APPENDIX 1
CHURCH HEALTH SURVEYS
Church Health Survey 2007- 2008
What the Survey Measures AND Comparative Averages
Interpreting the Scores:
• 50 is highest possible measurement.
• 10 is the lowest possible measurement.
• 41-50 indicates an area of good health. We are doing well compared to other churches.
• 33-40 indicates average, however on average churches in the U.S.are plateaued or declining.
• 10-32 indicates we are below average.
Overall Member Average Scores Compared (Top score 2007 – Bottom score 2008):
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10
34 40 29 37 35 33 21 42 33 35
36 42 33 39 38 38 24 43 36 40
Overall Leader Average Scores Compared (Top score 2007 – Bottom score 2008):
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10
29 31 30 34 33 28 18 38 25 32
39 38 36 39 40 36 20 43 33 38
1. Centrality of God’s Word: (34 to 36 for members; 29 to 39 for leaders)
The Bible is the focal point of our church’s decision-making, teaching, and preaching. We do not simply teach and
preach about the Bible, we strive for ongoing life transformation. Our people are equipped and growing in their ability
to use the Bible for themselves in ways that fit their cultural context but are also biblically countercultural.
Leader Questions*
1. We believe and teach that the Bible is the final authority for decision-making in everyday life.
2. Church leaders consistently teach and model how to penetrate our culture with the gospel but also how to be
biblically countercultural.
3. The ministries and leadership of this church encourage people to spend a significant portion of every day in
personal Bible study.
4. We offer a variety of opportunities for people to study the Bible in ways that relate to their lives.
5. We provide specific ministries (other than sermons) designed to equip people to read, understand, memorize, and
apply the Bible for themselves.
6. We clearly define important steps of discipleship to help people set and achieve goals in those areas and feel like
they are making progress in their spiritual growth.
7. Our teaching ministries are periodically evaluated by their ability to produce life change.
8. The teaching in our church is easy to understand but complex enough to challenge people toward growth.
9. We work hard to help people grow both “deep” and “wide” in their grasp of the Bible, but always with a view to life
change.
10. We strive not to turn scriptural principles into an arrogant standard for judging others, especially those who are
not believers.
2. Passionate Spirituality: (40 to 42 for members; 31 to 38 for leaders)
Our congregation emphasizes in practical ways the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to live
transformed, obedient lives. Prayer in our church reflects a deep dependence on God. In every area of church life,
we seek to experience God and follow him according to his Word.
Leader Questions*
1. We provide resources and regular opportunities for people to learn how to rely more fully on the Holy Spirit in their
everyday life.
2. We periodically check to ensure that the organization of our church promotes rather than hinders our corporate
spiritual life.
3. Our church has an intentional strategy for helping people grow deeper in their practice and understanding of
prayer.
4. Church leaders teach and model a heartfelt dependence on God through prayer.
5. We evaluate to see if our church’s prayer life captures the focus on God, others, self, and mission that Jesus
modeled and taught.
6. We systematically teach people how to deal with personal issues of discouragement, failure, and sin so that they
can live victorious Christian lives.
7. We model thankfulness to God and seek to nurture it in the services and ministries of our church.
8. We make listening to God and experiencing him personally a goal of all the ministries of our church.
9. The church’s leaders show an authentic sense of intimacy with God, and gracefully model it by their life and
example.
10. The church’s overall ministry is well designed to facilitate a deeper, more intimate, more passionate relationship
between each believer and Christ.
3. Fruitful Evangelism: (29 to 33 for members; 30 to 36 for leaders)
We are driven to reach our neighbors with the gospel of Christ. The budgets, programs, and leaders of our church
reflect a high commitment to outreach and evangelism, both locally and worldwide. We expect significant conversion
growth in our church.
Leader Questions*
1. We know, because we ask them, that people in this church are regularly winning others to Christ.
2. We regularly plan for and provide opportunities for Christians to build friendships with non-Christians regardless of
their race, culture, or lifestyle.
3. We strive to remove all barriers to the gospel except the gospel itself.
4. We regularly teach about the Great Commission in various ministries and settings in this church.
5. I am consistently and intentionally building friendships with non-Christians in my own life.
6. The church provides ministries and events that help Christians better acquaint their unbelieving friends with Jesus.
7. The church provides multiple opportunities for Christians to learn how to share their faith with their unbelieving
neighbors and friends.
8. As a church body, we focus on conversion growth, which is growth by gaining new believers rather than people who
simply come from another church.
