DEMOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT

Transcription

1 DEMOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT Final Report 41 Stevens St. P.O. Box 325 E. Taunton MA cccfamily.com By Dr. Chet Ainsworth VitalChurch Diagnostic Team Lead Analyst with Rochelle Ainsworth (M.A. Ed.) vitalchurchministry.org ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 1

2 VitalChurch is a US-based Church Resource Ministry (CRM) sub-team that fuels missional momentum in churches and their leaders through bringing restoration to churches in transition by returning churches and leaders to a place of intimacy with God, community with each other, and missional ministry. Church Resource Ministries (CRM) empowers leaders to revitalize the impact of the Church, take new ground beyond the reach of the Church, and bring transformation among the poor, so that communities are transformed and disciples are made among the nations. VitalChurch accomplishes strategic and effective ministry through three divisions: 1. Church Diagnostics (Gregg Caruso, VitalChurch Partner and Diagnostics Team Leader) 2. Intentional Interim Pastorates (Dave Miles, VitalChurch Partner and Executive Director) 3. Pastoral Coaching (Dave Brooks, VitalChurch Partner and Pastoral Coaching Team Leader) 4. CEO Mike Merwin VitalChurch Office: (314) Admin Assistant: Laurel Schumacher vitalchurchministry.org ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 2

3 I. Introduction Table of Contents How to Make the Most of This Report... 5 A Biblical Basis for Ministry Assessment... 5 The Diagnostic Team... 6 II. Executive Summary Definition of Terms... 6 Introduction/Overview... 7 Findings from the Survey... 7 Strengths to Build On Critical Issues with Recommendations Page Overview of Core Issues & Recommendations III. Appendices Database with Initial Analysis Section 1: Who Are We? (Internal Demographic Data) Age Generational Groups Average Tenure Normal Tenure Development Gender Relational Status Membership Demographic Summary Section 2: Shared Pilgrimages Years a Christian Status When You Came Historic Church Backgrounds What Keeps You Coming Miles to Church Came as a Christian/Rate of Adult Evangelism Influenced to Attend Shared Pilgrimage Summary Section 3: Ministry Potential Missionality Non-church Attending Friends Close Church Friends Church Involvements Who Attends Each Service Why Not Small Groups Confident to Share the Gospel ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 3

4 Spiritually Growing Regular Financial Contributions Welcome and Include Visitors Interrelatedness Conclusions on Ministry Potential Section 4: Quality of Fellowship Belonging and Acceptance CCC Data Factors that Influence Acceptance and Belonging Conclusions from Quality of Fellowship Section 5: Looking at Relational Gender Differences at CCC Differences in Gender Expectations Differences in Experienced Acceptance and Belonging Summary of Findings Strategy to Change Relational Culture Section 6: Other Questions CCC a Safe Place to Share What is Going On in Your Life Current Feelings about CCC Vision, Plans, and Goals CCC s Potential for Growth Summary Section 7: Theology Understanding of the gospel Assurance of salvation Evangelistic mandate Section 8: Full SWOT Analysis Section 9: The High Expectation Church Model ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 4

5 I. INTRODUCTION HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THIS REPORT This ministry assessment report will be a mirror back to the church reflecting what the people at Christ Community Church (hereafter CCC) have said. The report is organized in three sections: 1. Begin in this Introduction by reading the biblical basis for ministry assessment. These are for both personal and corporate consideration. 2. Next, read the Executive Summary, which is the heart of the report and identifies the key strengths CCC can build on as well as highlighting strategic conclusions with specific recommendations made in response to the issues discerned from the survey. This section brings up issues of both concern and opportunity and also offers practical recommendations for addressing the highlighted issues. Taking these recommendations to heart will assist both leaders and congregants of CCC to make the most of this transition season. 3. Then, study the Database with Analysis section. Charts and graphs tell some of the story of your church. As mentioned above, they mirror the responses you gave in the initial data collection. This database and analysis section will help you better understand core issues and recommendations. Each section of the Database with Analysis has a summary. A BIBLICAL BASIS FOR MINISTRY ASSESSMENT If Jesus visited your church, how would He evaluate CCC? If Jesus took five minutes to speak to you, what might He say? These are sobering questions for any church. They are questions that you would do well to consider. When Jesus addressed the seven churches in the book of Revelation, He spoke both affirmation and rebuke. The objective of this report is similar. 1 Timothy 4:15-16 (NASB) is one passage of Scripture that provides a biblical reference point for this assessment. The Apostle Paul, as a father in the faith, is instructing young Pastor Timothy in pastoral responsibilities by saying: Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. --1 Tim. 4:15-16 ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 5

6 These two verses offer a context for ministry evaluation. Note that the stated goal is not perfection, but progress (v.15) and that consistent and thorough evaluation of yourselves and your message leads to a furtherance of the gospel (v.16). This process requires courage because you must be willing to consider and confront the facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. THE DIAGNOSTIC TEAM Two individuals were responsible for the preparation of this report. Dr. Chet Ainsworth (M.Div., D.Min.) VitalChurch Lead Analyst, Diagnostic Team. Chet is married to Rochelle and lives in Mountain Center CA. Chet has a D.Min. in Church Growth. He is a Senior Birkman Consultant, coaching ministry teams and individuals as well as helping pastoral search teams make good choices. Chet specializes in diagnostic analysis with the VitalChurch team. Rochelle Ainsworth, (M.A. Ed.) VitalChurch Editor and Collaborator. Rochelle is married to Chet and serves as editor/collaborator for Chet s projects. Rochelle is a retired educator and has Advanced Birkman Certification doing church leader individual coaching, and team building with her husband. II. CCC EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Definition of Terms Vital and Recurring Terms in this report include: New Attenders: those who have attended this church for five years or less Intermediate Attenders: those who have attended this church more than five years, but less than 20 years Pioneers: those who have attended this church for 20 years or more Teens: people less than 20 years of age Millennials: people who are currently years of age Gen-X: people who are currently years of age Boomers: people who are currently years of age Silents: people who are currently Seniors between 72 and 92 years of age Note: Most of the analysis and graphics in this report were generated in Excel. Excel tends to remember the numbers before they were rounded off. As such, occasionally the total of the numbers in the graph can vary slightly by plus or minus 1%. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 6

