REVEAL's Church Leadership Podcast

Launching multiple sites has been a top “go to” strategy for church expansion for three decades. Of the 70 multi-site churches that have fielded the REVEAL for Church survey, a large percentage fall into the more spiritually vibrant archetypes. But while many multi-site strategies have been great successes, there have been failures along the way. In this episode, we examine what REVEAL data show about the spiritual vibrancy of multi-site churches and talk with Jim Tomberlin about strategies for successful expansion into multiple campuses. Jim has launched many multi-site congregations and is the founder of a consulting organization called Multisite Solutions.

About 7% of the churches in the REVEAL database are multicultural churches, with at least 20% of congregants being of diverse ethnicities. These churches are among the most spiritually vibrant of the churches who have taken the survey. In this episode, we share the impressive statistics that show the vibrancy of multicultural churches and speak with Albert Tate, founding pastor of Fellowship Monrovia Church in California, which is a thriving multi-ethnic, multi-generational congregation.

REVEAL's Church Leadership Podcast is coming back in January 2019 with all new insights into topics that matter to you. We also have some news to share about new products and a special offer for podcast listeners.

In this episode, we open the REVEAL database to share some surprising information about what “average” looks like. Having surveyed more than 2,000 churches, REVEAL’s database provides a statistical profile of averages for many aspects of church life, including congregant behaviors (how often do they really read the Bible every week?) and congregant attitudes (how strongly do they believe in salvation by grace or the authority of the Bible?).

In this episode we focus on how churches that take the REVEAL survey can benefit from engaging with a coach to help them plan and implement changes based on their results.

In this episode we interviewed Keith Doornbus, one of our first REVEAL clients when he was pastor of Providence Church in Holland, Michigan. Providence took the REVEAL survey three times, improving from Troubled to Average. Keith shares his perspective on using REVEAL to turnaround Troubled and Introverted churches, both as a pastor who used REVEAL to understand his own congregation and as the coach for many pastors in the Christian Reformed Church who have taken the survey.

This episode introduces you to the Troubled Church, an archetype that accounts for 14 percent of the churches in the REVEAL database. The Troubled Church is one in which congregants are both spiritually immature and unhappy with their church. This dual challenge makes turning around a Troubled Church difficult, but not impossible. In fact, 80 percent of the Troubled Churches that have taken the REVEAL survey more than once have changed archetypes.

This episode introduces you to the Complacent Church, which is the one of the largest of the eight archetypes we described in Episode 10. Complacent Churches account for 17 percent of the churches in our database. The Complacent Church is filled with people who are happy with their church, their pastor, and their busy, active lives. But they’re going through the motions—unaware of the danger that they are missing out on the central purpose of being a Christian, which is to grow into a disciple of Jesus Christ

In this episode, we talked with Robert Kelly, lead pastor of Beacon Church in Long Island, New York. Beacon Church took the REVEAL survey in 2012 and fell into the Extroverted Church archetype. Robert shares what his church has done to create a discipleship pathway to grow newcomers into missional disciplemakers.

In this episode, we talk about the factors that set the Extroverted Church apart and then use the stories of a few Extroverted Churches to give you some practical insights. The Extroverted Church is just what the name implies—it’s a church that is “turned outward.” It’s friendly; it likes to meet new people. It is also highly engaged in serving its community. However, Extroverted church congregants are weak in their core Christian beliefs and don’t engage very frequently in personal spiritual practices. Just nine percent of the churches in the REVEAL database are in the Extroverted archetype.

This podcast features an interview with Eric Arnson, the market research genius behind the development REVEAL. Earlier in his career, Eric led the North American brand strategy for McKinsey and Company, one of the world’s most respected consulting firms. Cally interviewed Eric to learn more about his perspective on why church leaders should be interested in their congregants’ satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, with the church.

In this episode, we discussed the characteristics of the churches in the Introverted Church archetype, which compromise 17% of churches in our database, making it is one of the largest archetypes. As the name suggests, churches in this archetype tend to be inwardly focused. However, their congregants have strong beliefs in core Christian doctrines and are dedicated to their personal spiritual practices. These strengths provide a solid base for Introverted Churches to implement changes that will lead the church to become more vibrant.

