What is your church like? Ask the members of the Hope Community Church* in Gloryland, Ky., and 94 percent say, "When I come to my church, I truly sense that I worship God." Some 88 percent of the congregation also say that visitors feel welcome, but only 57 percent say, "When I see a new person in our church, I make every effort to introduce myself."
Only 36 percent of the congregation say, "Our church sees people accept Christ on a regular basis." Only 24 percent say they share their faith regularly with lost people.
How can so many people in one church feel that they worship God there, yet so few take him back out the door with them when they leave?
The analysis of the Church Health Survey the church used to assess the strengths, weaknesses, attitudes and perceptions in their church provided insight not only into what may be the most visible aspect of church  Sunday morning worship, but also into the other purposes of the church as outlined in Acts 2:42-47: worship, fellowship, discipleship, evangelism, ministry and prayer.
The Church Health Survey
"There is a wide range of tools and assessments," said Warner Smith, a church consultant with The Transformation Group. "One of the things I like about [the Church Health Survey] is that it's tied to the purposes of the church." Smith earned his PhD in church growth, evangelism and preaching under Dr. Thom S. Rainer, dean of the Billy Graham School of Evangelism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He plans to launch a new church in Cumming, Ga., this fall.
Smith said Rainer developed the Church Health Survey in 1996, as a response to a need for a more comprehensive analysis than what was available for churches and consultants. The survey was tested on more than 4,000 churches.
Bob Browning, Church Central Operations Director, said the Church Health Survey is the most comprehensive assessment in the church growth and church health market. "The Church Health Survey is comprehensive. It scores on each purpose." At least 25 questions of the 160 total are dedicated to each of the six purposes.
Some 1,172 churches have used the survey to date. Church Central took over the data analysis and reporting for the survey last year.
Other assessment tools, such as interviews, demographic studies, surveys that focus more on vision or use a smaller statistical sampling are not as accurate or useful as the Church Health Survey, according to Smith.
"Thom [Rainer] has put it together so that statistically it's accurate," he said. "It also has additional questions about theology that most do not have. That helps the pastor or pastoral staff see and gauge their success in teaching certain principles. Smith said that is particularly important to assess a congregation's theology for the sake of evangelism, which necessitates a belief in Jesus as the Christ, the only son of God and the only way to redeem the world.
"Pluralism is a huge problem in our society," Smith explained. "I can't motivate you to go witness if you believe everyone's going to get to heaven anyway."
Consulting tool
Smith now uses the Church Health Survey in his consulting work. "Usually you get a phone call because someone has a problem." He said that larger churches are often more proactive, but usually a church seeking assessment is a church in trouble.
Leaders of larger churches that took the survey did so most often when attendance had plateaued or declined; after a leadership change, major conflict or financial shortfalls within the church; or because the church wanted to improve its vitality or develop a strategic growth plan.
"Parkway Wesleyan is a healthy church," said John Ott of the Roanoke, Va., congregation that took the Church Health Survey, "However, we had reached a plateau in attendance and needed help in determining some of the issues we need to face."
Smith said the survey is not the answer to a church's problems, but a way to identify them. "The great tragedy of these tools is when the consultant thinks that that tool is going to answer all their questions. It should be used in conjunction with on-site evaluation and in-person interviews," he said. "You have to do all three."
"Our church utilized the Church Health Survey in the context of a larger consultation," said Wayne Rhodes of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Beaumont, Texas. Rhodes said his congregation used the information from the assessment as well as a consultant and interviews to "transform from a dying downtown church to a vibrant inner city church with hope and promise!"
Brian Suntken of St. Patrick Episcopal Church in Mooresville, S.C., said he recommends the Church Health Survey as a "fantastic tool" for both local church assessment and for an entire denominational group.
"Our entire diocese is in the process of strategic planning for Great Commission effectiveness," Suntken said.
Church Health Encyclopedia
In addition to the survey, Church Central provides the Church Health Encyclopedia, which serves as a companion to the survey, to answer the "what next" question for both churches and consultants. The exhaustive resource provides practical suggestions and tools for increasing the health of a church.
Like the survey, it is also based and organized around the six purposes. For Hope Community, their low score in regularly sharing their faith is addressed in the encyclopedia: "If your congregation is struggling to share their faith, please understand that you are not alone. The majority of Christians do not share their faith on a regular basis," it reads. Then the encyclopedia offers four suggestions:
1. Preach about evangelism.
2. Equip for evangelism, teaching members methods and strategies for witnessing.
3. Plan for evangelism with encouragement and a short-term witnessing program.
4. Model evangelism as a church leader.
Changing churches
The survey and the encyclopedia are only the beginning for churches looking to change. But often starting the process of change is the most difficult aspect of organizational transformation, according to Smith.
Smith said the Church Health Survey is a starting point for change. "It helps you measure the congregation's perception of themselves," he said. "One of the things you do as a consultant, you have to answer the question why a change is needed. If you can say, ‘85 percent of you said this,' that helps you create leverage."
Most church consultants are looking for ways to help churches change. According to Smith, while church consultants may focus specifically on vision, conflict, or technical aspects of churches, some 60-70 percent are interested in church growth or church health.
Undoubtedly they are interested in tools to help them in their trade.
"There's a wide range of tools and assessments," Smith said. Some denominations have their own. Consultants such as Lyle Schaller, credited by many as the founder of church consulting today, relies more heavily on the interview as an assessment.
The Church Health Survey strikes an interesting balance between the nuts and bolts of counting parking spaces, and evaluations based only on discussions with church staff and members. It contains questions about parking, but also about prayer. Smith said because the survey is centered on Scriptural principles, it is more useful.
"I think you have to do things around the purposes of the church," he said. "I want to be biblically based. I think the church should be accomplishing the great commission and those purposes that help us determine whether we are on-line with those."
Check here for more information about the Church Health Survey.
*Name has been changed.
