For the last week or two we've been soliciting feedback for our upcoming Journey class, in an effort to make sure our class is exactly what our community is looking for. And we've been getting some great responses.

With just shy of 170 respondents, we've been able to detect some strong patterns. Here's a few takeaways.

Q. In your opinion, how important is it for the local church to be intentional about disciple-making?

A. 86% gave this the highest score possible. And additional 11% gave it the second highest score. Clearly, the overwhelming majority of our members feel this is important.

Q. Do you feel you have been effectively discipled by your local church?

A. A full 75% answered no to this question. So while we believe discipling is important, the vast majority of our churches are not doing it very well.

Q. Do you feel equipped to effectively disciple others?

A. Nearly 2/3 of our respondents answered no to this question. This is, perhaps, the main reason our churches are not discipling. Our members are not equipped to do it.

Q. Which of the following would you say is your weakest area: Taking in, Living out, or Passing on the Word?

A. Memorization skills beat out discipleship skills by a few percentage points as the area we feel MOST confident in. But ministry skills was by far the weakest. In fact, more people identified this as their weakest area than the other two combined, and then some. While all three are important, the Journey has to include a strong focus on ministry development. That is our community's greatest felt need.

Q. Which of the following Dashboard tools do you use regularly?

A. Memory Engine - 66%, Bible Reading - 50%, Prayer Journal - 19%, and Time Management - 15%. One of our goals in the Journey is to more fully integrate each section of our training with our tools--to make sure every member knows how to use them well. In particular, we need to really work on the Prayer Journal and Time Management tools.

Q. Which social media tools do you use regularly?

A. Facebook hit 71%, Pinterest and Google both came in at around 20%, and all the rest were 10% or less. Surprisingly, 21% clicked other. I'd be curious to know in the comments what some of those platforms might be. Regardless, Facebook is clearly king in this area.

Q. Have you completed the Discipleship Track?

A. A full 70% answered No to this question. It seems we can't skip our core discipleship curriculum in designing the Journey.

Q. If so, were there areas you would have liked additional support on?

A. Of those that completed our discipleship track, a little over half said they would have liked additional help. Some specific areas mentioned included more help with memorization, morning devotions, personal victory, how to train others and time management (1 or 2 each). The most frequently requested area of help involved personal witnessing and small groups (esp attracting seekers). We see once again a desire for better ministry training.

Q. How strong is your interest in being part of the Journey in 2017?

A. Approximately 35% gave this the highest score, and another 21% gave it the second highest score. If this percentage is consistent throughout our community, we should have good participation in the Journey 2017!

Thanks to everyone who took this survey. Your feedback helped clarify several points for us, and we will do our best to make this class exactly what you are asking for. See you in class!

Comments

What about you? Feel free to share your thoughts about the results of this survey. Does it sound about right? Anything you would like to add? Any questions about the upcoming course? Share a comment or two below.

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