Let’s say I call to schedule an annual physical, and my doctor says, “Naw, you don’t need to come in. I have a good hunch about what you need. My office will call in some prescriptions to the pharmacy, and I’d like to suggest we take out your gallbladder.”
How would you respond? You’d probably tell the doctor, “You’ve lost your mind!” Without debate, that type of behavior would be medical malpractice at the highest level.
But are pastors doing the same thing in churches today? Are we approaching the people we serve and minister to with hunches and best guesses about what they need?
Consider: Pastors and other church leaders offer sermons and a range of programs, often without listening to discover people’s specific needs. We don’t take time to learn their dreams, aspirations, or hurts. We move forward without asking if any gaps exist in church members’ faith or beliefs. Although it may be a bit bold to state it this way, I suggest that approach is a form of spiritual malpractice.
A Medical Analogy
For several years, my primary care physician was Dr. David Player, founder of Health By Design and author of “Health Starts Now: A Backdoor Approach to Treating Faulty Immunity and Chronic Disease.” He never left my health to hunches. Dr. Player drew my blood, conducted bone density and stress tests, performed an ultrasound on my internal organs, and checked my vision, hearing, fingernails, toenails, and a few other things I’m not willing to talk about here. He also asked me a series of questions about not only my physical health but my spiritual health, mental health, relationship health, and vocational satisfaction. A checkup with Dr. Player was an all-day event.
Two weeks later, I would return to his office. Bringing along my wife, Rozanne, was mandatory. Dr. Player insisted that she stay dialed in on the state of my health. After all, holistic health isn’t a solo sport. At each year’s post-physical meeting, the doc gave me a 68-page hardbound book with my name on it. Page one introduced Dr. Player as “Your Shepherd to Good Health.” Next came the results of all those tests, plus an action plan tailor-made for me.
Dr. Player, a devoted Christian, shared with me his conviction that the church should take the same approach. He went so far as to say a church shouldn’t seek to grow until it has a plan to attend to everyone who comes under its care. As a pastor, those words pierced my soul. I knew the doctor was speaking truth—God’s truth. Proverbs 27:23 offers these instructions: “Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds” (NKJV).
The Value of Assessments and Feedback
Seven years ago, I became the lead teaching pastor at Westside Family Church in Kansas City, Kansas. I was determined, in partnership with the wonderful team I serve alongside, to accept Dr. Player’s challenge. Our first task involved locating some tools to measure the health of the flock I serve as an under-shepherd to Jesus.
We chose two assessment tools that offered useful feedback to help our folks become and stay healthy. The first, Reveal, was created by The Willow Creek Association and is now owned by Gloo. The tool, which is unavailable at this time, asked congregants to identify where they are in their spiritual journey—from “exploring Christ” to being “Christ-centered.” Then it asks a series of questions about beliefs, spiritual practices, and virtues. Finally, people have an opportunity to share what catalyzes their spiritual growth and how their church is doing in assisting them.
The second assessment, Church Pulse, goes beyond measuring spiritual factors. The survey from Barna looks at seven dimensions of “human flourishing” and 15 dimensions of “church thriving.” The reason? Discipleship and following Jesus are holistic. They extend beyond the traditional categories of spirituality to include health and well-being, finances, relationships, vocation, contentment, and character. As with Reveal, Church Pulse offers a report card on how well the church is serving congregants. The intent is for the body of Christ to improve at its core calling. This tool—free to use after you set up an account—is available at www.barna.com/services/assessments/.
Each year, our church uses the same survey tools to create a baseline and common language. Both tools also show us how we “rank” in comparison to other American churches, which is super helpful.
Why Assessments Receive Pushback
Many people and pastors resist assessments and surveys. One reason they cite is that being “data informed” sounds too corporate. I agree the language seems a bit cold and mechanical. But it’s simply a way to listen to your congregation—and to do so effectively. People appreciate it when you listen to them.
Insecurity is a second reason that churches tend to resist assessments. The tools I mentioned provide a report card and feedback on how you’re doing. Are you helping people embrace all that Jesus makes available to them through his death and resurrection? I’ll admit that several findings about our church have been tough for me and our team to swallow. Every time this happens, we journey together through the stages of grief. Yet I’ve decided that I want to know the truth. I don’t want to be the king who didn’t know he was naked because no one would tell him. It’s your choice.
A third reason organizations, especially churches, resist assessments is because people usually don’t do anything with the information they receive. Despite good intentions, congregational leaders often fail to apply the insights and advice. That’s why our team has been determined to use feedback from the church checkup to drive our priorities and initiatives.
To pull this off, we’ve established an annual rhythm.
- January – Survey members on Sunday morning during worship.
