© 2013 forward movement/renewalworks and wca. all rights reserved. unauthorized distribution is...

© 2013 Forward Movement/RenewalWorks and WCA. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized distribution is prohibited.© 2013 Forward Movement/RenewalWorks and WCA. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized distribution is prohibited.

Episcopal Church ABCEpiscopal Church ABCMarch 2013March 2013

Episcopal Church ABCEpiscopal Church ABCMarch 2013March 2013

WorkshopWorkshopData PackData PackWorkshopWorkshopData PackData Pack


Table of ContentsTable of Contents

2

Understanding Your Data Pack

2Response Rates , Demographics and Tenure

6Spiritual Continuum

10Congregant Profile

Spiritual Beliefs and Attitudes

13Personal Spiritual Practices

15Faith in Action

17Church’s Role

Overall Satisfaction

21 Heart of the Leadership Team

24Get People Moving

25Embed the Bible

26Create Ownership

27 Pastor the Community

28Appendix

29


Understanding Your Understanding Your Data PackData Pack

Goal: To provide you with an overview of Goal: To provide you with an overview of how to view and interpret your Data how to view and interpret your Data

PackPack


God’s first question appears in Genesis 3:9 when He asks Adam,

He’s not asking about Adam’s physical location. Instead he’s probing Adam’s shame and confusion resulting from his disobedience by asking, “Where are you, Adam, (inferring) in relationship to me?”

This Scripture is the hallmark of the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey because it reflects the heart of the survey’s two goals:

• In the Congregant Profile, to answer God’s first question for your congregation to give you a snapshot of their spiritual health.

• In the Church’s Role, to identify high-potential opportunities for the church to help deepen their relationship with God.

God’s First Question God’s First Question

4


Two Pieces of Advice Two Pieces of Advice

#1 - Remember that this is more about your people than your church

When they first came to your church, your congregants brought with them a lifetime of spiritual experiences, biases, beliefs, and habits that had nothing to do with you. The intent of this survey is to measure the impact of their spiritual history, plus their experiences with your church, on their current relationship with God.

#2 - Find your story in the numbers

This report contains many numbers. Please don’t get bogged down by them. Look instead for themes—the one or two big issues reinforced across multiple slides that will catapult the spiritual growth of your people if you address them.

5


We compared your results with the 1500+ churches that have taken the survey since 2008. To help you find your story in the numbers, we report the results of this comparison using the following format:

An item highlighted in green means your church’s response is above average, ranking in the top 25% of churches.

An item highlighted in yellow means your church’s response is somewhat below average, ranking in the bottom 25% of churches.

An item highlighted in red means your church’s response is significantly below average, ranking in the bottom 10% of churches.

White = Average

An item in white means your church’s response is average, ranking in the middle 50% of churches.

How to Find Your Story in the Numbers How to Find Your Story in the Numbers

Red = Way Below Average

Yellow = Below Average

Green = Above Average

6


Response Rate, Demographics and TenureResponse Rate, Demographics and Tenure

Pages 7 and 8

There are two criteria that determine whether or not your findings are reliable:

1. Response rate (percentage of responses compared with weekend adult attendance):

• Individual church responses range from 5%-75% of weekend attendance with the average around 40%

• For smaller churches, the response rate should be greater than 50%. • For larger churches, a good response rate is between 20–30%.

Church ABC responses = 102 (31% of your average adult weekend attendance)

2. Demographics and Tenure

• Regardless of your response rate, you should review the demographic profile (page 7) and your church tenure/activity profile (page 8) to confirm that your sample is reflective of your congregation.

