Charm and doggedness weren’t on the official job description for student workers at Calvin's Center for Social Research this summer, but, say the students, they might well have been.
CSR assistant director Neil Carlson says that it takes those qualities and more to do what 13 Calvin student and alumni research assistants, under the supervision of 2006 Calvin graduate Nate Medeiros-Ward, have been doing since June 20: contacting and interviewing 250 Kent County congregational leaders. 
The work was part of the ground-breaking Kent County Congregations Study (KCCS), a large research project funded by the Grand Rapids-based Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation. 
The project is documenting the social services each Kent County congregation offers its members and the wider community. It also aims to enhance these efforts by establishing a network for congregations to tap into, by identifying areas of need in the larger community and by equipping the community in turn to strengthen the efforts of congregations in area of need. 
Carlson and his associates plan to convert the database of information on Kent County congregations into an on-line directory in the spring of 2008, pending approval from individual congregations. This resource will provide contact information and a list of services for each participating congregation. There are over 750 such religious congregations in Kent County.
For Calvin students, the opportunity to be part of this landmark study was gratifying.
“This is the most comprehensive study that’s ever been done of congregations in Kent County. It’s cool to be a part of the field research, the actual work of something that might have a greater effect in the future,” said Calvin senior Todd LaForest of Flint. 
Learn More 
Go to the Center for Social Research's Weblog to read more about the Kent County Congregational Study. 
Because the research assistants have a limited amount of data on churches and other religious organizations in the Grand Rapids area, they must often do preliminary site visits to congregations.
“Sometimes a part of our job is being an investigator in addition to being an interviewer,” said Paula Simoni, a Calvin senior from Royal Oak.
The first step is to determine that a congregation exists (the students have discovered area congregations that previously were not known). They then research the organization’s background and try to make contact with a church leader, a task that often involves far more than a quick call to a secretary.
Some churches are so small that they don’t have a secretary on staff -- just an answering machine. In these cases -- or cases where the secretary won’t permit access to the congregation’s minister -- students might have to attend a worship service in order to schedule an interview. 
Calvin senior Stephanie Skaar of South Bend, Ind., has been assigned a number of challenging congregations -- those that refuse to grant interviews with KCCS field researchers. 
“I’ve had times when I’ve had to show up at a church multiple times, leave them notes, leave them phone messages, e-mails, hunt down their home numbers and call them there. I haven’t actually shown up at someone’s house, but I might!” said Skaar. 
Working together on this comprehensive survey, the team of CSR research assistants has developed a unique bond. While they push each other to get through to congregations by keeping a friendly running tally of interviews completed and celebrating each time someone schedules an interview, they also see to it that no one gets discouraged after receiving a rejection from a congregation. 
“When a secretary hung up on me recently,” said Simoni, “the others sitting in the room encouraged me by saying I had handled the situation well.”
The research assistants go in pairs to interviews, with one person acting as the primary interviewer while the other takes notes and facilitates conversation flow when necessary. 
“Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, so as we’re scheduling interviews we choose someone to go along based on their gifts. It’s great to tell someone, ‘this is something you’re really good at and I really need you for this,’” said Skaar. 
As each research assistant brings gifts and abilities to the project, there are also constant opportunities to develop new skills. 
Though an open and bubbly personality, Skaar says she has trouble with potentially difficult phone communication. To help her, a fellow research assistant walked her through a mock phone conversation, giving her tips for how to improve her style along the way. Now she feels more confident doing this vital piece of her job. 
LaForest is happy to gain experience in data entry as a research assistant at the CSR. As a political science major at Calvin headed to law school after graduation, he’s hoping the skills he’s gaining tabulating the 55 pages of information from each clergy interview will help him someday find a position as a courtroom clerk. 
Visiting as many as 50 congregations in two months, the research assistants at the CSR are making significant forays into the Grand Rapids community. 
“I’ve lived in the Calvin bubble in the dorms and just off campus, so I haven’t gotten to know the heart of Grand Rapids or the rest of the county. Doing site visits and conducting interviews, I’ve learned how to navigate the city- and especially what construction projects to avoid! Overall, this project has made me have a deeper connection to this area,” said Simoni. 
Several summer research assistants will stay on board through the fall, helping to wrap up the work the CSR is doing for the Kent County Congregations Study. Carlson said that the team plans to do data cleaning and analysis in the fall, followed by report-writing in the winter. Once these phases of the project are complete, a report detailing KCCS findings will be published in spring 2008.