When a church is going through a difficult time and they’re not quite sure what the actual issues are, one of their first thoughts might be to bring in a church consultant. Church consultants can often provide a valuable outside perspective needed to diagnose problems and present a way forward.
While there are many great church consultants out there, not all of them are trained or experienced specifically in church diagnostics. Church diagnostics is a specialized area of expertise that involves doing a deep dive into a church’s ministries, operations, culture, and more. It can help a church identify their blind spots. It can also shine a spotlight on what the church is doing well, and what areas could use extra attention and improvement.
According to VitalChurch Ministry, one of the leading organizations in the United States for church diagnostics, a key element in assessing a church is to conduct a church survey. VitalChurch Ministry offers an affordable church survey that church leaders can implement largely on their own. The surveys are then processed by the VitalChurch Ministry team and a report is produced that the church can use for strategic planning and to make any recommended changes. In addition, VitalChurch Ministry offers an in-depth customized survey with their more thorough diagnostic assessments for churches wanting insight into specific areas of their church.
For many churches, the results of a church survey can be extremely helpful. Church leaders may have never gotten this type of feedback from their congregation before, and have been operating for many years under false or incomplete assumptions. An anonymous survey, like the ones conducted by VitalChurch Ministry can reveal—from a congregation’s perspective—what is going well and what areas need attention from church leadership. Church leaders can then make decisions from an informed perspective.
Even if a church isn’t experiencing any major issues, conducting a church survey on occasion can be a good idea. It can provide valuable feedback to church leaders and alert them to anything that may be causing concern to the congregation before it becomes a problem. So, before your church hires a church consultant, ask about how they will gain insight into your church’s situation prior to making recommendations. If a church survey isn’t part of the equation, you might want to consider conducting one on your own or working with an organization like VitalChurch Ministry that includes a survey in their church assessments. VitalChurch Ministry also staffs intentional interim pastors who can be sent to churches in need of services beyond what a typical church consultant provides. Their interim pastors can serve as a temporary lead pastor in churches with a vacancy in that position, or can come in to assist existing leadership through a trying time.