7


Version 096.060.047.066.029.089.061.CO-TR.1

Demographics

Base Size 102

Age 19-29 2% r

Age 30-49 33%

Age 50+ 62%

Diversity: Non White, including Hispanics 2%

Children under 18 at home 25% y

Married 62% r

Income under $30K 14%

Income $30K-$74,999 30% y

Income $75K or more 56% g

Full-time Employment 55%

Church ABC’s Church ABC’s DemographicsDemographics

8


Church ABC’s Church ABC’s TenureTenure

9

Church Tenure

Base Size 102

Less than one year 8%

One to five years 28%

Six to ten years 17%

More than ten years 47%


Church ABC’sChurch ABC’sParticipation withParticipation with

Organized Church ActivitiesOrganized Church Activities

10

Total Explore Grow Deepen Center

102 19# 54 18# 11#

73% r 53%# 70% r 94%# 82%#

17% r 0%# 22% y 17%# 18%#

43% r 21%# 39% r 56%# 82%#

27% 11%# 30% 22%# 55%#

# Low sample size

Serving Those in Need Through my Church (1 to 2 times a month or more)

Participation

Base Size

Weekend Services (3 to 4 times per month)

Small Groups (1 to 2 times a month or more)

Serving at the Church (1 to 2 times a month or more)


Spiritual Continuum ProfileSpiritual Continuum Profile

This following chart profiles your church’s spiritual continuum. If you see “green”, “yellow” or “red” indicators, it means that there are more or less of your congregation in that particular segment than the total sample.

These four segments were identified in the original REVEAL research work.

We have tested this “spiritual continuum” in more than 1,500 churches across a diversity of church sizes, denominations and geographies. We have found that these four segments exist in every congregation.

11


Church ABC’sChurch ABC’sSpiritual Continuum Profile Spiritual Continuum Profile

Compared with Total Sample


Exploring a Life

with God







12

19% g

53% g

18% y

10% r

Growing a Life with God

Deepening In Life with

God

Life with God in the Center

The people in this group are

taking the first, small steps in an intentional

spiritual journey.

The people in this group are

more committed to their Christian faith, but still there are a lot of questions

The people in this group

have a faith by which they

rely on God’s presence and power in their

daily lives.

For people living in this group, the

Christian faith is the most important

relationship in their lives.


Congregant ProfileCongregant Profile

Goal: For your congregation to give you a Goal: For your congregation to give you a snapshot of snapshot of their spiritual health by answering God’s first question

© 2013 Forward Movement/RenewalWorks and WCA. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized distribution is prohibited.© 2013 Forward Movement/RenewalWorks and WCA. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized distribution is prohibited. 14

Spiritual Beliefs and AttitudesSpiritual Beliefs and Attitudes

This chart is crucial to understanding how your congregants are doing in their journey to developing a relationship with Christ. Here are a few things to consider:

• Belief in Salvation by Grace and the Trinity are critical spiritual growth catalysts for those who are Exploring a Life with God

• Belief in a Personal God is the most influential catalyst for those who are Growing in a Life with God.

• Belief in the Authority of the Bible is very important for those who are Deepening in Life with God or have a Life with God in the Center.

• The “Giving Away My Life” attitude provides the best single measure in the entire report for a congregation’s spiritual momentum.

- Strong responses indicate significant momentum; weak responses indicate a more passive spiritual culture.

Note: We include a more detailed description of the origin and the actual wording of the statements on this chart in the Appendix at the end of this report.


Church ABC’sChurch ABC’s

Spiritual Beliefs & AttitudesSpiritual Beliefs & Attitudes

15Note: (*) No database comparison available at this time.

Key Spiritual Beliefs (% that very strongly agree)


