Sidestepping Pitfalls in Congregational Research
Church surveys can help -- but only under certain conditions.
James F. Engel
January 1, 1984
Scarcely a week goes by that I do not get at least one telephone call from a pastor who says, "We're going to do a congregational survey. Do you have any questionnaires you can send me?" My standard response is to ask why the pastor wants to do the research. The replies vary: Because I have heard you recommend it. I have just come back from a church growth conference, and it sure sounds like a good idea. Our attendance is way down at the Wednesday service. We need to find out how to get people to come. We're having problems in the adult class. I need to identify the causes. My answer to such requests often brings surprise. Invariably I say, "No, I don't have any questionnaires to send you." My reason is simple: There is no such thing as a standard survey for churches. Some church consultants offer them, but look before you leap. Once I was in a pastor's office, and he showed me two inches of computer print-out. "What do I do now?" he asked. He was snowed with research, because no one had bothered to find out the specific information he and his leadership needed. So I told him to use it to hold up his bookshelf-he was relieved to find it had at least some practical value. Here's the key point: congregational research should never be undertaken without careful prior analysis. A survey is only one step in strategic planning, and it can't be taken by itself. Without prior analysis and action-oriented follow-up, surveys are useless. With those two steps, however, congregational surveys have two distinct benefits: 1. They can take the pulse of the congregation so that activities and programs can be custom-designed to fit that particular local church. 2. They can determine whether or not programs have achieved their goals. To have real ...
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