Thank you to everyone who completed the congregational survey for the Strategic Plan Team. We set a goal of 85, which felt ambitious given our recent experience with surveys, and 96 of you completed the survey. Great job!
The team will have more to report about this soon, but I want to focus on a few things that caught my attention. You may remember the first question about your overall satisfaction with the church. According to our consultant, the average for Lutheran churches is that about 30% of respondents answer with a 9 or a 10, making them “promoters.” About 15% of respondents answer with a 1-6, making them “detractors.” The other 55% mark 7 or 8 and are classified as “neutral.” In our survey, 66% of respondents came out as “promoters,” and only 3% were “detractors.” I don’t say this to diminish anyone’s dissatisfaction, but that is an impressive degree of energy and positivity for our congregation, and it says to me that the kinds of very negative behaviors that make church life difficult for some people are comparatively rare here.
A third of respondents were between 18 and 55, a healthy number for a Lutheran church. Over a third of our respondents have been members of CLC for five years or less, which is also unusually high for a Lutheran church and suggests real resiliency during and after COVID.
There is much more in the survey, some suggesting real challenges we will face together. You’ll be hearing more about all of it soon. But for now, I want to acknowledge that good and uplifting news about churches is rare today, and I am thankful that our community is, in the words of our consultant, “bucking the trends.” Thank you for your commitment, faithfulness, and continuing support for our life and mission.
See you in church!
Pastor Ben
The team will have more to report about this soon, but I want to focus on a few things that caught my attention. You may remember the first question about your overall satisfaction with the church. According to our consultant, the average for Lutheran churches is that about 30% of respondents answer with a 9 or a 10, making them “promoters.” About 15% of respondents answer with a 1-6, making them “detractors.” The other 55% mark 7 or 8 and are classified as “neutral.” In our survey, 66% of respondents came out as “promoters,” and only 3% were “detractors.” I don’t say this to diminish anyone’s dissatisfaction, but that is an impressive degree of energy and positivity for our congregation, and it says to me that the kinds of very negative behaviors that make church life difficult for some people are comparatively rare here.
A third of respondents were between 18 and 55, a healthy number for a Lutheran church. Over a third of our respondents have been members of CLC for five years or less, which is also unusually high for a Lutheran church and suggests real resiliency during and after COVID.
There is much more in the survey, some suggesting real challenges we will face together. You’ll be hearing more about all of it soon. But for now, I want to acknowledge that good and uplifting news about churches is rare today, and I am thankful that our community is, in the words of our consultant, “bucking the trends.” Thank you for your commitment, faithfulness, and continuing support for our life and mission.
See you in church!
Pastor Ben
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