Base Size 102 19# 54 18# 11#

Salvation by Grace 25% r 16%# 22% r 17%# 64%#

Trinity 59% r 21%# 67% r 67%# 73%#

Authority of the Bible 6% r 0%# 6% r 0%# 27%#

Personal God 40% r 11%# 37% y 61%# 73%#

Identity in Christ 30% r 11%# 30% y 28%# 73%#

Church 40% g 11%# 37% g 67%# 64%#

God is First 33% r 5%# 28% y 50%# 82%#

Stewardship 12% r 0%# 9% r 11%# 45%#

Spiritual Gifts 11% y 5%# 6% 17%# 36%#

Giving Away My Life 10% r 0%# 6% y 17%# 36%#

Baptismal Covenant * 18% 0%# 20% 17%# 36%#

Eucharist * 45% 11%# 46% 67%# 64%#

# Low sample size


Personal Spiritual PracticesPersonal Spiritual Practices

It would be hard to overstate the power of personal spiritual practices to catalyze transformation. The more time and energy people invest in these channels of communication with God, the more fruit is born in virtually every dimension of spiritual life. Specifically, there are three critical factors to consider based on the following chart:

#1: Reflection on Scripture is the most influential catalyst of spiritual growth. This means it is not only the most influential spiritual practice; it is also the only catalyst that ranks in the top five for every movement across the spiritual continuum.

#2: Prayer to Confess Sins is particularly significant for those in the more mature spiritual segments. Higher responses reflect increasing intentional efforts to deal with obstacles that get in the way of becoming more Christ-like.

#3: Higher tithing responses are directly linked to strong agreement with belief in the authority of the Bible (people will financially support God’s work out of obedience, whether or not they’re happy with the church).

- Also note that it’s possible to see higher tithing percentages on the survey than your church experiences because people tend to overstate their contributions, but know that the comparative churches experience the same bias.


Church ABC’sChurch ABC’sPersonal Spiritual PracticesPersonal Spiritual Practices

Note: (*) No database comparison available at this time.

Personal Spiritual Practices Total Explore Grow Deepen Center

Base Size 102 19# 54 18# 11#

Reflection on Scripture (daily)

13% y 5%# 6% 22%# 45%#

Bible Reading (daily)

12% y 5%# 7% 11%# 45%#

Prayer for Others * (daily)

41% 26%# 33% 67%# 64%#

Prayer to Give Thanks to God * (daily)

47% 21%# 44% 67%# 73%#

Prayer to Express Love of God * (daily)

35% 21%# 31% 50%# 55%#

Prayer to Confess Sins (daily)

25% y 11%# 20% 39%# 45%#

Prayer to Praise God's Greatness * (daily)

33% 21%# 30% 33%# 73%#

Prayer to Seek Guidance (daily)

43% 26%# 37% 67%# 64%#

Solitude (several times per week or more)

39% y 21%# 31% 67%# 64%#

Communion * (once a month or more)

91% 79%# 93% 100%# 91%#

Read the Book of Common Prayer * (daily)

8% 0%# 4% 28%# 9%#

Tithing (10% or more)

13% r 5%# 7% r 17%# 45%#

# Low sample size


Faith in ActionFaith in Action

These activities reflect the level of outreach activities your congregants exhibit. Whether they are talking about their spiritual lives with a friend or mentor, or talking about their faith with a non-Christian, or serving those in need on your own you see a trend indicating an increased confidence: knowing what God wants of them and then acting on it. Three factors are particularly noteworthy:

#1: Evangelism emerges as a significant catalyst of growth for the Close to Christ segment.

#2: Higher responses to connecting with Spiritual Friends and Spiritual Mentors tend to appear when churches have strong small group systems.

#3: Maturing Christians need to live out their faith beyond the walls of the church.


Faith in ActionFaith in ActionChurch ABCChurch ABC

Spiritual Activitieswith Others


Base Size 102 19# 54 18# 11#

Spiritual Friendships (once or more per month)

29% r 21%# 22% r 44%# 55%#

Evangelism (6+ conversations per year)

32% g 26%# 24% g 44%# 64%#

Serving those in need on my own (once or more per month)

37% 47%# 33% 33%# 45%#

Spiritual Mentors (once or more per month)

18% y 11%# 13% y 17%# 55%#

# Low sample size


20

Goal: To identify high-potential opportunities Goal: To identify high-potential opportunities for the church to help deepen your for the church to help deepen your congregation’s relationship with God.congregation’s relationship with God.

