Total Church Systems

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The Relationship of the Total Church Diagram (TCD) and the Church Vitality Survey (CVS)

 

As we noted in the prior chapter, every question on the Church Vitality Survey (CVS) relates to one or more areas of the TCD. Figure 5 gives a brief overview of where the questions from the CVS apply to the TCD.

I.  Understanding the relationship between the questions on the CVS and the 12 Areas of the TCD:

Figure 3-1: Relationship Between the TCD and the CVS

Figure 3-1: Relationship Between the TCD and the CVS

  1. There are 41 questions of the CVS. (See Appendix 1 – The Church Vitality Survey)
  2. A total of 32 of these questions are to be answered by everyone in the church.
  3. There are 9 questions to be answered by the head of household or someone who is representing the head of the household because that person is not taking the survey.
  4. To save space, we have abbreviated the questions to (VS) for Vitality Survey.
  5. The 2nd question on the CVS will be identified as VS 2, the 3rd question as VS 3, etc.
  6. For example, Area 4, Conversion Growth Ministries, shows VS 4 – 10, 14, 19, etc. This means that CVS questions 4 thru 10 all have a significant effect on Area 4. The same is true for questions 14. 19 – 24, 26, 29 – 31 and 33 – 36.
  7. Because the mission of every Christian church should be to “Go and Make Disciples” for the Lord Jesus Christ, we should have a keen interest in everything that is relevant to converting people to faith in Jesus Christ.
  8. Thus, at least 20 of the questions on the CVS have a significant impact on Area 4.
  9. The other 3 Areas of Ministry also have a significant number of CVS questions. (Area 5 = 14, Area 6 = 15, Area 7 = 19).
  10. Area 2, Members and Participants, also has a large number of questions that effect it. (19)
  11. The other Groups, Areas 8 – 12, have significantly fewer questions from the CVS. (Area 8 = 4, Area 9 = 4, Area 10 = 6, Area 11 = 5, Area 12 = 10)
  12. The reason there is less emphasis on Groups is because the primary purpose of the CVS is to assess the spiritual vitality of the members and Participants, not the effectiveness or efficiency of the various Groups that are used to facilitate ministries in the church.
  13. Areas 1 and 3 each have just 1 question that applies. This is because these Areas require a great deal of research outside of the local church in order to gather the needed data. And, in some cases, it is impossible for us to gather because it has to do with forces that cannot be measured or even identified. (Example, the influence of God, Satan and other spiritual beings).
  14. Note: We do have additional Surveys that are intended to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the various Groups and programs of the local churches. The data from these Surveys can be combined with the CVS to form a much more complete picture of a local church.

II. A Brief Explanation of Available Reports. (Refer to Appendix 2 – Church Vitality Survey Selected Data Report)

  1. The basic report will show a summary of how each person taking the survey answered each question.
  2. We can summarize their answers with data tables showing percentages and statistical data.
  3. We can display the answers charts. We have a choice of Bar Charts, Line Charts, Pie Charts and Radial Charts.
  4. We can also create cross tabulations between any two questions on the survey.
  5. We can create numerical profiles for each of the 12 Areas of the Total Church Diagram. Then we can display the results with tables and the 4 different types of charts shown above.
  6. We can create numerical profiles for two or more Areas of the Total Church Diagram. Then we can display the results with tables and the 4 different types of charts shown above.
  7. We can create a filter that will only summarize the data from persons who answered certain questions with specific responses.

III. Understanding the Use of Profiles.

  1. Profiles enable us to combine relevant CVS questions from 1 or more Areas of the TCD.
  2. We can create a Profile of all of the questions that affect Area 4, Conversion Growth.
  3. We can even create a more comprehensive Profile where we combine questions from 2 areas.
  4. For example, note “VS Profile 45 – External Growth” that is shown on Figure 3 -1.
  5. It combines the questions from Area 4 (Conversion Growth) and Area 5 (Transfer Growth) to provide a more comprehensive overview of everything that is relevant to the growth of the church from External sources. “VS Profile 67” does the same thing with Internal Growth.
  6. “VS Profile 46, Certainty of Salvation” combines questions from Area 4 and 6 to give a more comprehensive understanding of where constituents are on a continuum that starts with a basic understanding of salvation, Christology and then moves on to spiritual maturity.
  7. “VS Profile 4567, Ideal Christian” combines all of the questions from the CVS that identify what most church leaders would accept as the “Ideal church member or Christian”.
  8. We can create many other Profiles in addition to these we have identified.

IV. Understanding the Use of Cross Tabulations:

  1. We can also get additional insights from comparing the way the entire church answered any 2 questions on the CVS.
  2. We might want to see the relationship between the answers to CVS Question 10 compared to CVS Question 11.
  3. CVS Q 10 asks them if they believe they are going to heaven when they die and why they believe this. The best answer is that they know they are going to heaven and they believe it is because they are trusting Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.
  4. CVS Q 11 asks them whether or not they agree with the statement that Jesus was an ordinary human being who sinned like every other human being. The best answer is that they strongly disagree with this statement.
  5. Orthodox Christians believe that Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man and that he lived a sinless life while He was on the earth. This was necessary in order for Him to become the sacrificial substitute for all other human beings who are sinners.
  6. Therefore, if there is no correlation between those who give the best answer to Q 10 and those who give the best answer for Q 11, then we have to ask if those who think they are going to heaven and trusting Jesus may not really know the Jesus of the Bible.

V. Understanding the use of Report Filters:

  1. Report Filters are another helpful analysis tool available to us.
  2. With this tool, we can use the responses of those taking the survey to create separate reports based on how particular questions were answered.
  3. We can also create a report showing how all churches in a certain area have answered the survey.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3