7 B. Overview/Introduction Two hundred seventy-six (276) people participated in the survey that is the basis of this report. Given the actual number of people who consider CCC their church, this is a limited sample especially since nothing was in place to ensure that this was a representative sample. However, it is a big enough sample to do a reasonable job of detecting trends at CCC. The report will tell what the survey says. The assumption is that this data will be useful to the leaders at CCC and, if some items are truly not representative of the whole church, local leaders will be able to make appropriate adjustments. Christ Community Church is in many ways an exceptional church. Its size alone makes it exceptional. That the church has had periods of exceptional growth makes it exceptional. That it has twice run smack into a brick wall and survived makes it exceptional. This report is limited in its scope. The report addresses two issues: Who is coming? and How are we connected? CCC already has Gregg Caruso as its intentional interim. A number of issues will be addressed by his presence. There is already a recognition that CCC needs to redefine its vision, plans, and goals. It is already recognized that church leadership needs training and better job descriptions. A Transition Leadership Team is already in place. This report will not attempt to address the vision and leadership issues. One of the specific goals is to determine what needs to be done to strengthen the small group program at the church. A number of specific goals for improving small groups is included in this report. What follows is a concise list of the findings of the survey. C: The Findings from the Survey Interpretative Note: The role of the executive summary is to present the objective findings from the survey analysis as a basis for making the recommendations. In the case of CCC, it is also important to understand the appropriate church model that actually seems to be operating in the church. CCC seems to fit what Lyle Schaller calls a high expectation church. This differs significantly from most churches that Schaller would call low expectation churches. This church model is helpful because it provides the framework for understanding why CCC has been effective in reaching such a diversity of people. Section 9: of the Appendix (at the end of this report) examines this model. Attraction: Who Is Coming? CCC s attraction model is continuing to attract people even without a senior pastor. CCC attracts people who expect to do something because of their faith. They want to be part ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 7

8 of something significant for the Kingdom of God. Only eight percent (8%) of current attenders cite that they primarily come to CCC because it is the right thing to do. Fortytwo percent (42%) of current attenders have started attending in the past five years. Of those who took the survey, 8% of survey participants have begun attending in the past year. CCC is continuing to attract people even while not having a senior pastor in place. It does need to be recognized that CCC has historically reached those that are now Boomers most effectively. Almost half of all current attenders (46%) are Boomers. Another third (32%) are Gen Xers. The remaining 22% are divided between Millennials (12%) and 5% each Teens and Silents. There is evidence that CCC is not doing as good of job reaching Millennials as it has the next higher age groups. The current trend of New Attenders is slightly modifying the historical make-up of the church. The largest number of New Attenders are Gen Xers (40%), though Boomers (37%) are not far behind. Most of the rest are Millennials at 15%. Therefore, we are beginning to see a shift toward those with somewhat lower ages. If we look specifically at what groups are actually changing in size, we see additional trends. Two groups are increasing in proportional size. Both Millennials and Gen Xers are made up of 52% New Attenders. Over half of them have started in the past five years. The criterion for growth is 40% or more of New Attenders (the number generally needed for a group to add more than it typically loses over the same time period). By the 40% New Attender criterion, both the Boomers (34%) and the Silents (21%) are losing ground. CCC is increasingly reaching younger adults better than it has historically done. That pattern needs to be supported and encouraged. However, there are two red flags in this picture. One involves the Millennials and the other involves the Boomers. Both will be discussed in the Four Red Flags section that follows. How are We Connected? The second goal of this report is to look at how CCCers are connected. They are connected in many excellent ways. One of the most amazing ways, given the diversity of religious backgrounds at CCC, is that attenders have a common understanding of basic Biblical theology, especially the Gospel. Another outstanding connection is the quality of fellowship among the men that is exceptional. Also, the church is united around the idea that being a Christian means doing something for the kingdom of God. That 14% are directly involved in outreach programs is truly amazing. The outreach is unusually good. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 8

9 The church is reaching people of all age groups for Christ. The church is made up of new, middle, and long-term Christians who are making the journey of the Christian life together. There is a reasonable level of participation in small groups. The list goes on and on. A good listing of what connects the people of CCC is found in the strengths section of the SWOT. However, related to goal of how CCCers are connected is the question: How can CCC be better connected? What are the bottlenecks that keep CCC from being all that it can and should be? Four major issues (red flags) show up in the survey data. All involve quality of fellowship. It is important to understand what quality of fellowship involves. It is best explained at the beginning of Section 4: Quality of Fellowship. In briefest terms, quality of fellowship is a measure of the degree that a church provides a family-like relationship for its members. Lyle Schaller uses the words acceptance and belonging to describe it. Four Yellow Flags: Connectedness Issues Overall, CCCers desire a slightly below average level of acceptance and belonging (45%ile) compared to other churches (50%ile) where VitalChurch has been. However, the desire for acceptance and belonging in the church is not uniform across either the tenure or the generational groups at CCC. Tenure groups range from very low for Pioneers to slightly above average for Intermediates as a group. The Millennials (and Teens) want to experience a very high level of acceptance and belonging (94%ile). At the other end, Boomers clearly want a much more limited degree of interpersonal involvement at 19%ile. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 9

10 (1) The first yellow flag involves the Millennials. Millennials are known for their relational-ness. They expect to share what is going on in their lives in ways that older generations find hard to believe. The problem is that most Millennials are not finding the CCC organizational structures to provide the close relational support that they feel they need. They are considerably disappointed in the quality of fellowship that they are experiencing (two thirds of the available scale lower than what they said they wanted). If CCC expects to reach this age group effectively, adjustments need to be made to remedy this situation so that Millennials feel fully supported and become more involved in the church. A helpful book about Millennials is The Millennials, Connecting to America s Largest Generation. 1 Interpretative Note: Millennials at CCC present a very complex picture. There seems to be three distinct groups of them. New Attending Millennials who participate in small groups are satisfied with their relational experience at CCC, but those who don t participate are dissatisfied. There is a very small group of Pioneer Millennials whose relational expectations and experiences are average and who are satisfied with their relational experience. The third group is made of all Intermediate Millennials and New Attending Millennials who do not participate in small groups. This group is extremely disappointed with the relationships that they are experiencing at CCC to the point of crisis. This is also the most diverse group with mostly female members and many of the women are never unmarried. (2) The second yellow flag involves the Boomers. The Boomers as a group do not prioritize personal involvements and most are, for the most part, satisfied with limited interpersonal relationships. The situation is actually more complicated than this and is discussed at length in Section 5. However, it is a fair statement to say that Boomers as a group have gotten into a long term, deep rut of minimizing interpersonal relationships. There are Boomers who want to be relational, but are not getting their way. This resistance to being relational creates a problem. Future potential Boomer attenders will want to find a meaningful level of relational support at CCC that does currently exist in their age group. In all probability, this is the reason that the Boomers only have 34% New Attenders. (3) The third yellow flag is a product of CCC s interrelatedness. CCC is 38% interrelated. Often this level of relatedness will turn a church into an effective clan from the perspective of newcomers and tends to make non-related people feel left out. People 1 Thom S. Rainer and Jess W. Rainer (Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 2011), 288 pages. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 10

