STEP #1 EVALUATION

The ITC process begins with evaluation, which is an essential starting point to allow for a better understanding of the individual church’s health and missional effectiveness. Each congregation is facing a unique set of circumstances. All have areas of strength and weakness, specific challenges you are facing, and an individual set of factors that determine the current level of church effectiveness.

An analogy for this first step would be a medical checkup. This process of evaluation can be uncomfortable at times, probing and testing in ways that are not enjoyable. However, the tests are needed to get a full picture of the person’s health. Furthermore, this analogy can be extended to see how a good physician will listen to the patient, hear their concerns, and have a conversation with them. Yes, the doctor is the expert providing guidance, but there is a collaborative aspect that allows the patient to be fully heard. The same process of evaluation is necessary in this program as a review is done by outside experts, who may test and probe in slightly uncomfortable ways, but this is done in the context of a trusting and collaborative relationship. A good working relationship between the evaluator and the individual church is a prerequisite for this program and the foundation of the rest of the steps. Within the context of a collaborative relationship between the trained evaluator and the church, two main types of evaluation will occur: a quantitative Natural Church Development (NCD) profile and a varied qualitative toolkit.

The evaluation begins with the quantitative assessment, the administering of an NCD profile. A quantitative tool is an excellent first step, so Ignite’s staff searched for a scientifically validated tool to use when working with congregations. NCD was found to have the best combination of being backed by research from over 50,000 churches and ease of use for taking the online surveys and providing clear metrics. Ignite staff members became certified NCD evaluators and are qualified to administer the surveys to churches. The survey is done online and administered to a representative sample of church members and leaders, leading to a value score across eight key metrics of church health: empowering leadership, gift-based ministry, passionate spirituality, effective structures, inspiring worship service, holistic small groups, need-oriented evangelism, and loving relationships. The value of this quantitative measure is that it doesn’t ask people in the church to judge or evaluate their congregation, but is instead focused on their own experiences with their church; this focus on personal experience is what each person knows best and it allows for a value score to be provided across each of the major areas of health. This first NCD profile is just one tool, but it allows for an initial quantitative evaluation of the church to understand areas of growth and current strengths.

The next part of the evaluation is to turn to set of qualitative tools. A church is a community of people, so reducing the health of a church to key metrics or quantitative data will always be limiting. To get a fuller picture of the church the academic tools “rich data” found in qualitative research provide another level of analysis. This is where a trusted evaluator is even more necessary, as the researcher will collaborate with the congregation to better understand their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and areas of growth. Ignite has used a variety of tools at this stage, but the specific tool selected will depend upon the congregation’s unique context. These tools include focus groups, worship “secret shoppers,” and qualitative interviews with church members and leaders. The goal is to help analyze how churches are doing in a post-pandemic world, how well they are meeting the needs of a changing culture, and ways that they can be as healthy as possible to function as a godly and effective church in the local community. What is learned in the evaluation process will help to customize the exact training needed in the next step of the program.