Sample Congregational Survey: Pastor Search

Transcription

1 Sample Congregational Survey: Pastor Search By Sarah Robins and Katie Fridsma Vanderbloemen Search Group If you re reading this, your church is likely looking for or preparing to look for your next Senior Pastor. It s an exciting, scary, stressful, tiring, and holy time. Once you ve identified your search team, whether it s a Search Committee, Pastor Nominating Committee, Elder Board, or Call Committee, etc., you must all together and with no individual agendas decide exactly what kind of candidate you are seeking. You need to uncover and articulate what kind of pastor will best fit your church and serve your congregation. What kind of person would be your ideal next Lead Pastor? One very effective way to find this out is to take the pulse of the church through a congregational survey. A congregational survey can bring in useful information about the congregation s needs, their demographics, and what they want in their next leader. The information you gather will shed light on what kind of leader your church feels that they need. It will guide you throughout your Pastor search process and give you the material you need to write a Pastor profile and an accurate job description. Surveys are only able to reveal useful information if they are carefully crafted. An effective church survey that will be truly useful to your Pastor Search Committee should include a thoughtful mix of questions targeted at demographic information, spiritual information, and impression of the church. Demographics and spiritual background are great metrics for predicting what kind of candidate would be successful at your church. We ve taken the guesswork out of creating a congregational survey. Our team created this sample congregational survey for you. Feel free to use it as is or modify it to fit your church s unique needs. Keep in mind that survey results need to be interpreted and not taken at face value. Surveys can only tell you so much and should be used as a means to inform and guide the search process rather than used as hard and fast tools for disqualifying candidates. A survey communicates to the congregation that they have a stake in the future and vision of the church.

2 Pastor Search Survey About You How many years have you been attending the church? a. 1 or less b. 1-5 years c years d years In an average month, how many times do you attend a service? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 What is your age? a. Under 18 b c d e. 55 and over What is your gender? a. Male b. Female Are you involved in a Bible study/small group? a. Yes b. No Did you grow up in a church setting? a. Yes b. No What is your denominational background? a. Baptist b. Nondenominational c. Mainline (Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, etc.) d. Catholic e. I am new to church f. Other About Our Church Why do you believe people attend our church? a. Sunday experience b. The fellowship/community c. Location d. Love of the teaching e. Love of the music f. Ministry offerings g. Other Why do you attend our church? a. Sunday experience b. The fellowship/community c. Location d. Love of the teaching e. Love of the music f. Ministry offerings g. Other

3 Where do you feel our church could use the most improvement? a. First impressions and retention b. Connecting with younger generations c. Building community d. Evangelism e. Worship f. Teaching g. Bigger volunteer base h. Other About Our Future New Pastor What do you prefer to be the new Pastor top strengths? (Choose your top 3): a. Theologian b. Administrator c. Preacher d. Evangelist e. Counselor f. Teacher g. Prophet h. Pastor i. Director k. Visionary What are your desired character traits of the new Senior Pastor? (Choose your top 3): a. Winsome and persuasive b. Entrepreneurial and visionary c. Honest and trustworthy d. Thoughtful and pastoral e. Faithful and steadfast f. Gregarious and people-oriented g. Intentional and focused h. Prayerful and wise It is most important our next Pastor possesses (Choose 1): a. Extensive ministry experience b. Advance degrees c. High potential What do you hope the new Senior Pastor will accomplish in their first 12 months? a. Growth in numbers b. Successfully assimilating into the church and culture c. Increased/renewed vision for the church d. New programming e. Other If you had to choose between the two, would you rather our new Senior Pastor: a. Have experience at a church of similar or larger size as an Associate Pastor b. Have experience at a church of smaller size as a Senior Pastor What are the most important leadership qualities our new Pastor must possess? (Choose your top 3): a. Inspiring and challenging preacher and teacher b. Well-loved leader and vision-caster c. Mentor and intentional discipler d. Passionate about reaching young people and young families e. Skilled and knowledgeable administrator f. Attracts and draws in new members g. Inspires generous stewardship of members time, money, and resources h. Deals with conflict well

4 What should our new Pastor focus most of their energy/time on? (Choose your top 3): a. Staff management b. Small groups and discipleship c. Attracting new members and retention d. Teaching and the weekend experience e. Professional development and continuing education f. Outreach and evangelism g. Meeting physical needs of community h. Inspiring generosity and stewardship i. Pastoral care j. Implementing vision In a sermon, which of these components are most important to you? (Choose your top 3) a. Strong Biblical knowledge / references b. Application to everyday life c. Challenging of intellect d. Humor e. Spiritual nourishment f. Illustrations g. Challenge of the status quo h. Relatable from the stage i. Exegetical teaching j. Other Which of the following are the most important regarding their experience? (Choose your top 2) a. Served as a Senior Pastor at a church b. Has a well-known ministry c. Is affiliated with our denomination d. Has a Masters of Divinity e. Has experience growing a church f. Has served as an Associate Pastor at a church of similar or larger size What keeps people coming to our church? Where do you envision our church in 5-7 years? What do you hope will be different/expanded/changed?

5 What do you believe our congregation is looking for in our new pastor? What else would you like to be considered as we prayerfully search for a new Pastor? Is there anything else you would like us to know? Vanderbloemen Search Group is a Pastor search firm that helps churches and faith-based organizations find great staff. If you are interested in hiring us to find your next team member, conducting a custom compensation analysis for your church team, or consulting about your staffing or church development, contact us at info@vanderbloemen.com.