11 with relatives in the church tend to not need other relationships in the church to the same degree as those without family. Those with family in the church often do not make the effort to effectively include new people who lack family. Data in the survey clearly shows that interrelatedness is having a negative effect on those who lack family in the church, especially New Attenders. New Attenders with family in the church tend to find the level of acceptance and belonging that they desire while those without family in the church are significantly disappointed (disappointment gap of 33%ile). Newcomers to CCC without family need a higher level of support when they first come to CCC until they are fully assimilated. (4) Yellow Flag number four involves the women of CCC. CCC presents the unusual situation in that men and women start with the same expectations regarding acceptance and belonging but experience totally different outcomes. Men, as a group, are experiencing an exceptional quality of fellowship while women, as a group, are significantly disappointed in the quality of fellowship they are experiencing. There are two groups of women that need to be considered. The first is the New Attending women of all generations who come with high hopes of finding a family-like set of relationships. In general, the Intermediate women (those attending more than 5 years) are used to a much lower level of interpersonal involvement. The interaction between these two groups leads to disappointment when New Attending women discover the low quality of fellowship being offered by more tenured women. Currently, there is a serious mismatch of expectations between the two groups. The second group of women to be considered are the Intermediates, themselves. Even though they have lower expectations, they are significantly disappointed in the quality of fellowship that they are experiencing. Intermediate Gen Xer women idealize a 19%ile level of relationships, but only experience a 6%ile level (less than a third of what they said they wanted). Intermediate Boomer women idealize a 25%ile level of relationships, but are only experiencing a 4%ile level (less than a fifth of what they said they wanted). The data strongly suggests that even Intermediate women are ready for a change. Two variables seem to be present in the current relational disappointment of women. One is small groups. Participation in small groups is a major positive factor, except for Boomer women. Boomer women do not seem to benefit significantly from their participation in small groups. The reason is unknown. The second factor is the degree that women feel safe to share what is going on in their lives. Surprisingly, it is New Attending women who feel most safe in sharing. As a group, ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 11

12 Gen Xer women feel safe to share. However, Intermediate Millennial and Boomer women feel less safe in doing this kind of sharing. One has to ask why so many women who have attended the church for years feel like that they cannot share what is going on in their lives. There is a serious potential for changing the quality of fellowship of women at CCC. Virtually all New Attending women would be pleased. Almost half of Intermediate women would be pleased. It is time for women who want meaningful relationship to push for what they want and overcome the rutted, low expectations of the past. An Opportunity Sixty-five percent (65%) of New Attenders come from non-evangelical backgrounds. Most of these people have never experienced true Christian fellowship. CCC has a unique opportunity to show these people the benefits of being part of the supportive family of God. One of the goals of this survey was to find ways to increase involvement in small groups. The red flags section has defined a number of focuses that would be helpful in accomplishing that end. Evangelism and Outreach In some ways, looking at evangelism and outreach belongs in the who CCC is reaching section. However, even at CCC, most people are coming from some variety of church backgrounds. What is distinct about CCC is that reaching people through evangelism is exceptionally high and, for that reason, it deserves separate consideration. Evangelism is clearly an area where CCC shines. Among those who took the survey, 14% are products of the evangelism effort of CCC. Ten percent of current attenders have been Christians five years or less. At CCC, there is an amazing mixture of new, medium, and long-term Christians. The following graph shows excellent results are across the board. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 12

13 The graph above is fully explained in the report. Our current focus is on the bottom line of the graph, the rate of evangelism. Fourteen percent of New Attenders are new Christians. Twelve percent of Millennials are also products of CCC s evangelistic efforts, though not necessarily in the past five years. All groups except Silents show a substantial rate of evangelism. Perhaps the most exciting part of the evangelism picture at CCC is the presence of a substantial group (14%) that are active in outreach Mid-city and other. CCCers are active in their outreach efforts and the results are evident. However, at the same time, CCCers seem to be weak on inviting people to their church. At least 66% to 90% of visitors to the church should be coming because of being invited by church people or because of some relational reason. The actual rate among those who have been attending five years or less is 40%. CCCers need to be encouraged to invite people to their church. It needs to be said that CCCers are good at welcoming new people (79%). New Attenders agree that they were well-welcomed (80%). The level of welcoming is good, but effective assimilation is weak especially among those without family in the church. Other evidences of the evangelistic activity include the kinds of people that CCC is reaching. Twenty-four percent (24%) of New Attenders report that they were not attending any church when they came to CCC. Some of this group are new converts and some are recovered former church attenders. Both are important. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 13

14 It is significant that the largest group of New Attenders come from Catholic backgrounds (35%). Other Protestant (18%), or even No church background (10%) shows that significant new Christian commitments are very common at CCC. Sixty-five percent (65%) of New Attenders come from non-evangelical backgrounds. Given this diversity of backgrounds, it is amazing the consistent level of evangelical understanding of what being a Biblical Christian means. Ninety-five percent of current attenders know that salvation is the gift of God by faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Ninety-four percent have assurance of salvation. Ninety-nine percent understand that a Christian has a responsibility to share their faith. An amazing 84% of current attenders feel confident to share their faith with non-christians. New Attenders show an amazing degree of understanding and acceptance of the gospel message that CCC is offering to its area of ministry. Finally, 90% of New Attenders say they are growing in their faith. The high expectation model is working well. People are getting the message clearly and are being transformed by it. Vision Defining the Goals and Objectives If CCC is a high expectation church, the vision, plans, and goals are more important than ever. Many low expectation churches are content with being the people of God with ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 14

15 almost no action requirement. Not so at CCC. CCC needs to very specifically know its objectives and know how to measure progress towards accomplishing its goals. Without defined goals to be accomplished, CCCers are going to be bored and will waste away. Of first importance, well-define goals must be set before the people. CCCers want and expect to be challenged to do something for their faith. This expectation is what most people who come to CCC find attractive. C. CCC STRENGTHS TO BUILD ON: Strengths 1. Generations a. 46% Boomers b. 32% Gen Xers c. 12% Millennials d. 5% Silents 2. Excellent Tenure Analysis a. 42% New Attenders b. 49% Intermediates c. 10% Pioneers 3. CCC has continued to attract new people even between pastors (23 survey participants started attending in the past year) 4. New Attender Pattern a. 40% Gen Xers b. 37% Boomers c. 15% Millennials d. 3% Silents 5. Proportional Growth (% of increase of New Attenders) a. 52% Millennials b. 52% Gen Xers c. 34% Boomers (Boomers are largest, but not doing best in attracting and assimilating newcomers) d. 21% Silents (low growth group) 6. Wide variety of historic church backgrounds being reached a. Catholic 39% Overall; 35% New Attenders b. Evangelical (Bible-centered) 28% overall; 30% New Attenders c. Other Protestant 20% overall; 18% New Attenders ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 15

