Somewhere along the line doctors realized that one of the best ways to prevent serious illness was to have health checkups. These routine doctor visits can have a dramatic impact in diagnosing and preventing health crises.
We in the church who are leaders of leaders also need to have a checkup mechanism, a way in which we can monitor the spiritual health of those leaders we oversee and care for. One excellent way to provide checkups is through surveys. When done well, a spiritual health survey can give you the information you need to respond promptly to any serious issue in a leader’s life or ministry.
Asking the Right Questions Is Critical
Busy leaders are, well, busy. The greatest survey in the world is useless if it is not taken seriously or, worse, ignored. For good results, make sure you focus on getting the right information succinctly. I like to divide a spiritual health survey into five key sections:
(Note: Download a free sample of a spiritual health survey—Small Group Leader Health Survey)
1. Checking the Tanks
If you’ve ever gone on a road trip, you know it’s important to have your car tuned up before you leave. Yet a perfectly tuned car is useless if it has an empty gas tank. Without fuel you can’t go anywhere. Critical to any spiritual health survey is a check of the tanks—the God tank and the body tank, specifically.
I learned early on that not all issues that create unhealthy leaders are spiritual in origin. Some of us make the mistake of forgetting to ask about purely physical challenges. The first two questions ought to be focused on these issues: 1) how is your walk with God? and 2) how is your physical health?
As I refined the process myself, I found it wise to give my leaders a little guidance with these questions. I used the illustration of a gas tank. Were they running on “full” or “empty” or somewhere in between? Instead of simply asking, “Are you spiritually healthy?” frame this survey question in a manner which requires a scaled response. This gives leaders the opportunity to rate themselves accordingly, and the response takes little time.
Keys to Remember:
- Start the survey with a question or two focused on the God tank and the body tank.
- Let respondents assess these areas on a scale (e.g., from one to five).
2. Space to Share Personally
The ministry leaders you oversee are used to asking the people in their ministries to share their burdens and struggles. But seldom is the question turned back on them. As the leader of these leaders, you should give them time to share their own personal struggles and prayer requests. Stress to your leaders that these need not be ministry related, although they certainly can be. The point is for them to have space to share any concerns, challenges, joys, or dreams that they have—as ordinary people, not as one of your small group leaders or Sunday school teachers. Let them be themselves.
Keys to Remember:
- This question should focus in on the individual as a person, not as a leader. What are the joys and challenges facing them?
- This question should give respondents the opportunity to share openly. I have found that the best way to frame this question is by asking for three particular items of joy or concern that they would like prayer for.
3. Space to Share as Ministry Leaders
What are the joys and struggles of your leaders when it comes to the ministries they oversee? Make sure you give them the chance both to vent and celebrate. This is a great time for them to let off a little steam, ask for prayer, or share a victory they have recently seen in ministry. Once you’ve given them time to be themselves, they will want to share with you as the leaders they rightfully are.
Keys to Remember:
- This question should focus in on the respondent’s role as leader of a ministry. What are the joys and challenges facing him or her?
- This question should give respondents opportunity to share openly. I have found the best way to frame this question is by asking for three particular items of joy or concern that they would like prayer for.
4. Space to Communicate
Communication is different from sharing. Sharing delivers privileged information; communication delivers required information. But while the two are different, they are also complementary. In the hectic schedule of ministry, I would often just ask for the essentials from my ministry leaders: How many are attending your small group? Are there any newcomers?
Yet even though these questions were important, I would get a lackluster response. This was because my leaders wanted to share more than they wanted to communicate. Once they are given a chance to share (both personally and as ministry leaders), they are more willing to communicate the essential information you’re looking for.
This part of your spiritual health survey can probe the health of participants within the ministry. Ask your leaders if there are issues in their ministries that need pastoral, staff, or ministry leader intervention or follow-up.
Also, this is a great time to ask if there have been any significant spiritual breakthroughs in their group, such as conversions or rededications. At first glance this information may seem strange on a spiritual health survey, but it can help you track the productiveness of your spiritual leader. Is your ministry leader producing good fruit or bad? So, for example, if you discover someone’s ministry has a lack of attendees, you might want to follow up and learn more. Asking for details like these tells your leaders that you are concerned both with celebrating the fruit and with watching for things that may be hindering your leaders from more effective ministry.
