Take a Survey (Monday Morning Metrics)

This is the third in an ongoing series I’m calling Monday morning metrics which is focused on measuring the things in your ministry that matter the most. Surveys can be a great bridge between purely quantitative data (like worship attendance) and purely anecdotal information (like the story of a marriage that was saved). By asking a few well-designed questions, you can get a good look beneath the surface of your congregation. Are people studying their Bibles and praying regularly? Are they growing spiritually? Do they feel that they’re using their spiritual gifts? Here are a few things to consider if you want to do a survey:

• Don’t make the survey too long. Ask about the things that relate to your mission and that will help you make leadership decisions.
• Surveys can be done online or on paper. If it’s a simple survey, take one Sunday morning and ask everyone to fill it out during worship.
• Test the survey with a few people before you roll it out. Inevitably, a question will be confusing or ambiguous even though you thought it was clear.
• Be aware of self-reporting bias. For example, people will report that they attend worship more frequently than they actually do.
• Use the same survey annually for several years and analyze the trends. This is even more valuable than the data from a single survey.
• Don’t over-survey. Once or twice a year is enough.