Church’s RoleChurch’s Role


SatisfactionSatisfaction

Page 22 – Satisfaction with the Church’s Role and the Leadership Team

Together these ratings form the church’s “platform of permission.” If people are satisfied with how the church and the leadership team is helping them grow spiritually you should feel confident that people would respond favorably to changes in church direction.

Church SatisfactionThe most important number to evaluate is the satisfaction level of the total congregation. Red, Yellow, White and Green designators indicate whether or not your level is above, below or right on the average of our benchmark church database of churches.

Leadership Team EffectivenessAnother number to look at is how the total congregation views the church leadership team.

21


Overall Satisfaction Overall Satisfaction Church ABCChurch ABC

Overall Satisfaction Overall Satisfaction Church ABCChurch ABC

Note: (*) No database comparison.

Overall Satisfaction with the Church’s Role in Spiritual

Growth

Overall Satisfaction with the Church’s Leadership Team

Helping with Spiritual Growth *

(top two boxes) (top two boxes)

Total 49% 45%

Explore 21%# 32%#

Grow 50% 52%

Deepen 72%# 50%#

Center 55%# 27%#

Spiritual Continuum Segment

# Low sample size


Reveal’s Five Best Practice PrinciplesReveal’s Five Best Practice Principles

The Reveal research has enabled us to identify “Best Practice” churches – churches that excel at helping their people grow in their love of God and others. These churches at the top 5% of the Reveal database are incredibly different. From the small to the large; from the rural countryside to the inner-city; from the East coast to the West coast. But what is more striking is the common ground they share in their ability to promote spiritual growth – all of them follow the same five principles.


How to Find Your Story in the NumbersHow to Find Your Story in the Numbers

Pages 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28

The following five slides represent the results of the “Best Practice” Principles looked at through the lens of your church. The survey uses a number of factors to measure your church’s progress for each principle. An example of a factor is “Church leaders model and consistently reinforce how to grow spiritually.”

A Priority Score is calculated for each factor based on your congregants’ point of view on importance and satisfaction. Your Priority Scores are then compared to the benchmark database to determine the level of urgency expressed by your congregations.

White = Not much of a concern

Red = Great Urgency

Yellow = Concern but not great urgency

Green = Not a concern at all

Note: For a more in-depth explanation of the Priority Score please see the Appendix


Church ABCChurch ABC Church ABCChurch ABC

Three Characteristics:

1.Give Credit to God.2.Model a Surrendered Life.3.Focus on Transformation, Not Attendance

A1: Helps me develop a relationship with Christ 2.4

A2: Challenges me to grow and take next steps spiritually

2.4

A3: Church leaders model and consistently reinforce how to grow spiritually

2.3 g

A4: Church leaders are authentic about their struggles

1.8 g

A5: Church leaders maintain harmony, handle troublemakers and avert problems

1.1 g

A6: Empowers members of the congregation to serve in leadership roles *

2.2

A7: Holds me accountable for the ways I use my gifts *

0.7



1.Jumpstart People on a Spiritual Path2.Make It Clear Your Goal is Disciple Making3.Make Senior Church Leaders the Champions

B1: Provides a clear pathway that helps guide my spiritual growth

2.8 g

B2: Encourages me to take personal responsibility for my own spiritual growth

1.8 g

B3: Prioritizes my spiritual growth over my church membership

3.0 y

B4: Senior church leaders are actively engaged in helping people get started on their spiritual growth

2.4




1.Make Bible Application the Message Focus2.Help People Engage with Scripture Everyday3.Model Scripture as Church’s DNA


C1: Helps me understand the Bible in greater depth

2.4 y

C2: Helps me develop a prayer life that connects me with God regularly

2.1

C3: Church leaders provide sound doctrine rooted in Biblical accuracy

0.6 y

C4: Provides a worship service that is challenging and thought provoking

2.8 g

C5: Consistently challenges me to engage with Scripture in new and interesting ways

