KEY TO QUESTIONNAIRE

Give yourself a point for each time you gave these answers:

1. DISAGREE

2. AGREE

3. AGREE

4. DISAGREE

5. AGREE

6. DISAGREE

7. AGREE

8. DISAGREE

9. AGREE

10. AGREE

11. AGREE

12. DISAGREE

13. AGREE

14. DISAGREE

Look at your mark out of 14.

11 - 14 Your church is probably in good health.

6 - 10 Your church seems to be doing well, but might need to respond to some concerns.

0 - 5 Your church is a cause for serious concern.

 

You're probably wondering how this questionnaire works, especially if you scored low. Below is the rationale behind each question:

1. Most of our members have been in our church for more than five years. (Intent: Are new people coming into the church? Of course, it's good if newcomers stay more than five years.)

2. Lots of people with no Christian background come out of the community to our church. (Intent: Does the church have open links with its community?)

3. Most members in our church are between 30 and 50 years old. (Intent: Do the age biases indicate a healthy, growing church?)

4. The majority of people in our church were brought up in Christian homes. (Intent: Has the church reached people from non-Christian backgrounds? But it's also good to see kids who've grown up in responsible Christians homes.)

5. Our church leaders are known and respected in the community for their Christian views. (Intent: Is our church a credible institution in the community?)

6. Most people in my church believe non-Christians are now generally closed to the Gospel. (Intent: Is the church pessimistic or optimistic about prospects for growth?)

7. I think that church is exciting. (Intent: Are people's needs being met? Is God alive and active in their fellowship?)

8. Our church spends almost all its budget on its internal programs and denominational work. (Intent: Have we focussed a considerable proportion of funds for direct evangelism in our own area?)

9. Our church has deliberately tried to find out what outsiders think of us. (Intent: Are we concerned whether or not outsiders understand our message?)

10. In the last three years, our church has deliberately tried to find out whether or not we are effective in evangelizing our community. (Intent: Are we effective, or are we maintaining evangelism styles that don't work with people nowadays?)

11. We review and change our style of worship about every five years, and implement changes. (Intent: How open to change is the church? Does it consider changing cultural styles in trying to meet people's needs?)

12. Some people in our church suspect that the church is run by a secretive inner circle. (Intent: The suspicion of a secretive inner circle would indicate that the church is stagnant; the members are no longer involved in decision-making.)

13. Numbers of men and women attenders are about the same. (Intent: A majority of women indicates a stagnant church.)

14. Most church members do not actively take part in making the church's major decisions. (Intent: Similar to q. 13.)