Demographic Survey

While few of the final results could be considered shocking or surprising, the Emmanuel English Congregation's first annual demographic survey gave statistical evidence of an EEC overwhelmingly comprised of Korean students under twenty-five who were raised in church. The survey, conducted on December 5, 1999, was filled out by 217 of the 316 Sunday service attendees that day (69%), giving the survey results a significant margin of error.

74% of survey respondents (161 of 216) were twenty-five years of age or younger, with only seven percent (15 of 216) identifying themselves as being over thirty. Also, in spite of recent, continuous movement toward a more multicultural demographic makeup, the EEC is still 85% Korean (184 of 216), with Chinese and Taiwanese together making up half of the remainder. Undergraduate college students comprised almost one half of the congregation, with graduate students and working professionals splitting the other half in equal one-fourth shares. Correspondingly, of respondents who attend an Emmanuel fellowship group, approximately half were members of Penn and Koinonia, which have since merged into a joint college group, with Phileo and Charis splitting the difference evenly. Twenty percent of respondents (44 of 216) did not attend any fellowship group.

Many of these statistics may be difficult to interpret in isolation. Since the demographic starting point of the Congregation as a second-generation Korean church is a given, direction and speed of change and movement may at this point be more significant than raw numbers. Other results simply seemed inconclusive. For instance, in surveying length of time spent at Emmanuel, those attending for one year, 1-2 years, 3-4 years, and more than four years split the body of respondents in practically equal fourths. As time passes and a historical record is established, trends may be identified, lending these results greater significance.

54% of respondents were female and 46% were male. Claims that males were less likely to follow directions and actually complete the survey, thus skewing the results, could not be confirmed.

Two of the questions produced results which might be considered unexpected and thought-provoking. Only 14% of the congregation (31 of 216) was introduced to Emmanuel through a welcoming activity, while a full 62% (135 of 216) was brought by a friend, perhaps indicating that in spite of the EEC's many indispensable efforts to improve its newcomer welcoming programs, there is no substitute for personal relationships and personal invitations. Also, on a somewhat more sobering note, only six respondents (3%) considered Emmanuel to be their first church. Apparently, Emmanuel has yet to make a significant impact on that segment of the population in the Philadelphia area which is totally unchurched.

In other results: 90% felt assured of salvation, while zero claimed to be non-Christians - although those who truly were non-Christians were presumably more likely to be among the 99 who declined to fill out the survey. Frequency of Bible reading and personal prayer times varied along a relatively even distribution from 1-7 days a week.

Finally, twenty respondents (thankfully, an even number) were married - four of the twenty with children - thus leaving an overwhelming 91% of attendees unmarried. Perhaps, with some matters at Emmanuel, the more things change, the more they stay the same.