas assistance, information, and referrals. Availability of these services may vary according to each location.
NR or “No Response” on the stat sheet of the unit indicates the unit did not answer that specific question on the survey.
Based on the survey results, we found that twenty-six languages and dialects are spoken in the Central Territory. They include: Arabic, English, Farsi, French, Hmong, Italian, Karen, Korean, Krio, Lao, Lingala, Marshallese, Ojibwe, Patois, Persian, Polish, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
When you review the map, you will note that each division and all the units associated with it are color-coded for ease of identification. By clicking the arrow on the upper left corner, it will bring up the complete list of respondents to the survey. By clicking the color-coded dot, it will bring up the results for a specific unit. By clicking the color-coded “balloon” icon, it will provide you with a summary of all respondents for that division. Also, by clicking the “home” icon, it will bring up the total results for the Central Territory.
It is our hope that the information provided by this map will help you in your ministry as we fulfill our mission and try to better serve our racially and ethnically diverse communities.
