Using Surveys in Church Evaluation

 

I'm in the process of developing an on-line survey for churches to give to their members and attendees. I'll my materials here as I develop them. This is a somewhat new area for me, so if you have any information or experience with it, please contact me for I would love to learn from you.

 

Examples of church surveys

Church of the Annunciation, Paramus, NJ.

Churchrater.com. This survey is given to people paid to attend a church. It asks them to give their feedback about the teaching, music, after the service, and overall impressions. It could also be given to first-time visitors on an on-going basis. From the people at Off The Map. Here's the on-line version.

First Unitarian Universalist Church, Richmond Virginia. They mailed a written survey to a sample of 100 church-goers, and had an 85% response rate. Topics include satisfaction with church services and feedback about going to two services.

Granger Community Church, Granger, IN.

Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT.

National Community Church, Washington, D.C. This short survey evaluates the church and explores survey-taker's experiences with it.

National Church Life Survey, Australia.

Off The Map. This survey is designed for someone visiting a church for the first time. They recommend hiring someone in the community to attend a service and evaluate it (sort of like a "mystery shopper"). It could also be given to first-time attenders. The survey focuses on newcomer's perceptions of the service.

Riverview Church, Holt, MI.

Ship of Fools, England. This organization sends around "mystery shoppers" to various churches who then file a report. I've linked to an example report.

St. Andrew's, Histon, England.

Storrs Community Church, Storrs, CT. This is my first crack at a church survey, done several years ago, and it's of uneven quality. It emphasizes feedback about different aspects of the Sunday service, such as teaching, singing, and general atmosphere. A mixture of open- and close-ended questions.