Helping Churches Thrive

A Ministry of Church Health Consulting

The Year in Review of the Pastor’s Ministry

Brian’s note: My friend, Dr. Randy M. Keeley, creator of my favorite church health evaluation, the Ministry Mapping Survey, has created this great tool for the oftentimes difficult task of pastoral performance reviews.  It looks like it should lead to some great, in-depth discussions. 

You’ll find Dr. Keeley’s bio at www.randywkeeley@weebly.com

Dr. Keeley’s email address is dr.randymk@gmail.com

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Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Regular evaluation helps us to be intentional in our pursuits and faithful to our purpose and mission. The purpose of a pastoral evaluation is not to grade the pastor or give a “corporate performance review” but to pause to reflect on the health of our pastor, the fruitfulness of his labor, and how we can help him to grow and faithfully fulfill his calling. The goal is to affirm what God is doing, reveal any blind spots, deal with any unmet expectations, and keep us on the same page for the coming year. The pastor is asked to discuss his answers to the following questions while inviting reflection and insight from the board regarding his assessment of himself.

Model of Christ

  1. The apostle Paul says to be imitators of me as I am of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1) In what ways have you grown to be more like Christ over the past year?
  2. Proverbs 4:23 exclaims, “above all else, guard your heart!” How are you caring for your soul?
  3. What issues of character development are you working on in the coming year (1 Timothy 3:1-7)?
  4. In washing the disciples’ feet and in other ways, Christ modeled servant leadership. How are you being a servant leader?
  5. How are the relationships in your life? Are there any strained relationships that need to be repaired?
  6. How are you doing balancing ministry and caring for your family?

Messenger of God and His Word

  1. In what ways do you feel you are connecting with the congregation as you preach?
  2. How are your sermons helping people take the next step in their walk with God?
  3. What needs in our church and in our community have you addressed in your messages this past year?
  4. What are your preaching themes for the next year and why?
  5. What is one aspect of your preaching where you would like to grow?

Mentoring

  1. Who have you been discipling this past year? Describe this process.
  2. How are you reproducing yourself as a leader?
  3. Who is mentoring you?
  4. How have you grown as a pastor and leader in the past year?
  5. How do you need to grow as a pastor and leader in the coming year?

Mobilizing

  1. In what ways are you using your time and energy to move the church toward accomplishing the mission to make disciples?
  2. What things are distracting you from leading the church to accomplish its mission to make disciples?
  3. In what ways are you working in areas of your gifting, passions, and strengths?
  4. In what ways are you working in areas where you are not gifted, passionate or strong?
  5. Where do you need help and/or resources to faithfully accomplish your ministry?

Mapping the Future

  1. How do you think you did in accomplishing your personal ministry goals you set for yourself last year?
  2. How do you think you did in helping the church to accomplish its ministry goals last year?
  3. What are your personal ministry goals for the coming year?
  4. What do you think the church’s ministry goals should be for the coming year?
  5. Evaluate your performance in light of your written job description.
  6. What “unwritten expectations” did you discover over the past year? How should these be handled?

Moving Forward

  1. In reviewing your ministry, what were your greatest joys over this past year?
  2. In reviewing your ministry, what were your greatest disappointments over this past year?
  3. In reviewing your ministry, what were your greatest challenges over this past year?
  4. In reviewing your ministry, what were your greatest frustrations over this past year?
  5. What can be learned and applied to the coming year from the last four questions and this review process?

Copyright ©2012 by Randy M. Keeley • Permission to reproduce is granted for local church use, provided the content is unchanged and this copyright notice is included.

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Testimonials

Pastor Darin Kirkman
I am so grateful to God for Brian, his ministry, and his friendship. As a result of his assessment and coaching, my church has experienced unmistakable, God-given renewal. We are increasingly living out our church's mission which is to love and glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ. This is clearly showing in terms of spiritual depth (i.e. more people are maturing as Christian disciples) and spiritual width (i.e. more people are becoming Christian disciples). Our communication is clearer, our structure is stronger, our leadership development process is better, our facility stewardship is more proactive, and our cultural mindset is now set on eagerly advancing the kingdom of God. I strongly recommend the Church Whisperer to you.

