Gospel Desert Index
A national, tract-level measure of where evangelical Gospel presence is structurally thin.
The Gospel Desert Index helps pastors, planters, and denominational leaders see where church access is sparse, where human need is high, and where the next faithful move may require planting, patient presence, or partnership.
What is the Gospel Desert Index?
The Gospel Desert Index is a composite 0–100 score that identifies Census tracts where evangelical Gospel presence is structurally absent or unusually thin. It combines church proximity, church density, socioeconomic pressure, and tract-level context into a field-readable measure for church planting and ministry deployment.
A high GDI score does not mean God is absent. It means ordinary access to visible evangelical witness is constrained enough that leaders should look closely before assuming the area is already served.
What GDI helps ministry leaders decide
The index is designed for decisions that carry real cost: where to plant, where to reinforce an existing work, where to partner, and where to send people before momentum is lost. It is not a replacement for prayer, pastoral discernment, or field interviews. It is a disciplined first read of the ground.
What the index does not claim
The Gospel Desert Index does not claim to measure the invisible work of the Holy Spirit, the faithfulness of a specific congregation, or the health of every ministry in a tract. It measures visible and structural indicators of access and need. That distinction matters because good data should make leaders humbler, not more mechanistic.
Short answers for search, staff, and session rooms.
Keep reading from the same library
These pages share the same methodology frame: definitions, transparent data sources, and ministry-use cases for tract-level decision making.