Keys to Remember:
- Depending on the type of leader you’re surveying, topics to ask about might be: number of regular participants, new attendees, conversions, rededications, or people served; issues that need pastoral follow-up; frequency or length of meetings; and the apparent spiritual vibrancy of the leader’s team or ministry constituency.
- Many of these questions are best framed for a yes/no or quantity answer, with room to offer explanation if required.
5. Space to be Free
Give your leaders space where they can have the freedom to share anything and everything that may be on their mind. Leave the door open for them to ask you questions, provide any other information they think you might need, or maybe just say thanks for listening.
Keys to Remember:
- This section should be an open space to allow your leaders to communicate anything of concern.
- This question is best left as open ended and optional.
Providing the Right Follow-up Is Essential
Starting a spiritual health survey takes time because you are creating a new culture of care. But if, as you distribute these surveys, you also follow up conscientiously, your leaders will take notice and become more willing to put time and effort into their responses. Here are some suggestions for providing good follow-up.
Always respond to a completed health survey. Whether it’s via email or a phone call, always take the time to respond to individuals who complete a survey for you. One of the biggest mistakes we can make as leaders of other leaders is to treat this survey as raw data. It is more than just data; it is the heart of your leader. When responding, use personal words that reflect the fact that you have reviewed their survey. Instead of saying, “I will be praying for you, Susan,” try, “I know raising a teenager can be difficult, Susan. I will be praying for Tony as he works through the disappointment of not making the basketball team.”
Define your yellow flags and follow up appropriately. As I said earlier, I used the illustration of a gas tank with my leaders when it came to spiritual and emotional health. Whenever a leader indicated that they were empty or somewhat empty on either scale, I would immediately call them and make an appointment at their earliest convenience to connect. I never found someone to be unwilling to meet; in fact, it was often a relief for them to meet and share their problems. In this way I was able to help those who were in danger of burnout or spiritual indiscretion. You have to decide what constitutes a warning sign within your survey and how you will follow up with those signs when they arise. Then be consistent.
Include your leaders in your follow-up. You may be surprised at how many of your leaders will identify an issue that needs staff or ministry leader intervention. As you address these issues, take the time to include the leader in your follow-up process. If something needs to be looked at, and your leader wants to join you, bring him or her along. At the very least, keep your leaders informed of how you are following up on their concerns. This shows them that you are actively responding to their requests and will build their trust.
Getting Started
Timing your health surveys well is as important as choosing to start using them. I recommend that you send out a survey to your leaders no more than once a month. As you begin to incorporate these surveys into your culture of care, it is wise to build a regular pattern.
Then you need to develop a spiritual health survey that fits your specific needs. As you begin to think through this, consider three different methods for using surveys:
A Church-Made, Hard-Copy Survey
The easiest way to get started with surveys is to develop your own on your computer. In this way you can expend little time and energy and come up with a great survey. Think through some appropriate questions, write them down on a standardized form, and begin to circulate them among your leaders. The hardest part of this method is collecting, retaining, and analyzing your data. This will all need to be done by hand and, depending on the number of leaders you have, can become labor intensive.
Email is quicker and more cost effective than working with actual hard copies. It also makes it easier to collect the surveys, but you still have to deal with retaining and analyzing the data you receive.
A Third-Party Application
I recommend using a third-party application. This can bring a variety of added features. Many applications allow you to require answers to certain survey questions, so you don’t have to deal with empty answer fields. Furthermore, you can often analyze the data you receive with the click of a button.
One note of caution, though: you get what you pay for. Although several survey providers will let you use their application for free, spending a small amount of money for a premium account is often well worth it. Of the three suggested providers below, I found Constant Contact to be the best for spiritual health surveys. But take a look at each and find the one that best suits the needs of your leaders:
Constant Contact: Lets you send both emails and surveys. The average monthly rate to use this service is $20, with discounts if paid annually.
Survey Monkey: Offers only surveys, but does so excellently. You can use their service for free, but to have better access, expect to pay about $17 a month on an annual basis.
Zoomerang: Also offers survey services free of charge. To use their premium services, it will cost you $200 annually (just under $17 a month).
— Steve Grusendorf is a pastor and author; he hosts a regular blog at http://martyrpriest.com.
© 2010 Christianity Today/BuildingChurchLeaders.com or the author