Four Factors Characterize Self-Motivated ChurchesSelf-Motivated Church congregants have high frequency spirituality.· Rates of serving, tithing, evangelism, and spending time in prayer and reflecting on Scripture are 20 to 40% higher than our database average, right on track with congregants in Vibrant Churches.· Forty percent serve in a ministry at their church on a weekly basis, which is the highest percentage of any archetype. They also very strongly agree with the statement “I know and use my spiritual gifts to fulfill God’s purposes” at a higher rate than all but Vibrant Church congregants.· Self-Motivated Churches have the highest percentage of Christ-Centered congregants of any archetype. About one-third of the congregation in this most mature segment of spiritual growth. Despite their spiritual maturity, Self-Motivated Church congregants have unrealized expectations of their church.Satisfaction with the senior pastor is 10 percent below our database average and satisfaction with three of the five Best Practices (Episode 8) are below the database average. Congregants’ overall satisfaction with the church is also much lower across the board compared with Vibrant Churches.It could be that congregants are holding their churches to a higher standard due to the intensity of their own efforts to grow spiritually.A possible reason we have encountered for this below-average satisfaction is that the pastor recently launched a church initiative or strategy that was not completely embraced by the congregation—like a building campaign or a church plant or a transition to a multisite strategy.In other Self-Motivated Churches we have talked to, congregants feel that the pastors have taken their eye off the discipleship ball or the small groups ministry has lost direction and focus.Self-Motivated Churches have a problem that no church wants: vanishing congregants.· Self-Motivated Churches are more likely than any other archetype to report that weekend attendance has been in a downward spiral over the past twelve months.· Because these churches are more likely to be smaller to start with, these declines are especially troublesome. Demographically, Self-Motivated Church congregations are older, southern, and rural.· Self-Motivated Churches have a high percentage of congregants age 55 years old or older.· These churches are typically located in south-central states, like Texas or Oklahoma, or in the Southeast, often in small towns. How do Self-Motivated Churches become vibrant?The path forward for the Self-Motivated Church begins with leaders being willing to listen to the concerns of dissatisfied congregants. For many Self-Motivated Churches, taking the REVEAL survey has been an important first step in that listening process. Following up on the survey results with focus groups or other types of listening sessions can bring additional insight into the reasons behind the dissatisfaction. When church leaders listen attentively to congregants’ concerns, they expand their leadership capital (the extent to which congregants trust their leadership) paving the way for introducing changes aimed at strengthening the church’s discipleship pathway, improving small groups, or moving forward with big initiatives that have been met with resistance in the past. Want to discover your church’s archetype?The REVEAL for Church survey report provides your church’s archetype and prescriptions for change based on how we have seen other churches in that archetype be transformed over time. Learn more at www.revealforchurch.com

In this episode, we talked with Phill Tague, lead pastor of Ransom Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ransom Church took the REVEAL survey in the spring of 2016 for the first time. The church fell into our strongest archetype—the Energized Church.

In this episode, we discussed the characteristics of the churches that fall under the Energized Church archetype, which compromise 12% of churches in our database. This archetype is the most likely “next step” for churches that are in some of the weaker archetypes (like Complacent, Average and Extroverted Churches). We have seen many churches move to the Energized archetype after they address issues that show up in their first survey, making the Energized archetype an important one for all churches to get to know.

In this episode, we talked with Jeremy Yancey, lead pastor of Timber Creek Church in Lufkin, Texas. Timber Creek has taken the REVEAL survey twice—once in 2013 and a second time in the spring of 2017. Both times the church fell into our strongest archetype—the Vibrant Church.Jeremy served as Timber Creek’s Executive Pastor for nine years before becoming the lead pastor three years ago. Timber Creek is a 90-year-old church with its roots in the Assembly of God denomination. Like many Vibrant Churches, it’s large—more than 1200 adults attend weekend services—and it’s also young—one out of five of the people who took the survey were in their 20s, which is well above our database average.

In this episode, we discussed the characteristics of the churches in the REVEAL database that fall under the Vibrant Church archetype. The Vibrant Church, which is the strongest of the eight archetypes we described in Episode 10, is also the smallest archetype, accounting for 8% of churches compared with the Complacent and Introverted Church archetypes, which each account for 17% of churches in our database. 

