Larry Wartsbaugh knows from his own experience that church leaders don't always think the same as church members. In his previous role as a pastor, Wartsbaugh regularly polled his congregation to find out what they thought about the church's ministry.
"You don't always like the answers you get, but it's important to know their perceptions," said Wartsbaugh, director of missions for Fox Valley Baptist Association near Chicago. "If you're not in touch with your membership, your ministry can suffer."
Healthy churches pay attention to their members' perceptions, Wartsbaugh said. In his quest for more healthy churches, Wartsbaugh is encouraging the 32 Southern Baptist congregations in his association to conduct health inventories.
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The Church Health Survey helps church leaders discern their congregation's perceptions in six key areas: worship, evangelism, discipleship, ministry, prayer and fellowship. Church members complete a 160-item questionnaire. Churches then receive a 60-page analysis that includes an overall health score and individual category scores for the six areas. Rainer recommends 15 percent of a church's average worship attendance participate in the survey to obtain a statistically valid analysis. The first 60 surveys or fewer cost $320. Additional surveys are $2 each. The 60-page analysis, usually available within two weeks, includes recommendations to improve each category along with a detailed analysis of each question, Rainer said. |
More than 500 churches representing 11 denominations throughout the country have used the Church Health Survey, developed by Rainer in 1994. Rainer is president of Church Central Associates, ChurchCentral.com's publisher. He also serves as dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He has authored 13 books on the church and is internationally known as a speaker, conference leader and church consultant.
Rainer's survey has evolved into a 160-item questionnaire. Churches receive a 60-page analysis that includes an overall health score and individual category scores for the six areas mentioned earlier, Rainer said.
Perception becomes reality
"The key word is ‘perception,'" Rainer said. "We don't claim that we can give a complete idea of what's going on at the church or what challenges it faces. But what we have found is that if the survey results did not reflect reality at the time, it would in two years.
"The perception survey has become a prognosis survey, but it's not fatalistic," Rainer said. "Churches can reverse their weaknesses, and this is a tool that presents that opportunity."
The 10 churches involved in Fox Valley's project had hit a plateau, Wartsbaugh said, experiencing less than 10 percent growth annually during the last few years. The Church Health Survey has shown the pastors which areas of their ministries might need a boost, Wartsbaugh said.
"The scores disappointed the pastors," he said. "They found that the people in the pews didn't feel quite as good about the church as the pastors do."
One pastor who had emphasized evangelism was surprised to see that church members didn't think the church was doing much in that area.
"The pastor learned from the survey that he needed to be more public about that ministry, get the word out," Wartsbaugh said. "The survey does a good job of showing strengths and weaknesses."
Surprising insights
Rainer said he has yet to meet a pastor or church staff member who is not surprised by the survey results.
"It requires a level of security on their part to be willing to go through this," Rainer said.
Rainer recommends 15 percent of a church's average worship attendance participate in the survey to obtain a statistically valid analysis. The first 60 surveys or fewer cost $320. Additional surveys are $2 each.
The 60-page analysis, usually available within two weeks, includes recommendations to improve each category along with a detailed analysis of each question, Rainer said.
"An ideal scenario would include an on-site consultation, but the vast majority of churches can't afford that," Rainer said. "The next best thing is the Church Health Survey."
Rainer encourages churches to work on the greatest strength revealed by the survey and the greatest weakness. A follow-up survey is recommended for six months to a year later to see if progress is being made, he said.
Parkway Wesleyan Church in Roanoke, Va., hasn't conducted a follow-up survey yet, but has seen progress in the two years since conducting the survey, senior pastor John Ott said.
The church has grown from 500 in regular worship attendance to 700 and is planning a new building.
"The survey was very helpful," said Parkway staff member Karen Wright, who coordinated the survey. "It even helped us evaluate the space we had and how we can use it. We also made some staff changes based on Dr. Rainer's recommendations. We reorganized to focus more on evangelism."
Ott said Parkway was always considered a healthy church, but the staff needed help determining the issues the church faced.
"We were able to see some key issues that we had overlooked," Ott said, such as staffing and facility issues.
Consultant training
Current pastors and ministerial staff interested in helping other churches can become certified church consultants through Church Central Associates. Rainer will begin offering one-day Level 1 Church Consultant Training workshops in September that introduce participants to the field and the Church Health Survey.
The training costs $395 per person and includes a training manual and a Church Health Survey packet for use in one church. Once certified, the participant can sell the survey and recoup most of his or her training fee.
Rainer is planning an additional training phase that will build upon the first and lead to more diagnostic work, he said.
Rainer also shares tips during the training from years of research he has compiled into his most recent book, "Surprising Insights from the Unchurched." He recently finished research for his soon-to-be-released "The Unchurched Next Door."
Rainer's reputation for thorough research makes his survey more valuable, Wartsbaugh said.
"There are all kinds of questionnaires out there, but we've been impressed with Dr. Rainer's depth of research," Wartsbaugh said. "This isn't just some consultant's opinion you're getting, but the issues are validated by research."
Wartsbaugh cautioned churches to carefully select questionnaires.
"Sometimes the survey itself can you lead you down the wrong trail by asking the wrong questions," he said. "Evangelism has become more man centered during the last 25 years, and we need to be God centered, delivering clear teaching and doctrine. I think Dr. Rainer asks the right questions based on what today's church really needs."
