Results from the 2024 Spiritual Growth Assessment
Toward the end of last year, the pastoral team began a guided, step-by-step process of reevaluating the mission, vision, and values of our church. We didn’t sense the need for major changes, but, after all the transitions since 2020, we mainly sought increased clarity as we lead into our tenth year. You might remember: the past grass is gone; we need new grass to grow.
We are now rounding the last lap of this clarity process, and it’s been more encouraging than I could have anticipated. We’ve been able to give additional clarity to our mission and strategy, and to where our church could be in the next five years.
And maybe best of all, we’ve learned the questions we should be asking right now — questions related to tuning up CGs and LGs, to improving our church planting residency, to building a strong student ministry and increasing our work in global missions, and to making more space available on Sundays. How do we deepen our faithfulness and multiply our witness?
We don’t have all the answers yet, but we are organizing the questions.
More Details
One important part of this process has been to provide more details to the kind of disciples we want to be and make. We’ve always defined a disciple of Jesus as a worshiper, servant, and missionary (see John 4:23; 13:15; 20:21). We’ve said this is the three-fold calling of what it means to follow Jesus — we worship him, we serve like him, we are on mission with him.
This clarity process hasn’t changed any of that, it’s only helped us fill it out more. We are worshipers, servants, and missionaries, or, more particular, we are:
Jesus worshipers (One who exists to glorify God by enjoying him forever.)
Joyful servants (One who loves like Jesus, gladly taking initiative to see and meet the needs of others.)
Generous disciplers (One who gives themselves to help others follow Jesus.)
Welcoming witnesses (One who opens wide their arms to others to make Jesus known.)
Assessment Results
Earlier this year, when a couple hundred of you took the Spiritual Growth Assessment, each question was organized under those four roles. An assessment never tells the full story, but it can certainly clue you in on areas of strength and weakness. That’s what this most recent assessment did for us.
Which of these four aspects of being a disciple of Jesus do we most need to grow in?
What aspect is something we’re doing well?
How can that shape us more?
Below is a “mapping” of where we are currently.
As you can see, our highest scores were in the categories of worship and discipleship. We are a people who cherish the word of God and seek to live in its truth, and we are relationally generous. We understand the value of community and connection. Our lower scores are in the categories of service and witness. This is not unusual for a church as she grows and becomes more established, but we’re also not okay with this. We do not want to become a church where “10% of the members do 90% of the serving.” If being a joyful servant is part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, then every member should be serving in some way. As for witness, we want to be a church that is constantly inviting others into the joy of knowing Jesus. This is an area of growth, and it requires some equipping and tune-up work — and it starts with our leaders. We’re “all-in” here.
Below is a sketch of some key results:
We’re stirring in these results to help get our questions right as we move forward.
Good things are coming, Cities Church! It is a great honor to serve you as one of your pastors, for these cities and beyond, for the glory of Christ.
“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”
