Church leaders across the country are finding the Church Health Survey a powerful tool for measuring how they and their congregations measure up against what experts identify as purposes of the modern church.

With 160 questions digging deep into the DNA of a church, the survey and the 50-page report generated by it allow church leadership to closely examine the strengths, weaknesses and attitudes of the church, as members perceive them.

Participants in the survey are asked whether they strongly agree, agree, are undecided, disagree or strongly disagree with statements such as, "When I come to my church, I truly sense that I worship God."

Likewise, church consultants are embracing the survey and associated training. To date, more than 100 consultants have attended training that introduces them to the health survey.

More than 500 churches have used the survey since it was developed by church health expert Dr. Thom Rainer, dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

OK, Now What?

Because of the survey's depth, churches and consultants, after receiving the results, face a similar dilemma: "What do we do next?"

To answer that question, Rainer and his research associates developed an extensive Church Health Encyclopedia.

The encyclopedia serves as a companion guide to the survey by providing practical suggestions and tools for increasing the health of the church.

Like the survey, the encyclopedia is organized according to the six purposes of the church Rainer identifies: worship, discipleship, prayer, evangelism, fellowship and ministry. There are articles devoted to each of the survey questions, categorized under a particular purpose of the church.

For example, under the topic of worship, the encyclopedia lists the numbers of survey statements pertaining to that purpose and offers detailed analysis of each statement.

Statement 19, for instance, reads, "There is a disagreement among the members of our church about the type of music and worship style."

The encyclopedia offers a detailed, four-step process for addressing this issue when identified as a problem by survey participants. The encyclopedia draws upon studies conducted by Rainer and other researchers.

"Thousands of hours of thought, experience, and prayer have gone into this manual's composition, and it is our desire that it will be helpful in bringing about healthy change in the church," Rainer writes, in the encyclopedia's introduction.

Rainer isn't the only one who views the encyclopedia as a helpful resource.

"Well, I've done a good deal of consulting, but I've seen nothing else like it," said Dr. Henry Beck, director of missions for the Carolina Baptist Association. "There is no other tool out there like it. It's a compilation of a whole lot of things in one location. So it's going to really simplify (the survey report). It simplifies it and codifies it as well."

High In Value

Since churches are spending their time, energy and their money on the survey, Beck said the encyclopedia gives consultants an opportunity to offer them something of great value.

"I think it's going to give them not only more for their money but more options," he said. "They'll be able to sit down and diagnose the strengths and weaknesses in each of the six areas and then get multiple options to strengthen the weaknesses. Because it's codified you can look through there and have a whole lot more choices. It really simplifies it and it goes places you don't normally think about unless you do a bunch of research."

Bob Browning, operations manager for Church Central Associates, which markets the survey and encyclopedia, and conducts the consultant training, said the encyclopedia is exclusive in the field of church health and church consulting.

"The encyclopedia is unique in that it's the single most comprehensive and effective resource for improving a church's health, when used in combination with the Church Health Survey," Browning said.

The Rev. Larry Deal, minister of involvement and administration at Southwest Church of Christ in Jonesboro, Ark., said the encyclopedia's strength is in its depth.

"Well, I think it's an essential resource for somebody working with churches along the church health style of consulting because it allows you take the health analysis and get very practical with congregations," he said. "That's why I was interested in getting it. It allows you to go beyond just the numbers the Church Health Survey itself creates. It gets into very practical things. New things."

A Real Timesaver

From a consultant's standpoint, Deal said, the encyclopedia is a tremendous timesaver. Compiling the amount of information found in it was a huge task he said he is glad he doesn't have to undertake.

"There's lots of information in here to help you create practical suggestions for (churches) that you would otherwise have to create on your own," he said.

The encyclopedia gives a consultant easy, one-stop access to information rather than researching several sources.

"That's what is really good about this. It's not that you can't find some of these ideas in other places, but you have to look all over the place, in many different books, or on the Internet or call people," Deal said. "It's very nice to have it all available in one location. That makes it so much easier to work with."

Beck, who is encouraging all 60 churches in his association to use the survey, said the encyclopedia is a valuable tool because it simplifies evaluating and assessing the health of the church.

"This interprets the scores for you and gives you application without having to guess," he said. "Some of it is common sense. This is user-friendly and very specific and it gives choices. There's not just one answer for these things. It gives a lot of choices. I'm thinking it's going to cause my churches to grow."