About Visions-Decisions

Visions Decisions, Inc., is a privately held company that for nearly two decades, has provided premium, easy-to-understand, narrative reports to local churches and denominational bodies. From our Atlanta office, we've worked extensively across the nation with churches, judicatories and ministries of numerous groups, including the American Baptist Churches USA, Disciples of Christ, the Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), the Roman Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention, United Church of Christ, and United Methodist Church, as well as other religious bodies.

OUR REPORTS
Our reports We are a provider of tailored reports which responsibly and fully explore the data in a narrative text, illustrated with color charts, graphs and maps. They are meant to walk you and your committee or congregation through the data.

OUR DATA
Our data Visions Decisions uses good, solid data in a methodologically proper manner. These include up-to-date estimates and projections on population, households, age, race and ethnicity, income and other areas. These are supplied by ESRI, Inc., a reliable, longstanding provider of demographic data. Our reports also include the most recent Census data, particularly on those items, such as educational attainment or language spoken at home, that cannot be reliably estimated. In addition, we can supply Census country of origin data on immigrant groups, such as Haitian, Egyptian, Hungarian, or Nigerian, that are not easily available. However, we do not use commercial lifestyle segments, which because of the way they are derived, can have problems in particular local places that might steer your church or program wrong. We're a stick in the mud on this, but trust us. Finally, we also provide our own Unchurched/Churched Index, which is demographically derived, and our similarly based Religious Preference Index, too.

OUR GUARANTEE
Our guarantee In a report, you might be puzzled over a piece of data, or even find an error. Call us at 1-800-524-1445 from 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST weekdays, and we'll be happy to answer any question, address concerns, or just talk about whatever. If there should be one, we'll fix a bad error without cost, of course, by reprinting. Our guarantee to you is that we'll work with you until you're satisfied. We're pleased to say that folks have been generally pretty happy with what they got.

WHO WE ARE
Anthony Healy -

After working in newspaper journalism, research, and marketing, I established Visions-Decisions in 1990. Vocationally trained in demography and academically in sociology, I've extensive knowledge, experience and training in religious and social science fields. You'll find me on the membership roll of the the Religious Research Association, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the Association for the Sociology of Religion.
Published in April 2005 by the Alban Institute is my new book "The Postindustrial Promise. Order from the publisher at book. or from Amazon.com.

In The Postindustrial Promise, author Anthony Healy finds that the changes in religious life and among congregations are being misunderstood. Instead of seeing the changes as the result of the presumed aspects of postmodern life— Book Cover

individualism, the collapse of social groups, and the scrapping of tradition—Healy sees what has occurred as a postindustrial transformation, in which an economy based on manufacturing has been replaced by one based on corporate and consumer services. This transformation has changed what we value and how we live, as well as how we work. It has also changed congregations and religious life, but not necessarily in the way that many people think.

"Pastors, lay leaders, and denominational officials trying to understand the congregations in their care—who they are, why they’re like they are, and what has been happening in the broader society that has either changed them or left them struggling to survive— will find a treasure trove of help and hope in Anthony Healy'’s book. Arguing against post-modern “jeremiahs” and secularization theorists who view religion in decline or at least increasingly irrelevant, Healy makes a strong case that religion in postindustrial America is vital and important, and so are congregations. Congregations are places where their people can “reroot” themselves—a central metaphor of the book—grounding themselves in religious and social narratives. Readers will be helped to understand the changes taking place in society, be introduced to a rich diversity of congregations that are effectively navigating this sea of change, and be challenged to ask how and where their congregation fits. Along the way, readers will also be introduced to much important work being done by sociologists of religion. Healy has a real gift for making their work accessible for church leaders."
—Jackson W. Carroll
Williams Professor Emeritus of Religion and Society and
Director of Pulpit & Pew: Research on Pastoral Leadership
Duke University Divinity School

Anthony Healy is available for lectures, programs and talks to denominational bodies, regional judicatories and congregations on the book.

You'll find my articles in a variety of publications, including such publications as Congregations and Church and Worship Technology, as well as our newsletter. I've presented a number of academic papers on sociological and demographic topics. In 2002, I received a major grant from the Louisville Institute for the Church in Postindustrial America, which resulted in my forthcoming book, and in 2005, received a second grant from the Louisville Institute for preliminary work on a project to be known as Religious Congregations of People in Late Life.
You can invite me to speak, or to conduct a workshop or retreat, at your denominational, judicatory or church event. You can pick from a wide variety of demographic and religious topics of importance to churches and larger religious bodies. I'll work with it to fit your particular needs. The fee schedule is affordable. To arrange participation at your upcoming session, please contact me here, or call. This is something of my upcoming travel schedule.