"The CHAT church survey really stands out. I like how CHAT identifies your church's strengths, involves every member, is easy to take online,
and offers highly-readable results. What a great tool to assess where you are, fill people with hope, and together discern God's will for your
future."
Kevin Miller
Executive Vice President
Christianity Today International, IL
"Steve Macchia is at it again. His burning passion to see churches achieve maximum health has taken the next step. CHAT
(Church Health Assessment Tool) provides churches with an easy-to-use look at themselves that could move many congregations toward the
health that Steve (and, more importantly, the Spirit) envisions."
Larry Crabb
Founder
New Way Ministries, CO
"Without a doubt, one of the greatest needs of a large number of churches in America is to become more healthy. Leadership Transformations' new CHAT survey should be a great help to all who use it. It is a joy to recommend it to you!"
Paul Cedar
Chairman/CEO
The Mission America Coalition, CA
Church Needs Assessment
Church Needs Assessment — The Right Team
In conducting a church needs assessment, start by establishing the team that will guide the process. The objectivity of this team is crucial. Avoid individuals who would bring a predisposed agenda to the discovery process. Consider these questions in forming your assessment team.
- Who should lead the dialogue and assessment process? We would suggest that the leader be 1) the pastor, 2) an outside trained facilitator, or 3) the pastor and a trusted layperson who has good group dynamics skills.
Whoever is assigned to lead the dialogue and church needs assessment experience needs to be skilled as a facilitator. A facilitator is distinctly different from a consultant. A consultant comes into a setting to perform independent research and then offer advice to the pastor and/or leadership board. A facilitator guides an "in-house" group in the process of reaching its own conclusions. Strictly speaking, a facilitator does not do research on his or her own and does not expect that his or her advice will be the only grist of the mill of dialogue, assessment, and planning. - What church group/committee should organize the assessment process? The best options are 1) the pastor and key governing board, 2) the pastor and the planning committee, or 3) the pastor and the leaders of all church ministries. The critical common denominator in all three options is the pastor. It is not an option for the pastor to be uninvolved. This is one aspect of ministry leadership that should not be delegated too far from the senior staff leader in the congregation. If the pastor does not feel comfortable or free to take the primary leadership role, that's fine, but he or she should not be absent from this leadership opportunity; the pastor must be part of the leadership group. Select the group that makes the most sense for your setting and go for it!
Church Needs Assessment — The Right Tools
In conducting a church needs assessment, it's also vitally important to use sound and proven resources to gather feedback. Consider these questions with your team:
- What tool should be used to collect feedback from the leadership team and congregation in the church needs assessment process? The assessment instrument itself is critical to collecting objective, non-biased feedback. The use of a church needs assessment created in-house is not recommended for a number of reasons. In-house survey instruments are invariably biased toward or against a certain agenda (even unintentionally), and have not been through the data analysis scrutiny of a survey expert to ensure that the questions and anchor points are properly worded/formatted for universal understanding. The use of a proven, statistically sound, assessment instrument will ensure the objectivity and accuracy of the results you receive.
- What's next once the church needs assessment has been completed? The committee that conducted the church needs assessment should meet to discuss the findings of the survey, identify strengths and weaknesses, prioritize the presenting issues, and put together an action plan.
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