Last month I introduced you to an inexpensive and easy way to survey your ministry base using an online tool called Survey Monkey.  I also created a free survey from Survey Monkey and promised that this month I would bring you the results…well here they are.  If one thing is abundantly clear, it is that pastoral people assert affirmation for progressive ministry, but are very slow to act upon their assertions.  Please note the results and my comments:

1)       40% of respondents have less than 5% of their church attendance comprised of Echoboomers (age 17-33).  60% have less than 15% in attendance.

David:  The 2000 census demonstrated that the generation that comprises the 17-33 year-old age group makes up approximately 35% of the population in the United States.  These respondents are merely admitting to a fact that is true in the vast majority of our churches across North America…We are losing the next generation for Christ.  Our ministry structures have been designed to target the Boomer generation.  Most churches today do not have any idea how to attract nor minister to the Echoboomer generation.  All surveys suggest that America is merely one generation away from paganism.

2)       40% of respondents do not consider Adult Education to be very important.  60% consider it important to very important.

David:  Most pastoral leaders have come to believe that today’s young adult is not interested in Christian education…they often point to the complete lack of participation (see survey result #3!) by this generation to justify their position.  However, most postmodern (“pomo”) ministries have a thriving Biblical teaching ministry that is often deeper than anything you will likely in a Boomer-driven ministry.  The postmodern young adult does NOT want to be spoon-fed, they want to learn directly from Scripture so that they can make their own decisions about life and spiritual living.  Lack of Echoboomer participation in our adult education ministries has much more to do with a rejection of “style” than “substance”.  Echoboomers merely learn and relate differently than any previous generation.  The church that refuses to acknowledge that fact will continue to have minimal participation by this crucial generation. 

I want to exhort spiritual leaders to not give up on Christian Education.  We must confront the Biblical illiteracy trend that has been plaguing our churches.  Rather than de-emphasize Christian Education, now is the perfect time to make it your #1 priority in the pulpit, in small groups and online…just make sure to utilize immediate application techniques to help young adults apply the truths of Scripture “in the moment” rather than once they leave the session.

3)       80% or respondents have 5% or less or their Adult Education attendees comprised of Echoboomers.

(See comments for #2)

4)       100% of respondents view their website as a ministry tool.

David:  There is a serious perception gap displayed by the majority of our pastors in North America.  When surveyed, here and elsewhere, pastors continue to believe that their website is intended for “Seekers”.  In the studies conducted by the Barna Research group, they discovered that only 6% of all church websites contained any kind of online ministry at all!  For some reason, pastors seem to think that an online advertisement is “ministry”.  Every study of online spiritual Seekers over the years that I have seen tells us that the #1 way to “turn-off” and even offend an online Seeker is to have an advertising website about your ministry institution. 

I want to encourage pastor’s to consider how they might talk with a spiritual seeker one-on-one over coffee, and then to communicate in this same way on their websites.  It is unlikely that in a one-on-one conversation that our pastors would be promoting their programming and events…if so, I’m sure you would agree, the conversation would not last very long.

5)       100% or respondents view Seeker-Targeted websites as important to very important.

David:  However “Seeker-Targeted” websites might be defined by our respondents, there is clearly a growing awareness that using the internet for outreach is crucial in our current generation.  For a case in point, click here to view the monthly statistics from Truth Media’s Seeker-Targeted websites…they will “blow your socks off”!

6)       80% of respondents admit that they do not have a Seeker-Targeted website.

David:  Praise God…the message is slowly getting through!  If 94% of our church websites in North America are nothing close to being “Seeker-Targeted”, then at least 80% of our survey respondents are beginning to recognize and admit that they are not offering a Seeker-Targeted site.  We all know that in addiction recovery, admitting the problem is the first step to recovery.  Our churches have been addicted to using the internet for advertising rather than ministry.  Now that you have admitted the problem, please commit before God to correct the problem for Christ’s Kingdom sake.

7)       80% or respondents asserted that online Bible studies and leadership training was important to very important.

David:  While the rest of the world…most all corporations and schools…have integrated e-learning into their training process because they know online learning is highly efficient, effective and relational; for most of the church-world, online learning is still a fantasy.   Many leaders know that online learning is important and could produce significant fruit, but statistically (see response #8) most have not taken the necessary steps to add this layer to their ministry programming.  Speaking personally, I have done everything within my power to make online learning available, affordable and technically feasible…pastors the rest is up to you.

8)       100% or respondents DO NOT currently use online education for Bible studies or leadership training.

(See comments for #7)

9)       80% or respondents believe online assessments for personality, giftedness and style of leadership are important to very important.

David:  In the same way that church leaders are slow to adopt online learning, they are also slow to adopt online assessments.  While the vast majority of respondents believe online assessments are very important, in practice (see response #10) many pastoral people are not making use of the incredible online tools that are now available to them.  This gap is not due to cost or complexity.  The only explanation for this gap between “belief” and “practice” is the fact that the pastoral person needs to change how they have always done ministry in the past, and like their congregations, most pastoral people tend to avoid change.  But change is unavoidable.

10)   100% of respondents do not currently use online assessments.

David:  I want to encourage you to view my FREE webinar on team building.  The webinar will help you understand how to use assessments, and why assessments are essential for effective team building.  Go to http://www.echurchessentials.com/features/teams/ and click on the 'Team Dynamics - FREE WEBINAR' link.