16 d. No church background 6% overall; 10% New Attenders e. Pentecostal/Charismatic 5% overall; 6% New Attenders 7. Status when people came to CCC a. Other local churches 57% overall; 53% New Attenders b. Did not attend any church 22% overall; 24% New Attenders c. Moved into the area 18% overall; 22% New Attenders d. Began attending with parents 3% overall; 1% New Attenders 8. Relational Status a. 76% Currently married b. 12% Never married (long term group over half have attended 5+ yrs) c. 8% Divorced (long term group over half have attended 5+ yrs) d. 3% Widowed e. 1% Separated 9. Many New Christians (11% of current attenders less than 5 years) 10. What keeps people coming to CCC a. Good balance between sermons (38%) and relationships (34%) b. 14% supporting in-church ministries c. 8% right thing to do (usually low) d. 4% music e. 1% supporting outside church ministries (those involved in outreach seem to have picked either sermons or relationships) 11. Good rate of adult evangelism 13% Overall a. 14% New Attenders b. 10% Intermediates c. 26% Pioneers d. 12% Millennials e. 13% Gen Xers f. 13% Boomers 12. Three worship services and live stream video of service 13. Fair level of participation in small groups (54%) for a large church a. 46% New Attenders ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 16

17 b. 60% Intermediates c. 56% Pioneers d. 58% Millennials e. 49% Gen Xers f. 56% Boomers g. 79% Silents 14. Assets for Evangelism and Inclusion a. 14% involved in Outreach Ministry (really good) b. 84% confident to share their faith (high) c. 79% say CCC welcomes newcomers (New Attenders rate this at 80%) d. 79% growing spiritually % contribute financially on a regular basis to support CCC 16. Reasonable Acceptance and Belonging overall (some problems with specific groups) a. 45%ile idealized/wanted level of acceptance and belonging (good for a large church) b. 37%ile experienced acceptance and belonging c. 8%ile disappointment gap acceptable during pastoral transition 17. Good understanding of basic theology a. 95% understanding of the gospel b. 94% assurance of salvation c. 99% imperative to share faith 18. CCC perceived positively a. 88% Say CCC has a good potential for growth b. People feel good about their church (63%) D. Critical Issues: Recruitment/Assimilation/Quality of Fellowship Within the defined scope of this report, all weaknesses fall under the headings of attraction and assimilation/quality of fellowship. All recommendations will fall under these headings. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 17

18 Attraction CCC is continuing to attract new attenders even though the church is between pastors. Eight percent (8%) of current attenders have started attending CCC in the past year. Forty-two percent (42%) have started within the past five years. Two weaknesses in recruitment warrant attention: failure to reach Millennials and the slowdown in reaching Boomers. Issue 1: Historically, CCC has done best in reaching those who are now Boomers and secondarily Gen Xers. The church has been chronically weak in reaching young adults Millennials who currently only make up 12% of current attenders. At present, the rate of reaching Millennials is increasing. However, it is apparent from the data that programs at CCC are not currently meeting the felt needs of Millennials. Recommendation 1: Have appropriate church leaders look into what can be done to better attract and meet the needs of Millennials. This effort should include reading The Millennials. 2 Focus groups/forums with Millennials would be helpful to find out what is missing or not helpful in the CCC approach to ministry to this age group. Issue 2: CCC has historically reached those who are currently Boomers best (46% of current attenders). However, the proportion of New Attending Boomers being reached is second lowest of the generation groups behind only Silents at 34%. This not a high enough rate for the group to be growing in size (growth requires 40% rate of New Attenders). One of the probable causes for this low rate of additions is low priority that Boomers put on quality of fellowship. A specific factor that needs to be addressed is that especially among Boomer women, small groups are not producing acceptance and belonging that participation should. There are probably other factors, but this one can be addressed. Recommendation 2: Have appropriate church leaders look into what can be done to better attract and meet the needs of new Boomers. Fifty-six percent of Boomers participate in small groups (overall average at CCC is 54%). The addressable issues include rate of participation but more importantly how the small groups are run. The small groups that Boomers tend to participate in seem to have a weak relational focus. Perhaps some new groups or retraining of leaders may be needed. Issue 3: Finally, CCCers seem to be weak on actually inviting people to their church. 2 Thom S. Rainer and Jess W. Rainer, The Millennials, Connecting to America s Largest Generation (Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 2011), 288 pages. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 18

19 According to well-known church consultant Lyle Schaller, 66% to 90% of new attenders should be coming for a relational reason. Only 40% of New Attenders cited a relational reason for giving CCC a try. Recommendation 3: Various communication sources at CCC including from the platform during worship services need to encourage CCCers to invite their friends and relatives to give CCC at try. People should be invited to all kinds of activites, not just the worship service. Assimilation/Quality of Fellowship There is a close relationship between assimilation and quality of fellowship. Often assimilation is best facilitated or prevented by the quality of fellowship a person experiences in the church. Quality of fellowship often involves participation in small groups but can be facilitated by a number of activities in which relationships are facilitated. One of the goals of this diagnostic was to look at ways to improve the participation and effectiveness of small groups at CCC. The data reveals numerous needs in this area. Issue 4: CCC is 38% interrelated. That is almost twice the percentage (20% is criterion) that it is expected that will interfere with the inclusion of newcomers. It is demonstrable that interrelatedness is interfering with New Attenders feeling included. This is probably a hospitality issue as well as a small group issue. Recommendation 4: Have those in charge of hospitality become aware the people coming to the church that do not have family in the church and provide the extra care needed in finding appropriate involvements in the church. This may be a factor in suggesting what small groups might be most appropriate based on a person s relatedness status. Issue 5: For whatever reason(s), women as a group are highly disappointed in their relational experience at CCC. They are experiencing fully a third (33%) of the scale less of acceptance and belonging that they said they wanted while men report experiencing an exceptional quality of fellowship. Several problems seem to be contributing. As is typical, New Attenders come hoping to find a high quality of fellowship, but they are not finding it within CCC family. The historic normal held primarily by Intermediate women for fellowship at CCC is much lower that what the New Attenders are hoping to find. This is the biggest and most significant source of relational unhappiness with the women of CCC the disappointment of the New Attenders. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 19

20 However, even those women who are used to a lower level of acceptance and belonging are also disappointed in the quality of fellowship that they are experiencing. For some, but not all generational groups of women, participation in small groups makes a significant difference. Especially for Intermediate Boomer women, small groups are not making the difference in quality of fellowship that they should make. The way small groups are run for Boomer women needs a complete overhaul since both New Attending and Intermediates Boomer ladies are dissatisfied with current results. Recommendation 5: Assign a group of leaders to identify and suggest remedies for whatever the issues that are currently causing women at CCC this level of relational disappointment including retooling the small group program to have a more relational focus especially for women. Issue 6: The data from the survey suggests that meeting the relational needs of CCC participants has not been a priority. A number of other segments of CCC were examined for their effectiveness in providing acceptance and belonging to its participants. Never marrieds come to CCC hoping to find a family-like acceptance (67%ile) but are not finding it (40%ile disappointment gap). Divorcees have lower expectations than Never marrieds but are also significantly disappointed (20%ile disappointment gap) in what they are experiencing. Much the same can be said for those involved in the Recovery Program (idealized level of 45%ile with a disappointment gap of 33%ile). Those involved in outreach want/idealize a much higher than average level of acceptance and belonging (73%ile). They are experiencing a higher that average level of quality of fellowship (53%ile) but 20%ile less than what they wanted. Recommendation 6: Leaders at CCC need to recognize that quality of fellowship is weak at CCC in many areas. One of the focuses that need to be maintained in improving quality of fellowship in as many areas as possible. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 20