9. The budgets, programs, and leaders of our church are evaluated at least annually on the basis of fulfillment of the
Great Commission.
10. We have a clearly defined process for nurturing people who accept Christ and bringing into church life.
4. Spirit-Filled Worship: (37 to 39 for members; 34 to 39 for leaders)
Inspiring worship that glorifies God and engages the heart, mind, and emotions of people with God as a hallmark of
our public worship. We are committed to meeting the worship needs of the various generations and subcultures in
and around our church. Our worship is characterized by a spirit of joy.
Leader Questions*
1. Inspiring worship that glorifies God and engages people’s heart, mind, and emotions with God is a hallmark of our
public worship.
2. The worship at our church is biblically compelling to the generations and subcultures inside and outside the church.
3. Our church has found the right balance of joy and respect when we enter God’s presence in worship.
4. The worship focus is on connection with God, not attendance numbers, musical performance, or sermon brilliance.
5. There is balance in the worship service elements: prayer, music, preaching/teaching, stewardship.
6. We know, because we ask them, that people normally experience God’s presence in the worship services of our
church.
7. Attendees are encouraged to practice worship as a lifestyle, not just an event.
8. Everything that takes place in a worship service—from start to finish—is designed to facilitate worship—nothing
else, nothing less.
9. We attract first-time visitors to our worship services and typically see them return.
10. We evaluate our public worship, considering factors like the items on this list.
5. Great Commission Driven: (35 to 38 for members; 33 to 40 for leaders)
Our congregation has a clear sense of God’s mission and a compelling vision for the future that is owned by its
members. We regularly and systematically measure all areas of our church’s effectiveness – leadership, ministries,
and organizational structure – based on our mission and vision. We are willing to change and take risks to fulfill our
God-given mission.
Leader Questions*
1. Our church has a clearly defined statement of mission based on the Great Commission of Christ.
2. People in the church fully “own” our church’s mission.
3. Our church’s programs have a specific mission based focus and at least annually are evaluated based on their
contribution to the mission.
4. As leaders, we create an environment that is conducive to change, risk-taking, and growth.
5. Our litmus test for creating programs, adding staff, and setting budgets is based on what is needed to fulfill our
mission.
6. We know, because we ask them, that people in our church have a clear understanding of how their gifts and roles
fit in accomplishing the mission of the church.
7. Our church’s organization and decision-making processes make it easier for us to fulfill our mission.
8. The leaders of the church continually clarify, communicate, and implement the mission of the church.
9. The organizational structure changes to facilitate ministry impact.
10. There is a clear understanding of the roles of the pastor, board, staff, congregation and denomination—and
those distinct roles function effectively to accomplish our mission.
6. Leadership Multiplication: (33 to 38 for members; 28 to 36 for leaders)
We are committed to intentional leadership development and the exercise of the leadership gifts. We desire that
trained, godly individuals who are spiritually mature lead our congregation. We focus on providing healthy leaders.
Leader Questions*
1. I am affirmed by the church in my role as a leader and made to feel that leadership is an important God-given task.
2. The church holds a high standard for me as a leader, emphasizing such things as calling, spiritual wisdom and
experience, personal commitment to improving as a leader, and godly character.
3. This church builds ministry around its leaders, rather than fitting them into an inflexible system or plan.
4. We value leaders who are team players, rather than solo practitioners or superstars.
5. Apprentice leaders are an important and visible component of all the ministries of our church.
6. Our church has an intentional process for identifying and training potential leaders.
7. Ten percent or more of our youths and adults have been trained for—and are effectively providing—ministry
leadership.
8. In addition to knowing what is expected of me, and how this fits the church’s mission, as a leader, I am provided with
the support I need to help me succeed.
9. As a leader, I look to others to complement those areas in which I am not gifted.
10. As church and ministry leaders, we focus on equipping others for ministry, rather than simply doing ministry
ourselves.
7. Church Planting: (21 to 24 for members; 18 to 20 for leaders)
Church planting is one of our core values as a congregation. We have a measurable commitment to “reproduction” as
a church. We have vision for planting churches in our community and the world.
Leader Questions*
1. The church’s leaders believe and teach that reproduction is an indication of church health.
2. Our church invests significant amounts of time, energy, and resources in reaching unchurched people.
3. Our church evaluates new churches or new programs in terms of the ministry potential and needs, not the
limitations of facilities or finances.
