Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 147:586 (Apr 1990)
Article: Periodical Reviews
Author: Anonymous

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BSac 147:586 (Apr 90) p. 231

Periodical Reviews

“How to Navigate the Census Bureau,” Diane Crispell, American Demographics 11 (November 1989): 46, 66.

A number of evangelical ministries and churches in particular have begun to realize the importance of demographics to ministry. It has become obvious that for the church to minister effectively to people it must understand them. Demographics is one key to understanding and reaching people. For example if a church desires to reach its community for Christ, it needs to know who is in the community—their ethnicity, age, sex, economics, marital status, needs, and so on.

American Demographics, a publication of Dow Jones and Company, is a periodical that supplies such demographic information. The articles deal with a vast array of topics such as the state of the traditional American family, how people use their time, the message and value of a good logo (many ministries are using logos), the needs of the elderly, and the demographics of the baby boom generation.

The value of Diane Crispell’s article “How to Navigate the Census Bureau” is that it tells what kind of information the bureau provides and how to obtain it. Crispell says that in addition to conducting the census the bureau gives information through a number of surveys. The Monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) provides data regarding the median income and the state of the traditional family. The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) offers information regarding income in general. The American Housing Survey (AHS) produces data on housing units and the people who live in them. In addition to the above the Census Bureau also produces population projections and estimates by age, sex, and race for the nation, each state, and each county.

Census Bureau information can be obtained through the Census Catalog and Guide, which contains a list of all available information, from printed reports to computer tapes. The bureau also has a Public Information Office, which offers a free four-page telephone listing of various subject specialists

BSac 147:586 (Apr 90) p. 232

at the bureau. The obvious advantage of this reference is that one can call a particular specialist and discuss any question directly and individually.

Aubrey M. Malphurs

“Those Who Have Never Heard: Have They No Hope?” Evert D. Osburn, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 32 (1989): 367-72.

“Are the heathen lost?” is not really the question. The question-behind-the-question that troubles people is this: “Is God just?” How can a loving God condemn people to eternal destruction because they reject a message they ha...

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