21 One Page Overview This scope of this report is limited to who is coming to CCC and their involvements at the church. As such, the findings and recommendations will involve the areas of attraction and quality of fellowship/assimilation. Issue 1: Historically CCC has been weak in attracting Millennials. While CCC is doing better in this area, it is apparent that the high relational needs of Millennials are not being met by current church programing including small groups. Recommendation 1: Have appropriate church leaders look into what can be done to better attract and meet the needs of Millennials. Issue 2: Reaching Boomers has been the historic strength of CCC, but the current rate of New Attenders is less than it has been and less than is needed for growth. The most apparent issue is the very low relational focus among Boomers and the current ineffectiveness of small groups in producing an effective quality of fellowship. Recommendation 2: Have appropriate church leaders look into what can be done to better attract and meet the needs of Boomers currently attending CCC as well as those who will begin attending in the future. Issue 3: CCCers are weak in inviting people to their church. Only 40% of New Attenders gave a relational reason for deciding to give CCC a try. Recommendation 3: Various communication sources at CCC including from the platform during worship services need to encourage CCCers to invite their friends and relatives to give CCC at try. Issue 4: CCC is 38% interrelated. It is demonstrable that interrelatedness is interfering with New Attenders feeling included. This is probably a hospitality issue as well as a small group issue. Recommendation 4: Have those in charge of hospitality become aware the people coming to the church that do not have family in the church need extra care in finding appropriate involvements in the church. Interrelatedness could be a factor in encouraging what small groups people should be encouraged to join. Issue 5: Women as a group at CCC are significantly disappointed in their relational experience. New Attending women want a high level of acceptance and belonging while most Intermediate women excluding Millennials are accustomed to a much lower level of acceptance and belonging. However, even those women who are used to lower acceptance and belonging are currently disappointed in their relational experiences. Identifying the problems that are causing most women to be relational disappointed at CCC needs to be seriously addressed. Recommendation 5: Assign a group of leaders, probably women, to identify and suggest remedies for whatever the issues that are currently causing women at CCC this level of relational disappointment. Issue 6: A number of identifiable groups within CCC where people in those categories are not experiencing the level of acceptance and belonging that they desire including never marrieds, divorcees, recovery participants, and those involved in outreach. Recommendation 6: Leaders at CCC need to recognize that quality of fellowship is weak at the church in many areas. One of the focuses that need to be maintained in improving quality of fellowship in as many areas as possible. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 21

22 III. APPENDICES Database with Initial Analysis Section 1: Who Are We? (Internal Demographics) Demographics will focus on the internal characteristics at CCC. Two concepts are introduced in this section and will be used throughout this report. First, generations will be used to identify age groups. Secondly, the concept of tenure analysis will be often employed. Both will be explained in this section. Q: What is the year of your birth? The average age of a survey participant is 51.0 years of age. New Attenders are the youngest group at Intermediates are a bit older at Pioneers who are considerably the smallest of the three tenure groups average The median age that divides the group into two equally numbered groups is 53. Closely related to this first question is a second question: Q: Mark the group in which your birth year appears After 1997 All New Inter Pi Average Age The ages of survey participants will be addressed in terms of the sociological generations that they represent. Typically, in a diagnostic like this, it is common to divide people into different age groups based upon some criteria. One can use decadal ages which has the advantage of being easy to understand, but seems to assume that the only difference between people is how many years they have accumulated. Sociologists tend to prefer dividing people into generational groups and identify the events that have shaped each group of people, focusing on the values that shaped their responses to the world in which ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 22

23 they were raised. Doing this does help to understand the characteristics of the various groups at CCC. This graph shows the number of people in each generation that participated in the survey. No one who participated in the survey marked the option, the G I Generation. Even though we will usually move from younger to older in our analysis, it is easier to understand the generations in order of their development. Here is a paragraph about each generation represented at CCC. Silents (Seniors 72-92) The oldest generation that is represented at CCC is the Silent Generation. They are currently Seniors between 72 and 92 years of age. They grew up experiencing direct effects or aftereffects of WWII that in many cases meant living without things. As a group, they are conservative and big on family values. A fitting motto for this group is Waste not, want not. They tend to work within institutions often having worked at a single job for their whole careers. They are survivors, and they value their independence and privacy. They would rather tough it out than complain. They are often reluctant to share what is going on in their personal lives making participation in small groups more difficult for them. Most of this group is now retired. Boomers 1946 to 1964 (53-71 years old) (Empty-nesters) The Boomers were made up of the flood of children that came after World War II. They grew up with television. They are known for being hard workers. They are optimistic and believe they can change things. Historically, they believed that they were right about ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 23

24 many things and were as anti-establishment as the Silents had been pro-establishment. They have mellowed somewhat in their old age. This generation was known for protests and sit-ins in their earlier days. Boomers are the can-do generation. The term workaholics was created to describe them. They are beginning to retire. Gen Xers 1965 to 1979 (38 to 52 years of age) (Middle Adults) The high wave of births that created the Boomers ended in 1965 leading to the smallest of modern generations. This generation is less optimistic. Their world was different to them than to the Boomers or Silents. Their divorce rate was/is the highest among recent generations and latch key kids became common as both parents tended to work. Jobs for them were far less secure than they had been for earlier generations with job changes coming often. Most institutions such as the government (Watergate) and even the church (moral failure in both the Catholic and Protestant churches) failed to live up to expectations. Corporate scandals were common. This generation does not approach life with the same confidence as the Boomers. This generation has been described as cynical, but self-sufficient. Millennials (20 to 37 years of age) (Young Adults) Millennials are today s young adults and younger. This generation (as defined by birth rate) is actually slightly larger than the Boomers. They have grown up with technology computers, cell phones, internet as well as tablets and smart phones. Many do not think that life exists without social media. This generation wants open, constant communication (think social media). They share the intimate details of what is going on in their lives to a degree that amazes/shocks people of earlier generations. Another surprise is that they want people to hold them accountable. The communication style of the Millennials is a wonder to people of older generations. The Millennials are the most educated generation ever, but have been hit the hardest by what some are calling the Great Recession. Many have college degrees but cannot find the jobs for which they are trained. This is also the generation that the church has the hardest time reaching. Reaching Millennials or even keeping the ones raised in the church requires significant adjustments. Teens (less than 20) Technically, Millennials can be as young as 18 as defined by birth rate. Considering an 18- year old in the same group as 37 years old makes little sense. For purposes of this survey, those less than 20 years of age who took the survey will be called Teens. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 24

