Last fall, the Vestry decided to participate in a survey to help us find out how well our church is doing in helping our members in their walk with Christ. We invited everyone to complete the Reveal Spiritual Life Survey and we had a wonderful response – 141 people participated, giving us a very good picture of our parish family. Recently we received the survey results which have been reviewed and discussed by the Vestry and which are available on our web site www.stpaulsepiscopal.com. Reading the report invites us to learn the story it tells about St. Paul’s and its members. It also compares St. Paul’s to other churches around the country who have taken this same Reveal survey. Here is a summary of the results:

• Our congregation is older than most congregation who took the survey – 70% are over the age of 50 and only 25% are between the ages of 19 and 49. We have almost no cultural diversity, a small number of us have children under 18 living at home and we are well educated.

• Even though we are an “older” parish, our members place high priority on providing strong programs for children.

• We are a very stable parish – 60% of our members have belonged to St. Paul’s for more than 6 years.

• Our members are, for the most part, very satisfied with the ministries St. Paul’s is offering. The survey identified 5 top priorities for our church. While our scores in these areas were average, these are the ones on which we may want to improve.

• Help develop personal relationship with Christ
• Provide a clear pathway to guide growth
• Challenge individuals to grow
• Help develop prayer life
• Help in time of emotional need.



• Our members also are very satisfied with the Fr. Tripp’s ministry in the parish. The survey identified five top priorities for Fr. Tripp to consider.


• Model and reinforce how to grow spiritually
• Provide guidance to individuals on spiritual development
• Maintain harmony
• Counsel people facing major decisions
• Challenge congregants to grow and take next steps.

• The survey asked us to identify where we are on Reveal’s “spiritual continuum” – Exploring Christ, Growing in Christ, Close to Christ or Christ-Centered. (The descriptions of each of these is on page 19 of the report.) Most of us, 122, said that we are either Growing in Christ or Close to Christ, with small numbers in the Exploring Christ and Christ-Centered categories. These numbers would put us on par with other churches, with the exception of the Christ-Centered category. One interesting observation is that we have a higher percentage than other congregations of people who embrace Stewardship as a way of life among those who identify themselves as being Close to Christ

• A very strong theme that runs through our survey results is our commitment to serving those in need. Our scores in this area are consistently higher than other churches who took the survey.

• Our satisfaction with the organized church activities listed below is 20% higher than in other churches.


• Our personal spiritual practices are above average for those of us who said we are Growing in Christ, and average for the other groups.

• Weekend services
• Small groups. The scores given to our small groups were “unbelievable good.” Members particularly want their small groups to hold them accountable to lead a Christian life.
• Serving at the Church.
• Serving those in need through the church. Again, our members are extremely happy with the opportunities given through St. Paul’s to serve others.

• Evangelism is the one area in which we score a little bit lower than other churches.

• Even though one out of five of us say that we are either stalled in our spiritual growth or are dissatisfied with the role our church plays in helping us grow spiritually, these numbers place us significantly below those of other churches.

• Of the 21 people who said they are dissatisfied with the church’s role in their spiritual lives, they identified these areas as priorities for them:

• Help in time of emotional need
• Provide clear pathway to guide growth
• Challenge me to grow
• Help develop personal relationship with Christ
• Help me develop prayer life.

• The results show that very few of us are considering leaving St. Paul’s for another church.

• Our “Spiritual Vitality Index” is average compared to other churches with one exception.

• Our congregation reports a level of satisfaction with the role our church plays in spiritual growth that is lower than the average. Key factors include how well the church:
• Challenges them to grow
• Provides in-depth Bible teaching
• Helps develop a relationship with Christ
• Helps them feel like they belong.

 

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Dr. Henry Saumders Summary

REVEAL STUDY – ST PAUL’S CHURCH

Demographic data from the REVEAL study indicates that in comparison to other churches in the study, members of our congregation are older, better educated, and more affluent. We seemed to retain members well. Most of our members have been here for a number of years. Very few of the members feel dissatisfied or stalled. We are wise and value youth programs despite the fact that we have few children less than 18 years of age who are living at home.

Most of us describe ourselves as mature Christians. We are believers who seek to be close to Christ, but are unwilling to describe ourselves as Christ-centered, whether from humility or a true sense that we are not where we should be in our spiritual life. While we are generally satisfied that the church and our priest are helping us in our spiritual growth, our level of satisfaction with the role our church plays in spiritual growth is lower than average. Our congregation’s views of the church’s highest priorities for action are all items related to growth in spiritual life. We want to be challenged, to receive a clearer pathway for growth, and to develop a personal relationship with Christ.

Our congregation reports overall an average level of participation in faith-based activities. We attend fairly regularly and are satisfied with weekend services, but we are particularly strong in satisfaction with and participation in small groups and activities where we serve those in need. We are not as good at evangelism. Assessment of our personal spiritual activities shows we are strong in prayer activity and bible reading. We feel we have spiritual friends and are willing to serve others in need on our own, but compared to other churches are weaker on evangelism and tithing.

REVEAL is more than a study. It is also an action plan. We want to be Christ-centered, but are not there yet. REVEAL has defined a progression of spiritual development. Our church needs to challenge us to reflect on scripture and pray daily for guidance and confession of sins and also to tithe. Churches of any size or any level of resources can be powerful forces in the spiritual development of its members. We are challenged by REVEAL to encourage and facilitate the spiritual growth of our members and to increase the level of participation in faith-based activities. Our business is to engage and equip our members to grow individually and to grow the Kingdom.

 

Henry Saunders, M.D.


Reveal Study Results in Word Format

Reveal Study Results in Power Point Format