Quick facts about Wave 2 of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey!

By Hilary Harris

We planned for Wave 2 of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey for two years before the survey took place in the fall of 2008 and the spring of 2009. Here are some facts about the logistics of conducting Wave 2 of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey: 

• Total number of pens shipped: 334,890
• Total number of surveys shipped: 334,890
• Average number of surveys shipped per congregation: 214
• Total number of English surveys:  316,273
• Total number of Spanish surveys:  18,009
• Total number of Korean surveys:  608
• Most surveys sent to a single congregation: 5,000
• Fewest surveys sent to a single congregation: 20 or less

 Mother Nature had an influence on Wave 2:

• Number of congregations affected by natural disasters around their survey date: 6 (all completed the survey at a later date)
•  Weather events that affected congregations participating in the survey:
• Hurricane Gustav
• Hurricane Ike
• Midwest floods
• Western wildfires
•  Number of congregations experiencing a fire in their building on survey Sunday: 1 (the surveys were rescued from the fire)
• Louisville, where the U.S. Congregations office is located, was affected by a windstorm in September 2008 (the tail end of Hurricane Ike), an ice storm that closed the office for a couple days in January 2009, and flooding in August 2009.

 Despite these challenges, Wave 2 was a success:

•  Total number of congregations taking the survey: 1,564
• Location of congregations taking the survey: all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada!
• Number of Christian denominations participating in the survey: 34
• Number of other religions participating in the survey: 3
• Number of days of the week the survey was completed: 4 (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday)

 If your congregation was part of Wave 2—many thanks!