25 A person s generation does affect how they see life and what they perceive as their options. Silents will want to work within structures and feel strongly about traditional family values that they tend to see as being largely lost. Boomers are comfortable creating new structures and work from the perspective that they can successfully change things. Gen Xers have far less confidence in their ability to change things and have not found jobs, marriage, or institutions to be reliable. Millennials are even more unique with their focus on technology and communication. However, the work place has not been kind to many of them. Many are off to a rough start as young adults. Finding good jobs has been hard for them. Here are the relative sizes of the generations at CCC: Q: How many years have you attended THIS church? This question introduces Tenure Analysis. Tenure in this context is the amount of time a person has attended this church. Looking how long people have been part of the church is actually one of the most powerful diagnostic tools available to us. Average Tenure The average time a survey participant has attended CCC is 8.4 years. The ideal range for this statistic is 10 to 12 years. CCC actually has the lowest average tenure that VitalChurch has seen among churches over 20 years old, which is a good thing. The factors that make average tenure low is that relatively few current attenders have attended the church more than 20 years and the number of people who have attended the church five years or less is unusually high. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 25

26 Churches that have an average tenure near 10 years or less are usually growing. When the average tenure passes 15 years, they are rarely growing. The average attendee tenure of church with which VitalChurch has worked is about 13 years. An average tenure of 8.4 years is a very positive measure for CCC. Normal Tenure Development Churches tend to take on certain characteristics as they get older. By the time a church reaches 20 years old, certain identifiable groups emerge. By the 20-year point, a group of people who have attended for many years, who have sacrificed to help the church succeed and who are proud of the church s heritage emerge. This group usually sets the standards for the church and often makes up much of the church s leadership. This group we call the Pioneers. In most churches, the Pioneers have a very high level of influence and control over what happens in the church. Another identifiable group is the New Attendees who have attended the church five or less years. Research shows that those who begin to attend a church will often take up to five years to become fully involved in the church. They have new people to meet and relationships to form as well as finding appropriate involvements and places of service. This group is considerably the most fragile in the church. Studies have shown that in many cases one-half to two thirds of those who begin attending a church will be gone by the end of five years. The most common issue cited is failure to find acceptance and belonging in the church they are attending. The acceptance process can be accelerated if those New Attendees are either well-churched, knowing what to expect, or if they are relatives of those who already attend the church. The in-between group is called the Intermediate Attendees. In churches 25 years or older, the New Attendees are those who have attended for five years or less. Pioneers are those who have attended 20 years or more. Therefore, Intermediates have attended the church for 6 to 19 years. Intermediates have developed relationships in the church, found appropriate involvements, and are involved in places of service. They have found their place; they belong. They are aware that they are not Pioneers not yet. The size of the Intermediate group is an important variable in understanding the church. A large intermediate group suggests that people who begin to attend the church tend to stay. A small intermediate group suggests that either new people are not getting their needs met and are not staying, or that there has been some trauma in the church. If the Intermediate group is small, it is important to find out why. Interpretative Note: This is one of the places where CCC changes the normal rules. At CCC, the Pioneer group is very small and the Intermediate Attender group is very large. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 26

27 Most of the normal expectations of the Pioneer group are best accredited to the Intermediate groups at CCC. Tenure Analysis is based on comparing the sizes and perspectives of these three groups. This graph shows the sizes of the three tenure groups. Again, the interpretation based on the sizes of the groups is very positive. Here are the normal parameters for evaluating this data. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 27

28 That CCC has 42% New Attenders is very positive. This number tells us that CCC is having a large number of new people coming to the church. That 49% are Intermediate Attenders tells us that most people who begin attending tend to continue attending. The Pioneer group at CCC is very small and, as we shall see, often has a different perspective than the rest of the church. With the two tools, generations and tenure analysis, we are ready to begin to look at the people attending CCC. Tenure/Generational Pattern Teens Mills Gen Xers Boomers Silents Total New Inter Pi's Totals This first graph shows the actual numbers of people in each tenure/generational group who took the survey. The next three graphs are based on this data taken from different perspectives. No participants were from the G I Generation (93+ years of age). The next graph converts the previous graph into percentages based on a total of 276 participants. Tenure/Generational Pattern Teens Mills Gen Xers Boomers Silents Total New 2% 6% 17% 16% 1% 42% Inter 3% 4% 14% 23% 4% 49% Pi's 0% 1% 1% 7% 0% 10% Totals 5% 12% 32% 46% 5% 100% All white squares total 100% +/-1% A number of important things can be learned from the graph above. The graph shows the relative sizes of each generational group. Boomers are the largest group and make up almost half of current attenders (46%) Gen Xers make up almost a third of current attenders at 32% Millennials make up 12% of current attenders. Teens and Silents have 5% each The small number of Millennials should be a concern. Millennials are the hardest group for the modern church to reach. CCC has been weak in reaching this demographic, but, as we shall see, the church is currently improving in this area. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 28

29 The relative size of each tenure groups is also revealed: New Attenders (those who have attended CCC five years or less) 42% Intermediate Attenders (those who have attended CCC more than 5 years but less than 20 years) 49% Pioneers (20+ years) 10% This is exceptionally low, but at CCC those who qualify for this group have experienced a very different CCC than the CCC of more recent history. Forty-two percent (42%) of New Attenders is exceptional for a church that is between pastors. CCC has hardly broken stride during this interim period. Twenty-three individuals (over 8% of the 276 participants) reported having begun attending in the past year. Make-Up Of Each Tenure Group Teens Mills Gen Xers Boomers Silents Total New 5% 15% 40% 37% 3% 100% Inter 6% 9% 30% 48% 7% 100% Pi's 0% 15% 11% 70% 4% 100% Each row totals 100% The graph above looks at the make-up of each tenure group. The New Attender row shows the generational distribution of those who have been added to CCC in the past five years. CCC has done the best job of attracting Gen Xers with 46 individuals or 40% of the New Attenders. Almost as many Boomers joined with 43 or 37% of New Attenders. Fifteen percent New Attenders are Millennials. The Intermediate group is almost half Boomers (48%) and almost a third Gen Xers (30%). The Millennials are a smaller presence at 9%. The Pioneers are almost three-fourths Boomers (70%). Fifteen percent (15%) of Pioneers are Millennials. Teens Mills Gen Xers Boomers Silents New 43% 52% 52% 34% 21% Inter 57% 36% 45% 51% 71% Pi's 0% 12% 3% 15% 7% Totals 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Each column totals 100% +/-1% This final graph in this series shows the tenure distribution of each generational group. If we look at the New Attender row, we can see the percentage of each group that is made up of New Attenders. The criterion for adding enough New Attenders to be a growing ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 29

