Frequently Asked Questions
The Church Assessment Tool© is an 85 question, online assessment of a congregation that is
completed by members of a church. It generates a report called Vital Signs©.
Using the Church Assessment Tool© is like taking your church to a doctor, a travel agent, and a tailor.
It gives leaders a read-out on the health of the church, a sense of where members think the church
should head in the future, and a description of the church as a unique body of people.
Churches find the information provided by the Church Assessment Tool© to be helpful whenever
important decisions need to be made. This includes strategic planning, succession planning, preparing
for a pastoral search, organizational development and staffing, deciding about merging churches or
multi-site options, planning for a stewardship or capital campaign, and helping a new pastor understand
where to start.
Churches also use the Church Assessment Tool© to measure progress or just to get a check-up on how
the church is doing.
Leaders, like everyone else, tend to talk with a relatively small number of people. It can be difficult for
them to have a comprehensive understanding of how the entire body is doing. When someone comes to
them with a problem and concludes with “And I’m not the only one who feels this way,” the leader is left
wondering, “How many people do feel this way?”
In fact, many people find a survey to be very personal because it asks them their personal perspective
on a number of topics that they are rarely asked about. What is certain is that the Church Assessment
Tool© is impartial. Because the results are completely confidential, it does not matter whether a person
is talkative or shy, young or old, a recent member or a longtime member. Their views are equally
respected. And it allows the entire congregation the opportunity to speak in to the process of change.
No, we can’t. What we can do is ask members to bear witness to what they are experiencing in the
church. If a large number of its members are bearing witness to a sense of meaning and purpose, to
positive relationships, and to an experience of the presence of God then we can conclude from their
testimony that the church is vital and healthy.
In the 15th century the church adopted the new technology of the printing press as a means of
communicating more effectively with people. Technology now allows us to be more effective in listening
to people.
All data is captured electronically. For those without computer access we provide a PDF file of the
survey that can be used to create print copies that members can complete and return to the church
where a trusted person can go online and input their data.
Information from the Vital Signs© report is just one component of a discernment process. Leaders
must also include prayer, Scripture, and tradition. However, leaders cannot help their members move in
a new direction if they do not know where their members are. When I call someone to ask for directions,
the first question they will ask me is “Where are you now?” If I don’t know, they can’t help me. It is a
cardinal rule of spiritual leadership: You cannot help a person or group of persons move to a new place if
you do not start with where they are. The Church Assessment Tool© helps leaders know where their
members are.
The Church Assessment Tool© has a track record over 25 years with hundreds of churches. HC!C
has developed customizations for the Church Assessment Tool© for churches doing succession
planning, strategic planning, pastoral search, and organizational effectiveness work. It can also be
adapted to multi-site contexts. Large or small, complex or simple, the CAT is an exceptional tool and
resource.
Yes, the church can add up to five of its own questions at no additional fee. There are additional
supplemental modules available at no cost as well. You can add free text questions or we can help you
design questions with forced choice responses. The instrument offers a lot of flexibility. We recommend
keeping the total survey to around 100 questions.
All members and affiliates who live “in-town”, have been active within the past year, who are able to
physically and emotionally cope with the survey, and are 16 years of age or older.
After working with you to gather your input on customizations, we create the survey for the church and
send the web link to the church contact person. This link is then sent out by the church via email to
congregants. The church may also choose to create a button on the church homepage or host a
separate page of the church website which members can click to take the assessment.
In addition to weekend announcements, a full set of instructions is provided for the church including
sample announcements. Members can be notified by mail or email and given information about how to
take the survey.
Generally, churches give their members about two full weeks to take the survey, including three
weekends.
We will generally receive the report from HC!C within 72 hours after the close of the survey. We will
conduct an analysis of the results as we prepare your debrief. Two to three days prior to your scheduled
debrief, the report will be emailed to the contact individual who will distribute it to debrief meeting participants.
The Vital Signs© report contains a number of sections including key indicators, a map of overall health
and vitality, drivers of satisfaction, critical success factors, as well as priorities and future goals.
Additionally, the report contains descriptive indices on theological perspective and flexibility, and
performance indices on hospitality, morale, conflict, governance, spiritual vitality, education, readiness for
ministry, and worship. There is a financial profile and a clergy profile sent confidentially to the pastor.
Depending upon the particular situation and assessment customizations, there may also be data from
supplemental questions or modules such as a transition profile, a strategic planning profile, a
stewardship profile, and communication and/or discipleship flow profile. The responses to all the
supplemental questions developed by your church leadership are tabulated and displayed too.
The Vital Signs© report contains narrative, numerical, and graphic information that make it as easy to
understand as possible. However, it does require trained interpretation. NL Moore & Associates has
trained interpreters who will come and meet with you to provide a full and complete debrief of your report
data to church leaders. We recommend a date for interpretation be set at the same time the window of
dates is selected in which the survey will be open to congregants.
The cost is scaled for the size of the church as measured by average Sunday (or weekend)
attendance. NL Moore & Associates is able to share those costs with you based upon your church
attendance.
Once you are ready to get started, we recommend that the church appoint a liaison for the
assessment process. A meeting with your NL Moore & Associates consultant will be scheduled to talk
through your options and walk you through the process of customization. All customizations must be
delivered back to your consultant a minimum of 5 working days prior to the launch of the assessment. It
is important to talk with your consultant about the 3 weekend dates you would like to have the CAT
survey up and running as well as the debrief date. Determine your open date and close date. In general,
please allow yourselves 10 days to 2 weeks to determine your customizations and to prepare the
congregation for participation.
NL Moore & Associates will handle registration and provide you with communication templates that can
be tailored to your congregation. A survey template will be created for your review prior to the launch.
Once approved the link will “go live.” Each Friday you will receive a participation update via email, and
our team is ready to answer any questions you may have throughout the process.