In this episode, we talked about our discovery of eight types of churches. We call these “archetypes” and they are akin to church “personalities.” Finding the archetypes was a huge breakthrough, not only because it gave us a framework for understanding differences among churches, but because it provided a focused lens to view each church. These archetypes help us see more clearly how a church is wired, so we can understand their results and prescribe a path to greater vibrancy.

In this episode, we talked about what we have learned about the process of spiritual growth based on responses to the REVEAL for Church survey. One key finding of REVEAL’s research is the Spiritual Continuum: four stages of spiritual maturity identified in our earliest research: Exploring Christ (10% of churchgoers on average); Growing in Christ (40%); Close to Christ (25%) and Christ-Centered (25%). Our goal with the Spiritual Continuum is not to put people in boxes. Once we discovered these four groups, we set out to learn what triggered movement from one segment to the next to help pastors determine the best next steps to help their people grow in their relationship with Christ. We call these drivers of spiritual growth “catalysts” because they speed growth much like a catalyst speeds a chemical reaction.

One of the most influential findings from REVEAL is its discovery of five best practices for churches—specifically, best practices for developing disciples of Jesus Christ. This was a discovery the REVEAL Team intentionally pursued. After we developed the Spiritual Vitality Index (SVI), we were able to identify the top 5% of churches in our database and find out what they were doing to be so effective at discipleship.  

This episode focused on the REVEAL for Church survey itself. It’s the tool we’ve used over the past decade to give pastors insights into where their people are in their spiritual growth and what church leaders can do to help them. The survey was updated in 2016 with several significant improvements that are discussed in this episode.

In this episode, we discussed what we know about people who say they’ve stalled on their spiritual journey and how church leaders can help them get moving again.

In this episode, we addressed the very important role of the senior pastor in helping congregants grow spiritually.

In this episode, we answer a question that haunts many church leaders—what do people really want from the church? And is what they want the same as what they need? At the heart of this question—want vs. need—is the idea that people don’t want much from the church; that all they want is something “light;” something that doesn’t shake the status quo. Thanks to our dataset of responses to the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey, we know that what people want IS what they need.

In this episode, we talked about what we know about tithing based on REVEAL survey data from 2,000 churches and more than 500,000 congregants and what you can do to increase tithing in your church. Key Tithing Statistics In the REVEAL dataset, approximately 40% of congregants say they tithe, meaning they give 10% or more of their monthly income to the church. Many pastors have said that number seems high. Statistics from other surveys may differ from REVEAL based on who they survey (Christians in general, not church attenders) or how they survey (smaller samples). Also, it might be the case that some people are “rounding up” or including all of their giving, not just what they give to the church. Tithing percentages do vary widely across our database. In the bottom 10% of the REVEAL database, 22% of congregants report that they tithe (no difference based on church size). In the top 10%, 57-60% of congregants say they tithe (higher percentage in churches of 250 or fewer adults). What Factors Relate to Tithing? • Income and education are somewhat related to tithing. Congregants with higher incomes and more education are more likely to tithe. • Age also relates to tithing, with older congregants having higher tithing rates. • Congregants who are in the more mature segments of the spiritual continuum are more likely to tithe. Just 12% in Exploring Christ vs. 58% in Christ-Centered. • Satisfaction with your church’s role in your spiritual growth does not correlate with differences in tithing. Neither does being satisfied with your senior pastor’s effectiveness. • Belief in Authority of the Bible: the level of tithing in a church correlates with the percentage of congregants who say they “very strongly agree” that the Bible has direct authority over what they say and do. • Serving, specifically serving the church, correlates with tithing. We think this is because people become engaged in the mission of the church in a physical way when they serve. It’s an investment of time and energy that tends to turn into a financial investment in the church. People who tithe are also much more likely to say that they know and use their spiritual gifts. Strategies to Increase Tithing • Make congregants aware. Don’t tiptoe around the tithing conversation. This connects to belief in the authority of Scripture. Preach it! • Make them capable/competent. Budgeting curricula are effective and inspirational. • Make it easy. On-line giving can keep people on track, even during the dry summer months when giving tends to decline. • Double down on the Best Practice Principles of Create Ownership and Embed the Bible, based on the finding that authority of the Bible and serving/being invested in the church predicts tithing. In churches that took the survey twice, changes in belief in authority of the Bible are correlated with changes in tithing. • Also, although satisfaction with the senior pastor’s effectiveness does not predict tithing, one aspect of the senior pastor’s leadership does relate to tithing: modeling how to grow spiritually. Share your own struggles/victories/convictions around giving. Finally, remember that tithing is fruit. It tends to reflect the spiritual maturity of a congregation. If you’re pursuing the best steps to help your people grow in their relationship with Christ, tithing is likely to be a natural by-product.