- March – Debrief and create an executive summary about core findings.
- April and May – Pray and ponder, seeking direction from God.
- June – Present a plan (with only one or two points of focus) to church leadership.
- August and September – Build budgets around the plan.
- October – December – Develop detailed steps and timelines.
- January – Present the State of the Church, implement plans, and conduct the next survey.
Don’t Just Guess
Through the process of first listening to the congregation, we’re now convinced that knowing is greater than guessing. Here’s an example:
A few years ago, as America was coming out of the pandemic, our leadership team met to look ahead. We wanted to gain a sense of what God had in store next for our church. As a veteran pastor, I had a hunch it was time to either build a bigger worship auditorium or plant another multi-site. So, on a Sunday morning in January, we administered the Church Pulse survey to members. More than 2,500 people participated, which is a very good sampling. Next, we invited the entire congregation to join us in 40 days of prayer and fasting—and to share feedback about what they were sensing. To do that, we used a free texting service provided by Gloo.
When we received the results, a significant finding stood out. Our congregation was struggling with mental health and overall well-being, especially among Millennials. Soon afterward, our county in Kansas released a study that cited mental health as the area’s No. 1 challenge. Then, believe it or not, the organization Mental Health America released a national study about how each state was doing in terms of psychological well-being. We assumed that California, New York, or Washington D.C. would be at the bottom of the list. To our surprise, our state was dead last! How could the home of Dorothy and Toto be struggling so much? Clearly, we weren’t in that Kansas anymore.
Thanks to all that information, our church had clarity. We knew it wasn’t time to build a bigger auditorium or plant a new multi-site. Instead, it was time to double down on the mental health of our congregation, county, and state. The texts that church members sent us during the period of prayer and fasting only confirmed that we heard correctly.
Next, church leadership moved to assemble an action plan. Part One was centralized. We decided to greatly expand our capacity to care for the mental, emotional, relational, and financial health of our congregation and county. That included building a new 20,000-square-foot Care Center to house Christian counselors, Care Groups, benevolence, Stephen Ministries, and our church’s foster and adoption ministry. In a recent 11-month timespan, we conducted 6,109 counseling appointments!
Part Two of the plan was decentralized. We chose to organize our congregation into smaller communities, centered primarily around elementary-school boundaries. Think of it as a multi-site without walls. Each Area Community has a shepherding couple and a neighborhood captain for each of the eight to 10 neighborhoods within the area.
The vision is simple: Create a deep sense of “connected community” (an area that Church Pulse recommended we focus on) and “serve others” (another area the survey suggested we improve).
Our message to the Westside Family congregants?
Your Area Community is your mission field. Don’t let anyone fall through the cracks on your watch. Meet one another’s needs and the needs of people around you—in your neighborhood, at your elementary school, the widows, the orphans, the hurting. Wrap God’s love and family around these precious people. Meet them at their point of pain.
We also created training classes; for example, Care Like Jesus equips congregants to come alongside neighbors and listen to them, pray for them, and direct them to our church’s centralized care resources. So far, we’ve launched 14 Area Communities. By 2027, God willing, 20 more will be in place. The territory that covers is breathtaking!
The Ministry of Listening
One feature of the Area Community will make Dr. Player, my former physician, very proud. Twice a year, Area Shepherds contact each member of the Area Community. They sit down with people to listen to them…to see how they’re really doing. The shepherd simply asks congregants about the seven dimensions of human flourishing represented in the Church Pulse survey. How’s your spiritual life? How are your relationships? How are you doing financially? How’s your health? How’s your job going? The Area Shepherd then rallies community members to come alongside anyone who’s struggling or points them to our Care Center.
Previously, our church attracted visitors through seeker-driven or seeker-sensitive weekend services. But these days, I believe care is the new attractional strategy. Acts 2:42-46 describes how members of the first church devoted themselves to belonging, growing, and meeting the needs of people around them. As a result, “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Verse 47, NIV). We try to follow suit, focusing on our part and letting God focus on his.
That is precisely what’s happening at Westside. I think it’s one of the main reasons our congregants rate us high in the Church Pulse category of “trusted leadership.” We’re growing without focusing on growth. In fact, we may need to build that new worship center or launch a new site after all.
I share my story not so you’ll replicate it. After all, our church’s focus likely isn’t your church’s focus, and our members’ needs likely aren’t your members’ needs. That’s the point! Jesus designed the Christian church to be local, with local shepherds. Ministry is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. I share my story to demonstrate the power of listening to people as your starting point.
I’m glad our congregation experienced a wake-up call a few years ago. In hindsight, I’m convinced that building a bigger worship auditorium or launching another campus would have been akin to removing my gallbladder. It was just a hunch. A very bad hunch.
