Findings Report

Forty-five members of the Ministry Team, program staff, Cabinet and the Vision, Transition and Search Teams attended the Findings and Recommendations Retreat December 16 and 17. Russell Crabtree of Holy Cow! Consulting presented the reports from the Pulse survey (taken by the staff) and the CAT (responded to by 221 members).

Good news! Overall, very positive results came out of the CAT, a summary of which is posted below. The full report is located in the church office and is available for review. Have at it!

Findings Report*

The Church Assessment Tool (CAT) was recently administered in our church. 273 households were sent an authentication letter inviting them to participate and 424 persons were identified in those families as being eligible to take the survey. Of these, 221 persons responded. A response from every member is not required to provide valid results. Holy Cow! Consulting recommends a response goal of 80% of the average weekly service attendance. Our average weekly attendance for the first eleven months of 2011 was 217 people. (0.8)(217) = 174. At 221 responses, we far exceeded the suggested 174 responses.

A summary of the report is provided below. For a complete readout, please review the Vital Signs report located in the church office.

Overall, approximately 72% of our members are clearly satisfied with things in the church. In combination with other questions, this suggests that the morale in our church is very high. Morale is important in a church because it is one of the best predictors of overall health and numeric growth. The indication that our morale is very high suggests that members are highly energized about the ministry of the church.

Members tend to feel positive about their church overall when they also feel that
• persons who serve as leaders in our church are representative of the membership.
• the worship services are exceptional in both quality and spiritual content.
• being part of the church community has given new meaning to their lives.
• the church provides high quality education that is appropriate to every age and stage of life.
• the church prepares our members for ministry by helping them discern their gifts.

The conflict management score for our church is high. Approximately 2% of members are clearly disturbed by the level of conflict. The church has become relatively skilled at dealing with potentially divisive issues that arise from time to time.

Our responses indicate that theologically the church tends to be progressive in its perspective. On the flexible style index, our church appears to be adaptable. This suggests that in the life of our church we may be comfortable making frequent adjustments to the way we do things.

As members look to the future, their top four goals are:
• Make necessary changes to attract families with children and youth to our church.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to reach new people.
• Develop ministries that work toward healing those broken by life circumstances.
• Expand outreach ministries that provide direct services to those living on the margins of society.

The urgency that members indicate in addressing the above goals is low. This suggests that while members have a clear sense of priorities for the future, there is not a high level of concern that the church must act quickly.

In comparison to other churches, two goals that are unusually strong for our church are:
• Work as an advocate for social and institutional change.
• Make necessary changes to attract families with children and youth to our church.

These may warrant attention from the leadership even if they are mid-level priorities.

All the information in this report should be explored and validated in further conversation. Survey data is not the end of a conversation but the beginning.

* Report submitted by Holy Cow! Consulting and presented at the retreat by Russell Crabtree of HCC; edited by Bonnie Loeser

Questions or comments? Ask or talk to any member of the Vision, Search or Transition Teams. Check out the blog tab above for members of these committees.

- Bonnie