Consider A New Year’s “Physical” For Your Church

Nobody likes getting a physical, but most of the adults I know get one every year anyway.  We know that it’s the wise thing to do.  Problems are spotted earlier, rather than later, and the healthy habits that some patient physicians take the time to teach us improve and even extend our lives.

Churches can get “physicals” as well – or should we call them “spirituals”?

Whatever we call them, church assessments (my preferred term) can be very helpful for almost any church. The only congregations we can’t help are ones that refuse to be helped.   

I just had the privilege of doing a comprehensive assessment of a delightfully healthy church; a congregation which is right up there near the peak of the church lifecycle.  It takes an unusually wise church leadership team to ask how their healthy church can get even better and avoid the dangers inherent in breathing that thin air at the top of the mountain.

Besides receiving the special guidance needed to negotiate the next step of your church’s journey, an assessment conducted by an outsider provides (1) an objective look at your ministry –  from “stem to stern” – done by someone who is able to see the big picture – the “forest,” instead of the “trees,”(2) the expertise of someone who devotes himself to studying the factors that lead to great-commission effectiveness, (3) the “cross pollination” that comes from fresh ideas borrowed from other ministries, (4) strong reinforcement of the pastor’s good, but not always well-received, ideas.

The best-known consultations ever done were conducted by the Lord and Owner of the churches Himself, Jesus Christ.  His reports, delivered to seven churches, are found in Revelation two and three.

While no consultant, myself included, can hold a candle to the work done by Jesus Himself, most churches that contract with a consultant feel that the process is of significant benefit.  Personally, I take this work very seriously, praying desperately for the help of the Holy Spirit, at every step of the process. I would not presume to undertake this work without His guidance!

Is it scary?  Is this something that pastors should fear, as some people fear the annual wellness check?  I would say that the pastor who wants to do God’s will and serve Him effectively has nothing to fear.  Consultants are going to be as supportive of the pastor as possible.  In my practice, my most sensitive comments concerning the pastor are shared on a special page of the report which is “for the pastor’s eyes only.”

Very briefly, a typical assessment process is going to involve most or all of the following steps:

• The church sends, to the consultant, all the information it can collect about its ministry.
• The church orders a demographic survey of its mission field and completes an on-line church health survey, with many persons participating.
• In some cases the consultant is able to send “secret seekers” to visit the church on a Sunday morning. This is helpful, since the consultant’s upcoming visit is no secret.
• The consultant comes to town and conducts a weekend of interviews, beginning with the pastors and their spouses.
• The weekend often involves a journey wall (also called a history wall) exercise through which helpful lessons are learned from the church’s history.
• Approximately two weeks later the consultant shares his report with the pastor, followed by a second session with the church board/council/consistory.
• The consultant presents – to the congregation – those recommendations for the church which were embraced and endorsed by the church’s leaders.
• As much as I am able, I love to help the pastor and leadership team with an ongoing coaching relationship, for at least a few months.

Just a note: For pastors who are seeking to lead their congregations through a revitalization process, the formula outlined above, with the benefit of the ongoing coaching, is as powerful a method for church revitalization as I’ve seen.

In America in the 21^st century, we are blessed with several nationally known consulting ministries, as well as a host of independent consultants.

I’m going to presume to speak for my brothers and sisters in this field and say that we would love to help your church in 2024. You can find me at churchwhisperer@gmail.com.

QUESTIONS FOR BOARDROOM DISCUSSIONS:

1. How do we feel about the overall health of our ministry right now?
2. Is our church bearing the fruit of converts to Christ, growing Christian character, and improving Christian conduct?
3. What has our church done in the past to assess, or to have an outside consultant assess, its health?
4. How open is our congregation to hearing the results of a church assessment? Are we willing to change our ministry in order to improve it, for God’s glory?
5. What is the next step that we should take?