Results from the Spiritual Growth Assessment
Dear Cities Church,
Last November 2021 we launched the Spiritual Growth Assessment, a simple self-assessment of 20 or so questions related to the Christian life. The purpose of the assessment was, first, to be a tool for us in reflecting on God’s grace in our lives, and second, to be a resource for the pastors on how we can better serve the discipleship needs our church.
In the past two weeks, we’ve reviewed the results and noted important trends, and I’d like to share some of it with you.
Topics and Types
In terms of the kinds of questions we asked, they’re made up of various topics and types. The four topics were 1) Worship and Community; 2) Suffering and Faith; 3) Evangelism and Giving; or 4) Bible and Obedience. They were presented in three types: 1) Personal Assessment; 2) Doctrinal Conviction; or 3) Observable Practice.
For example, Question 3 was: “I believe the Bible has authority over every area of my life.” That question is in the topic of “Bible and Obedience,” and it’s a “Doctrinal Conviction” type. The idea is to help us affirm our foundational belief in the Bible’s authority.
Compare this to another “Bible and Obedience” question, Question 8: “When I face important decisions in my life, I go to the Bible for wisdom and guidance.” This question is a
“Personal Assessment” type, which is more practical. How do we perceive ourselves when it comes to applying what we believe?
You can probably see how Questions 3 and 8 relate. If we believe in the Bible’s authority over every area of our lives, you would think we would consult the Bible for wisdom and guidance when facing important decisions. Reality is, though, we don’t always do that. And we know we don’t. We scored 98% on Question 3, but only 78% in Question 8. You could say we’re A+ when it comes to doctrine here, but C+ when it comes to practice. And here’s the thing: a major part of sanctification, of growing in our faith, is closing these kinds of gaps. But we can’t close any gaps unless we know they exist.
Highest and Lowest
The scale ranged from 0% (Rarely True) to 50% (Sometimes True) to 100% (Always True). Each of the questions were asked positively, with means the higher the percentage signifies a higher affirmation.
The highest scores:
98% — I believe that only those who trust in Jesus Christ will be saved
98% — I believe the Bible is the written Word of God and is true in all that it teaches.
93% — I make attending worship with God’s people on Sundays a high priority.
90% — I embrace the vision of our church to make disciples and plant churches
The lowest scores:
35% — I invite my non-Christian friends to our Sunday morning services
55% — I intentionally spend time building friendships with non-Christians for the purpose of sharing Jesus with them.
65% — I regularly serve on Sunday mornings (childcare, hospitality, music, etc.)
71% — If someone was able to view my spending habits, they would see a life of generous giving and sacrificial living.
Overall, by category:
Worship and Community — 85%
Suffering and Faith — 89%
Evangelism and Giving — 71%
Bible and Obedience — 87%
Areas of Growth
According to the results, the biggest area of growth (and the biggest gap) was in the category of Evangelism and Giving. For example, we “always” believe that Jesus is the only way to be saved (98%), but we only “sometimes” build relationships in order to share the gospel (55%). The lowest score of all was about inviting non-Christians to our worship services (35%). This was also the lowest score in 2019, right beside the second lowest score on, again, building relationships with non-Christians. In fact, these scores were slightly lower this year than they were two years ago.
There’s no doubt that the pandemic has not helped us here. We have been a church that needed to grow in evangelism, and the last two years have presented tremendous challenges to evangelism specifically. The pandemic has not been easy for any relationships, especially not for starting new relationships, and especially not relationships with those who see the world differently. And when it comes to inviting others to church services on Sundays … it’s been amazing any of us have been together on Sundays!
This is just reality, and I believe recognizing this can help us prepare well for 2022. We need to grow in building relationships with non-Christians, and sharing the gospel, and welcoming others. And we need to know that circumstances will almost never make this easy. But are we called to easy? This comes back to one of the last things I said in the Membership Meeting this past Sunday.
Paul’s dream for the church is that we “strive side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). That is our “progress and joy in the faith.” It’s that we’re struggling, wrestling, laboring together as a church, to have more of Jesus together and for others to have more of him through us. Which is not easy. It is not comfortable. But it is joyful. And it’s what we’re here for.
If we wait around for circumstances to make this happen, it won’t. We have to take the next step anyway, and I believe 2022 is the year when we do, anyway. And this is something on our hearts as a pastoral team. Coming off our Advent sermon series, richly focused on Jesus, and now in Galatians, all about boasting only in the cross, we are praying and laboring to lead us into the greener pastures of Jesus’s glory. The more we are satisfied in him, how can we not invite others into the joy? There are some discipleship initiatives on the horizon that are meant to help us here. As for Sunday morning services, I can promise you, on behalf of the pastors, that we will do our best to always make the gospel clear. Together, each week, we will remember Jesus (2 Timothy 2:8), and we will invite unbelievers to trust him.
Cities Church, I love you so much. I am convinced, in God’s grace, that the best is yet to come. Our most fruitful days are ahead of us, and one day — get this: one day we will see Jesus face to face.
In hope,
Pastor Jonathan