1.8 y

C6: Scripture engagement is part of every experience people have at our church

0.1 y

C7: Engages me in the Sacraments in a way that helps me grow spiritually *

1.4

C8: Provides a liturgy that is essential to encouraging worship *

1.7



1.Empower People to Be the Church2.Equip Them for Significant Roles3.Hold Them Accountable


D1: Helps me in my time of emotional need 3.9

D2: Helps me develop relationships that encourage accountability

1.9 g

D3: Helps me feel like I belong 4.1

D4: Provides opportunities to grow spiritually through relationships with others

2.6

D5: Sets clear expectations about what it means to be part of the church

0.9 g

D6: Inspires such a sense of ownership that the church becomes an important part of who I am

2.2

D7: Encourages me to be respectful and welcoming to people of other faith traditions *

1.3



1.Set High Expectations2.Build a Bridge to the Community3.Make Serving a Launchpad for the Gospel


E1: Provides opportunities for me to serve those in need

2.5

E2: Creates a serving culture that is so impactful that it is widely recognized by the local community

2.5

E3: Empowers me to go out “on my own” to make a significant impact in the lives of others

1.4

E4: Allows me to use and develop my spiritual gifts

3.3

E5: Provides training in how to share the gospel while serving those in need

0.6 y

E6: Church leaders are a recognized voice on important local community issues

1.1

E7: Encourages my participation in faith-based political advocacy *

-0.2

E8: Encourages my participation in inter-faith conversations *

1.2


Appendix Appendix

Christian Life Profile Details Christian Life Profile Details

and Priority Score Rationaleand Priority Score Rationale


Christian Life ProfileChristian Life Profile

Page 14 – Statements Used for Spiritual Beliefs and Attitudes

The Christian Life Profile Assessment Tool was created by Randy Frazee, senior minister of Oak Hills Community Church in San Antonio, Texas. Dozens of church leaders, theologians and others engaged in a rigorous process of biblical inquiry to find the core repeatable characteristics of a follower of Christ. The statements were then tested and refined in a number of forums, including The Spiritual State of the Union, an ongoing benchmark of the “spiritual temperature” in America, sponsored by The Gallup Organization. Among the experts contributing to the comprehensive effort were Dallas Willard, J.I. Packer, and Larry Crabb. The thoroughness of this approach, as well as the caliber of people engaged in the process, prompted us to adopt these statements for use in our research:

Trinity: “I believe in the Trinity: God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit”Salvation by Grace: “I believe nothing I do or have done can earn my salvation”Authority of the Bible: “I believe the Bible has decisive authority over what I say and do”Personal God: “I believe God is actively involved in all my life”Identity in Christ: “I exist to know, love and serve God”Church: “I believe I can grow as a Christian more fully as an active member of a local church”God is First: “I desire God to be first in my life”Stewardship: “I believe a Christian should live a sacrificial life that is not driven by pursuit of material things”Spiritual Gifts: “I know and use my spiritual gifts to fulfill God’s purposes”Giving Away My Life: “I am willing to risk everything that is important in my life for Jesus Christ”Baptismal Covenant: “I believe the Baptismal Covenant is the central, trustworthy guide for my spiritual life”Eucharist: “I believe participating in Communion gives me strength to persevere in my spiritual life”


Rationale for Priority Score Rationale for Priority Score ComputationComputation

Priority scores are calculated based on each respondent’s rating of an attribute’s importance and their satisfaction with how their church is doing with each attribute. The priority score is equal to (importance – satisfaction) x importance. The priority score reported for each attribute is an average of each respondent’s priority score. Because of this method of calculation, the average priority score will not be equal to (average importance score – average satisfaction score) x average importance score.

By calculating the priority scores at the respondent level, we are better able to represent each person’s view of what areas their church should prioritize. These priority scores contain more information than would be available if we used the average importance and satisfaction scores in our calculations because they capture each person’s perspective.

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