Preparing your congregation

Introducing a written survey during the worship service without any warning can create a negative reaction in people. They may just feel flustered for a moment or they may even feel resentment at being asked to do something out of the norm. So it is important to prepare people either on the day itself or even the week(s) beforehand.

People will respond better if they know why they are being asked to do this and what the potential benefits are.

Some points to make:

1. Once every 5 years church congregations all over Australia have participated in the National Church Life Survey. In 2011 hundreds of thousands of attenders in thousands of churches in 21 denominations are taking part. It’s the second largest survey in Australia after the National Census.
2. Like the Census it gathers some demographic information, but unlike the Census it also focuses on your opinions, your hopes and concerns and your evaluation of the life and mission of your church. It also seeks to spotlight newcomers and youth.
3. From this we gain a clearer understanding of our strengths as a Christian community, on mission and caring for each other. Our ministry groups gain precise feedback on their area of ministry. And we are all better equipped to hold meaningful discussions about our future that are based on reality rather than surmise.
4. Through a separate survey connected to this one your leaders also gain insights into their leadership in the church.
5. It is important that we plan, so that we can be the best we can be as a church, so that we can more clearly respond to God’s call here and now.
6. This survey gathers the voices of Australian church attenders and it’s important for as many voices as possible to be part of this. The gathering of voices informs us in our local planning. Yet it also informs out regional and denominational leaders as they allocate resources and develop policy, and it informs and encourages our brothers and sisters in other Christian churches as well.
7. Even more than this, it speaks with an authoritative voice through press releases and academic studies to the wider Australian community, challenging the myth of a dying and irrelevant church, and attesting to the vibrancy of the mission of Jesus Christ through these ordinary churches in every town and neighbourhood.
8. So for us to participate in this survey is not just a reflective act, it’s not just a planning act, it is also a missional act.