4. Our church actively seeks to spot, train, and mentor potential church planters and new pastors.
5. The congregation embraces the need to send out the best leaders to start a new church.
6. The church’s leaders have openly discussed their support for a new church to start nearby and addressed the
possibility that it may deplete the church’s own resources or size.
7. In the last 12 months, our church has freely given people and/or financial resources to help start a new church.
8. The church’s leaders have written plans to initiate a new church within 24 months in our community, district, or
world.
9. Our church has a leadership team that monitors and coordinates church planting activities for the church.
10. Our church has studied the various cultures reflected in our community and we have specific plans to plant
churches among those people groups.
8. Stewardship of Resources: (42 to 43 for members; 38 to 43 for leaders)
Faithful stewardship of all resources – including possessions and money – is systematically modeled and taught in
our church in biblical and practical ways. People in our congregation are challenged to make a sacrificial investment
in eternity through regular and special financial gifts. People in our community would say we have a heart for those
who are hungry, hopeless, and hurting.
Leader Questions*
1. Our church handles its finances with absolute integrity and with a clear sense of vision.
2. In its teaching and sermons, this church addresses the issue of stewardship in a sensitive and practical way.
3. Our church communicates stewardship principles in all learning venues to all age groups.
4. The emphasis at our church is on one’s heart for investing God’s resources rather than on fulfilling dollar or
percentage-of-income goals.
5. Our church, at appropriate times and places, asks for regular and for sacrificial gifts in order to fulfill its mission.
6. The church budget reflects our church’s priorities, which include helping the poor and disadvantaged.
7. Those who give to the church have a deep sense of shared ministry goals and of partnership with the church.
8. Stewardship is understood to be the appropriate management and investment of all the resources entrusted to us
by God.
9. People in our church are encouraged to make giving a priority because the ministries of the church significantly
impact people’s lives.
10. Congregants receive the right amount of communication regarding the church’s financial status and needs.
9. Intentional Disciplemaking: (33 to 36 for members; 25 to 33 for leaders)
We have a clear picture of the disciple making process – from new life to spiritual maturity – that is built into the fabric
of our church. We have a commitment to see each member of our congregation using their spiritual gift(s) in the
context of the church and beyond. Our people are challenged to align themselves with the priorities of the Lordship of
Christ, whatever the cost.
Leader Questions*
1. We have a clearly outlined strategy for winning lost people, establishing new believers in the faith, and equipping
Christians for life and ministry.
2. We help people define their level of discipleship and provide them opportunities to take the next growth step.
3. If church health is defined as a balanced ministry of winning the lost, establishing and equipping believers, and
multiplying leaders, then we are a healthy church.
4. Our church guides people through an intentional process to discern, develop, understand, and use their spiritual
gifts.
5. We know, because we ask them, that a significant and growing number of people in our church are serving in a
ministry that uses their spiritual gifts.
6. Our church has a diversified ministry of small groups that challenge people to the next level of spiritual maturity.
7. The leaders of our church communicate and model a “healthy church” lifestyle as this is described in statement 3
above.
8. We know, because we ask them, whether people in our church feel like they are growing in their level of
discipleship.
9. One of the main reasons our church exists is to help people fulfill the Great Commission personally.
10. We provide significant opportunities for people to discover and/or clearly define their personal life mission.
10. Loving Relationships: (35 to 40 for members; 32 to 38 for leaders)
We know our neighbors and we love them. We break social, economic, cultural, generational, and racial barriers to
show people how much we care. As a congregation, we model and provide a meaningful experience of “community” –
especially through small groups.
Leader Questions*
1. Building honest and deep relationships is a core value of this church.
2. When visitors come to this church, our pattern is to get them into a network of personal relationships.
3. We sponsor—and can point to specific—practical acts of love and service to people in our community, regardless
of their race, culture, or lifestyle.
4. We have a clearly defined process for addressing conflict among church members in a biblical manner.
5. We provide specific opportunities for people in the church to build friendships with people in and outside the
church who are different from themselves.
6. People in our community would say that we love God and our neighbors—and can point to specific actions and
ministries to prove it.
7. When a person is emotionally or spiritually hurting, we typically find a way to minister to them in a deeply personal
way.
8. Pastors and church leaders are open, vulnerable, and honest in discussing their lives and ministry.
9. The ministries of this church help people grow in their ability to love and connect with others.
10. We reflect the age, ethnic makeup, and general complexion of our community.
* The leader questions from the EFCA Church Health Survey are used by permission.