Pastor Darin Kirkman Elder Jim I wanted to let you know that we have really made some huge changes in the last few months.  We are seeing new people every week and we had a leadership meeting with 23 in attendance. Pastor ______ is doing well and God is doing amazing things.  Thanks for your support, prayers and love for the church!
Elder Jim A New Church-Goer ...thank you for your messages at [our church] over the past weeks.  I just started going to _____________ while you were there and hadn't been to church in decades.  Your messages kept me coming back...  Thank you for helping me find my way back to God.
A New Church-Goer Pastor Trey Turner "Brian is an experienced and insightful investigator of church systems.  He has real skill in looking at and diagnosing some areas needing attention.  I benefited greatly from his insight.  As a result, our church is benefiting greatly.  The process Brian took us through gave it the encouragement it needed to begin coming out of the 2020 difficulties.  We will work on the insights Brian provided as a roadmap back to better health."
Pastor Trey Turner Pastor Greg Lund I've appreciated so much Brian's very practical coaching as he's guided me and the leadership of our church as we've sought to become more effective for God's kingdom. His extensive experience in assisting churches navigate a variety of issues makes him highly qualified to help lead churches through congregational change.
Pastor Greg Lund Pastor Bruce Jahnke
"Our church is extremely grateful for the insight, adaptability and wisdom Brian so graciously contributed to our needs as we transitioned.  Our pastor transition was from Father to Son, which is by definition, difficult.  Yet Brian was able to foresee issues, feelings and responses with high accuracy.  Brian is personable, yet can direct when he needs to help us be reasonable and vision-oriented."

Pastor Bruce Jahnke Andy Shanholtz I had the privilege of co leading a pastor’s training group with Brian. Brian’s wealth of knowledge and practical experience was an asset to all of us. The interaction with the group and the relationships built was a great value. I highly recommend having Brian facilitate a group to provide invaluable resources and practical knowledge.
Andy Shanholtz Pastor Jed Manders
Leadership development within cohorts and peer groups has become increasingly popular, and rightfully so. Being involved in Brian’s leadership training group allowed me the opportunity to work through challenges, develop strengths and learn from both reading and peer development.


Pastor Jed Manders Pastor Mark Pitroff "I have been so privileged and encouraged to be ministered to by Brian Thorstad as I have served as an Interim Pastor here in central Wisconsin.  He has been such a help and encouragement to me and especially, to this church I have served - Faith Community Church of Waupaca.  His leadership in helping us develop the “Journey Wall” enabled us to look back on the church’s history, the high points as well as the difficulties faced, especially in recent years.   Brian has helped FCC recover from a very difficult time…  Brian was such an encouragement to us, especially in the early months of recovery and preparation."
Pastor Mark Pitroff Pastor Dan Norman “I enjoyed getting to know the guys in the group [and] I appreciated the thought, mind and spiritual challenges presented… I found many things that I was able to immediately apply, and I am still developing next steps that much of the discussion and training of this class helped to build a foundation for. [The handouts on strategic planning] will continue to be helpful in trying to guide our church to being more intentional. This [was] exactly what I was looking for at exactly the time I needed it.”
Pastor Dan Norman Pastor Steven Boyd  "This course showed me that I, as a solo pastor, have to do things that don’t come naturally to me and has given me some tools to do the hard things.”
Pastor Steven Boyd  Pastor Brian Schley “I found value in our meetings and am grateful you invited me to be part of it as a ‘future senior pastor.’ I enjoyed being able to be part of the conversations and glean from those beyond me. Thanks for your leadership with the group and your heart for pastors!”
Pastor Brian Schley Pastor Todd Sauve "It was a privilege to have been a part of a pastors group led by Brian Thorstad. It's always great to learn from other pastors, and someone needs to provide leadership to make that happen. I'm thankful that Brian was willing to do that, and to share from both his successes and failures in ministry. He's honest, humble, and cares about people."
Pastor Todd Sauve

Brian A. Thorstad

Call: 651-319-1953

Email: churchwhisperer@gmail.com

1931 Cook Avenue
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494

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