Congregational and Diocesan Development Issues

The purpose of this blog is to promote discussion of some ideas which I think will promote the development of first world churches, and through debate to improve those ideas. To follow the flow of my logic, read forward from the first entry; entries which form the cornerstones of my thought are flagged with "KEY--", and are listed below with a short summary of the key idea. Kindly share your suggestions and improvements with me, and I will adjust the contents accordingly. Thank you for your participation! (Direct email contact is also welcome.)

• KEY--Why are congregations weak?
  (Mostly due to defects in the culture of the judicatory: unclear mission/vision, ineffective structures, misaligned incentives, and lack of support, all of which lead to a low quality "product".)
• KEY--Correcting diocesan weaknesses
  (A summary explanation of what is involved in correcting those defects.)
• KEY--Correcting the weakness of congregations
  (How to move away from a "laisser faire" leadership style at the diocesan level in a way that has organisational legitimacy.)
• KEY--Setting Targets (Overview)
  (Dioceses now measure mostly finances and attendance, if they measure anything. Some suggestions on better measures which should have a cause and effect relationship towards wholistic growth, a Balanced Scorecard.)
• KEY--Sample Benefits from a Balanced Scorecard
  (Illustrating what wholistic growth would look like: much more than just more money or more people in church!)
• KEY--Cause and Effect for Laurentian Congregational Revitalisation
  (Shows the linkage between the different strategic activities in Laurentian churches, and growth in organisational, spiritual, financial and participatory health.)

For years I have heard the objection that "you can't measure how 'good' worship is", and that "good preaching is very subjective". I agree. But we still need to know whether we are succeeding at it, so here is a simple, two-stage idea that we hope to try out soon. The key issues are to know whether we are meeting the needs of our current "clients" (our present worshippers) and our "potential clients" (the people who could begin attending). We are seeking to be "client-oriented", while remaining faithful to the message of the Gospel. (I know that this may seem like shocking language, but the major issues are likely to be whether the content is made relevent and is well-presented; the Gospel is timeless and has a power to change lives all by itself...and we are charged with being its ambassadors).

1. Create a baseline and assess the congregation's opinion by handing out a short survey after worship for three or four Sundays in a row. Ask 4-5 questions, and invite comments: "On a scale of 1-5 where 1 is Very Poor and 5 is Excellent, how would you evaluate the following parts of today's service: Music (quality, selection, type, other); Sermon (clarity, contents, relevance, length, other), Worship Service (helped you worship, understandable, relevent, other), .... What suggestions or other feedback would you have for us? Thank you for your time!" Provide pens and ask people to fill it in before leaving, unless they filled it in before the service in a previous week. Tally, report and study the results. Adjust as needed, of course!
   
2. Provide the same survey to every visitor, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE). Ask for a few details about whether they live close enough to the congregation to consider attending regularly, whether they had attended before, what their denomination of origin is, how they heard about the congregation, etc. Have the SASE go to an address at the diocese, and mention that only a monthly summary will be provided to the congregation, and therefore that they will not be identifiable individually. This way, you can find out what your potential members think of your "product". A good portrait should appear over time.
   

This kind of tool is crude; over time, it can become more sophisticated. Perhaps someone can refer us to a better, more professional or more standardized questionnaire. But what is important is to notice that once it has become important to measure an aspect of our ministry, we can find ways of doing it, so that we have an idea of whether we are succeeding or not. We may think we are being faithful, but are we effective? We can find out!