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 7 Ways to Rate Your ChurchHow to measure your church's ministry.
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I was impressed. I found that church attractive—truly others-centered. 3. Understandable terminologyHealthy churches tend to speak in terms everyone can understand. They make an effort to translate religious terminology into everyday language rather than to repeat clichés and jargon that constantly remind insiders they are insiders. An insider knows that a revival is a series of weekday and weekend religious services, but an outsider might never guess. "Passing the peace" is a common part of many liturgies but sounds a lot like asking for more pizza at the dinner table. "The ushers will wait on us for the offering" could mean that they aren't going to let anyone out until we all put something in. The most alienating lingo is abbreviations: BYO may mean "Baptist Youth Organization" to church members but "Bring Your Own" beverages (or booze) to everyone else. Blessed are those churches where everyone can understand what is being communicated! 4. People who look like meAs soon as most of us enter a room, we look around to see what everyone looks like. Our level of comfort can be high or low depending on how quickly we find someone else who looks like us. In a room full of women, a man thinks, I'm in the wrong place. In a church where all the people up front are men, women wonder if they are welcome. In a gathering where everyone is young and casually dressed, the older person in a business suit feels out of place. When everyone else is white, the person of color notices. That can be hard to change. If everyone in the church is old, younger people are less likely to come. The church that wants to be integrated may have a challenge getting started. Yet, it is amazing how even the smallest symbols can make an impact. Seeing one person who looks and dresses "like me" up on the platform or ushering or pictured in church publicity can communicate an open and inviting atmosphere. 5. Healthy problem handlingYou can often tell more about a church by the way it handles problems than by the way it handles success. This makes for an easy measure because every church has problems. What happens when the sound system emits a squeal or drops into embarrassing silence? How does the preacher respond to the howling two-year-old? Do nursery workers apologize or become defensive when they can't find your baby's diaper bag? When the church is running behind budget, is there a denunciation for undergiving or a challenge to prayer and generosity? What makes a healthy church is not the absence of problems. It's how problems are handled. 6. AccessibilityEvery Saturday the Minneapolis Star Tribune reviews a local church, and every review evaluates whether the church building is handicapped accessible and whether there is adequate parking. |             | |||||||||||||||||||
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