30 group is 40%. Compared to this criterion, both the Millennials (52%) and the Gen Xers (52%) are growing. This criterion also identifies the groups who are doing the best to include and assimilate members of their generational group. The Millennials and Gen Xers are both including new people well. Both Boomers and Silents are below the 40% criterion. Even though Boomers are the largest group in the church, they are not adding to their group in proportion to the Millennials and Boomers. While we want to applaud progress attracting younger attenders, CCC should continue to attract Boomers. Q: What is your gender? If the data is correct, CCC does a better job of attracting women than men. Consider the following graph: Overall, CCC has 62% women and 38% men. One wishes that mostly women completed the survey and the men let them failing to do so themselves. However, since the pattern is consistent across all age groups, one must conclude that there are more women than men at CCC. One factor is that never marrieds and divorced in the church tend to be women. Q: What is your current relational status? The next two graphs look at the relational status of CCC attenders. The first graph is the actual numbers from the survey in each group. The second graph shows percentages. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 30

31 All New Inter Pi Mills Xers Bmers Silents Married Never Married Divorced Separated Widowed Totals Observations: All New Inter Pi Mills Xers Bmers Silents Married 76% 71% 78% 85% 58% 88% 80% 86% Never Married 12% 15% 12% 4% 36% 7% 2% 0% Divorced 8% 9% 7% 7% 3% 3% 13% 7% Separated 1% 3% 0% 0% 3% 1% 1% 0% Widowed 3% 3% 2% 4% 0% 1% 4% 7% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Columns total 100% +/-1% 1. Like most American churches, CCC appeals mostly to married people. 2. CCC has a sizeable group of never married, around 12%. Of the 34 individuals who took the survey and identified as being never married, 24 are women. Twelve (12) are Millennials 36% of Millennials. Never marrieds are evenly divided between New and Intermediate Attenders. This is a long-term group with half having attended the church more than five years. 3. CCC has 8% divorced which like never marrieds is almost evenly divided between New and Intermediate Attenders. Their uniqueness is that most of them are Boomers. Of the 22 individuals who participated in the survey in this category, 20 are women. This is also a long-term group with more than half having attended the church more than five years. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 31

32 Q: Are you a member of this church (done what is necessary to be a member), a regular attender (this is the church you attend), or a visitor (attended here once or a few times)? Overall, most people (74%) who attend CCC eventually become members doing what is required to become members. New Attenders are over half members (58%). Intermediates are 82% members. Pioneers are almost all members (96%). In most churches with this pattern, membership is considered a measure of commitment. It probably is true at CCC. Demographic Summary The average age of an attender at CCC is 51.0 years which is consistent with most current attenders being either Boomers (46%) or Gen Xers (32%). Twelve percent (12%) are Millennials with five percent (5%) each of Silents and Teens. Gen Xers (40%) and Boomers (37%) are attracting the largest number of New Attenders, but Millennials and Gen Xers are showing the greatest proportional increase. The tenure analysis of CCC is excellent with 42% New Attenders, 49% Intermediates, and 10% Pioneers. CCC is attracting many new people and people who begin to attend the church are tending to stay. CCC seems to be attracting women (62%) more than men (38%). This tendency is partially explained by never marrieds and divorcees who attend CCC and who are predominately women. Most people who attend CCC are married (76%). This is true for most groups at CCC except for Millennials who are 36% never married. Overall, never marrieds make up ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 32

33 12% of current attenders. Divorced make up 8% of current attenders with the majority of them being Boomers. Both never marrieds and divorced are at least half made up of Intermediate Attenders. Most people who attend CCC eventually do what is necessary to become members (74%). Membership tends to be interpreted as a level of commitment. Section 2: Shared Pilgrimage This section develops a profile of the cumulative spiritual experiences of the people in the church. In some ways, this section is the most diagnostic. The patterns revealed in this section define how well the church is functioning. Q: How many years have you been a Christian? The next graph tells us about the people CCC is reaching for Christ. The rows tell how many years that Christians in each generation have been Christians. In the first row (0-1), a total of four people have been Christians for a year or less. One is a Teen and three are Gen Xers making up 1% of current attenders. Evangelism in the past year seems to have been weaker than normal for CCC. Years A Christian Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Totals % % % % % % % % % Totals % % New Christians 21% 15% 13% 9% 0% The next line (2-5) is much more encouraging. Twenty-seven people or 10% of current attenders have been Christians two to five years. Eleven are Boomers, nine are Gen Xers, and five are Millennials. Thus, 31 people qualify as new Christians (five years or less). ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 33

34 Compared to other churches where VitalChurch has been, this is an excellent number of new Christians. Not all are necessarily products of CCC ministry, but we will look at this question later. The bottom row (shaded in blue) is the percentage of new Christians (0-5 years) in each generational group. Teens are the highest with 21%. Millennials have 15%. Gen Xers have 13%. Boomers drop to 9%. CCC is reaching some younger new Christians as well as older ones. Far better than most churches, CCC has a mixture of new, medium, and long-term Christians. Many churches have mostly people who have been Christians for a very long time with very few new Christians. Q: What was your status when you began attending this church? It is important to understand the four categories. All four groups define the status of persons when they came to CCC. Some began attending with their parents as children. Overall, 3% of current attenders fit into this category. Some responders indicated that they moved into the area. These people moved to the area and decided to give CCC a try. For the most part, these people are coming from other churches in other non-adjacent communities. Twenty-two percent (22%) of New Attenders came by this means and 18% overall. Reaching new people coming into the East Taunton area is the second most important source of newcomers currently. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 34

35 Another category of transfer growth is transferred from another church in the community. These people are from other churches in your community or close by. Historically, this has been the largest source of new people at CCC at 57% overall and 53% among New Attenders. The majority of CCC attendees have come from other local churches. The most interesting group from a diagnostic perspective is the Not attending any church group. Two groups of people fit in this category. People are either new converts or are people who have drifted away from the church but have now returned (recovery of previously churched). At CCC 24% of New Attenders fit this category and 22% overall. This is an unusually good percentage. In other questions, we will be able to determine how many are new believers and how many are recovered church attenders. Q: What is your historic family church background? Both overall (39%) and in the past five years (35%), the biggest source of newcomers at CCC are persons from Catholic backgrounds. The second largest source is from Evangelical church at 28% overall and 30% New Attenders. Other Protestants include mostly Mainline Churches. This group is the source for 18% New Attenders and 20% overall. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 35