In this episode, we talked about some of the key words and concepts that you need to know to understand REVEAL’s findings and the content we will share on the podcast in the weeks to come.

Today's podcast is all about the history of REVEAL—a story about a survey born in 2004 that’s become the gold standard for measuring spiritual growth for churches across the country. More than 2000 churches with 500,000 congregants have taken the REVEAL survey. Beyond size, our database is very diverse, including a broad range of church denominations, locations, sizes, and styles. REVEAL’s Origin Story: 2004-2008 In 2004, Willow Creek Church in South Barrington, IL, wanted to measure spiritual growth. Spiritual growth was defined using the Great Commandment as a guide, measuring the factors that increase a person’s love of God and love of others grow. Cally Parkinson was Communications Director for WCC at the time and headed up the survey effort, eventually authoring two books on findings from REVEAL. • Three key “inventors”: Bill Hybels + Eric Arnson + Greg Hawkins. • The question wasn’t “what drives spiritual growth?” Because we knew the answer—church activities. •The only question was which church activity was most effective at spiritual growth. Was it small groups? Or midweek services? • The surprising answer—neither one. In fact, we found that participation in church activities does not drive long–term spiritual growth. • Instead, we discovered that the most significant catalysts that drive spiritual growth are personal spiritual practices, specifically Bible engagement. The things we do outside of the organized church setting are the most powerful influences on growing our relationship with Jesus—and consequently, our love of God and love of others. The real breakthrough for REVEAL came two years later through the Willow Creek Association. The WCA is best known for its annual Global Leadership Summit, which this year will host 400,000 people in 128 countries around the world. Bill decided to share the survey insights at a gathering of WCA Summit pastors. Many of the pastors begged WCA president Jim Mellado to take the survey in their churches. We started with seven churches…then 25…then in 2007, 500 churches took the survey. REVEAL the book and brand were launched, leading to changes at Willow Creek and many other churches. For the first time, we had data that churches could use to see how their people were doing in their spiritual growth. REVEAL Best Practice Principles: 2008-2012 In 2008, studying the results from all of the churches that had taken the survey led to the discovery of the Best Practice Principles. • The first (and only) REVEAL conference was held to discuss the findings and allow others to hear from the churches we identified as being exceptional in their implementation of the Principles. •Nancy Scammacca Lewis joined the REVEAL team soon after as lead statistician. •We built a database of church survey results, mined it for new insights, and published MOVE: What 1,000 Churches Reveal about Spiritual Growth. REVEAL Archetypes: 2013-Present In 2013, a philanthropist with a technology company bought the REVEAL brand and intellectual property. Thanks to this investment, we rebooted the survey to be more user-friendly and published a second book Rise: Bold Strategies to Transform Your Church. In Rise, we describe our findings about eight types of churches—we call them “archetypes.” The eight archetypes emerged out of the richness of data we have on the two key findings we described earlier: • Where congregants are the catalysts of spiritual growth • How churches are doing on the Best Practice Principles. Our goal with the archetypes isn’t to put churches in boxes—it’s to give them practical next steps to make their church more vibrant. Looking across everything we’ve done and everything we know now about churches and spiritual growth, a pastor’s key takeaway from REVEAL should be that there’s hope—in fact, a lot of hope—because any church can RISE. We’ve launched this podcast to share fresh insights from our rich data on how churches can help their people grow. We want to take the guesswork out of church-work for you! Next time on the REVEAL Church Leadership Podcast: Key concepts you need to know to understand the REVEAL findings.