36 Ten percent (10%) of New Attenders had no church background and six percent (6%) overall. Compared to most churches, reaching 10% that have no church background is excellent. The smallest measured group are Pentecostal/Charismatics at six percent (6%) for New Attenders and five percent (5%) overall. CCC reaches people from a wide variety of church backgrounds. However, the reality is that most of the people CCC reaches do have church backgrounds but not necessarily evangelical church backgrounds. The most impressive statistic is that 65% of New Attenders come from non-evangelical backgrounds. Q: What keeps you coming to this church? All New Inter Pi's Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Sermons 38% 50% 29% 26% 14% 21% 35% 48% 29% Relationships (including small groups and family) 34% 23% 37% 63% 29% 45% 31% 29% 71% Music 4% 3% 14% 4% 7% 9% 9% 9% 0% Right Thing To Do 8% 3% 14% 4% 7% 9% 9% 9% 0% Supporting In-church Ministries 14% 16% 15% 7% 36% 21% 18% 10% 0% Supporting outside church ministries 1% 3% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 1% 0% In most churches, there is generally close to a tie between sermons and relationships. CCC is no exception with sermons at 38% and relationships at 34%. One of the normal strengths of a larger church is having an exceptional pulpiteer. One of the normal weakness of a larger church is that they enjoy the exceptional sermons but often do not build strong relationships between attenders. CCC seems to have threaded the needle doing well in both areas. One possible red flag is that New Attenders seem to be slow in developing relationships, but we will examine that question in later questions. Several other observations seem appropriate. Seeing who is involved in supporting inchurch ministries is always interesting. The Millennials, Gen Xers, and New Attenders are very involved. The seeming support of outside church ministries seems low, but that could be because those persons involved in these ministries picked sermons or relationships as most important. In a later question, 40 people report being involved in outreach ministries. Probably, the most significant observation is that CCC attracts relatively few people who come because it is the right thing to do bordering on religious duty allowing CCC to be an activist church. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 36

37 Q: Approximately how many miles away do you live from the church building? 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Miles To Church All 4% 31% 29% 27% 9% New 4% 32% 28% 31% 4% Average attender travels 9.2 miles Average New Attender travels 9.0 miles 64% travel less than 10 miles If a larger church has exceptional programs, a great preacher, or other assets not available at smaller churches, people are willing to travel farther to participate. The average for churches where VitalChurch has been is seven miles. When the distance goes over 10 miles, getting people to participate in multiple actives can become more difficult. There is little evidence in the data to suggest that distance to church is a negative factor at CCC. Q: Were you a Christian when you first attended this church or its activities? All New Inter Pi's Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Yes 78% 78% 83% 56% 57% 73% 81% 78% 100% No 15% 14% 12% 37% 29% 27% 13% 13% 0% I was a new Christian 4% 5% 3% 0% 0% 0% 3% 6% 0% Not sure 3% 3% 2% 7% 14% 0% 2% 3% 0% Given that over half of current attenders as well as New Attenders come from nonevangelical backgrounds, this could be a hard question for some to answer. However, the question still gets at an important point. Seventy-eight percent overall say they came (as a) Christian, leaving 22% acknowledging a significant change in their faith since coming to CCC. Since, in an earlier question, all survey participants claim now to be Christians (none were still seeking ), one can say with reasonable confidence that most of the 15% who made commitments to Christ since coming to CCC did so through some contact with CCC. Another 4% were new ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 37

38 Christians when they came to CCC. Three percent (3%) are not sure at what point they made that commitment, but they have made that commitment. Compared to other churches where VitalChurch has been, this level of new commitments is exceptional. The next graph refines this data to another level. All New Inter Pi's Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents No Came with Parents Net Conversions Rate of evangelism 13% 14% 10% 26% 21% 12% 13% 13% 0% No comes from the previous graph saying that they were not Christians when they began attending CCC except that the actual numbers are used instead of percentages. Came with Parents are those who reported that they were not yet Christians when they came with their parents but have since made their commitment of faith. Net Conversions are those who reported that they were not Christians when they came and did not fit into the Came with parents category. Net Conversions is a reflection of evangelistic activity on the part of CCC to those outside the church family. What this graph shows is that 13% of current attenders track their current Christian status to CCC and its activities. Compared to other churches where VitalChurch has been, this is a high rate. Among New Attenders, the rate is 14%. What is exciting is that the rate remains consistently high across all generational groups with the exception of Silents. The rate of evangelism among Millennials comes out lower than expected because five of them said that they came with their parents before they were Christians and have since made their commitments to Christ. In mission circles, children raised in the church are considered biological growth. Certainly, children raised in the church need to follow in the faith, but they do have an inside track. The rate of evangelism is intended to reflect evangelistic activities that reach beyond the church family. Interpretative Note: This section mostly focuses on adult evangelism. Evangelism in the children and youth department may not be reflected in this data. The survey has no way of measuring evangelism in these areas. Since mostly adults and a few teens take the survey, the survey can only address adult and some youth evangelism. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 38

39 Q: Which of the following most influenced you to initially attend this church? (choose one) This question looks at the most important reason why people decided to give CCC a try as their new church. The graph has two sets of data. The lavender bars show what was important to the New Attenders. The yellow bars are overall for all current attenders. This question is looking for data in three general categories that combine some of the alternatives in the graph. Invited/Relational The first general category is invited/relational. If the most important reason a person chose to give CCC a try had to do with the role of a friend, relative, or spouse, then that person belongs in this category. The assumption is that a relationship was the reason this person decided to attend the church or some activity. This option measures the role of relationships in a person s choice to attend this church. At CCC the figure is 46% (20% + 19% + 7%) Overall and 41% (17% + 17% + 7%) of New Attenders. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 39

40 Pastor/Staff Attracted by pastor/staff means that the person came to CCC because of the pastor or staff member at the time. Overall, the senior pastor or staff influence was 17%. Among New Attenders the rate is 10%. Among Intermediate Attenders, the rate was 22% (not on graph). Prior to five years ago, the senior pastor was a major attraction. Walk-ins Walk-ins are people whose decision to try CCC was made based on reasons other than relationships or pastor/staff contact. This grouping includes location, advertisement/website, word of mouth, and transfer from a similar church/denomination. Overall, 36% (12%+3%+10%+11%) and 51% (19% + 3% + 13% + 16%) of New Attenders chose a subcategory included in this option. Lyle Schaller, a well-known church consultant, offers insight into the significance of these results. He states that in a healthy church two-thirds to nine-tenths of people are attracted to a church by friendship or kinship ties, 15 to 20% by the pastor, and 5 to 10% are walk-ins. Schaller Formula Invited by friend or relative 66-90% Attracted by pastor 15-20% Walk-ins 5-10% Here is how CCC compares to the Schaller ideal: Overall Schaller Ideal CCC Invited/Relational 66-90% 46% Pastor/Staff 15-20% 17% Walkins 5-10% 36% ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 40

41 New Attenders Schaller Ideal CCC Invited/Relational 66-90% 40% Pastor/Staff 15-20% 10% Walkins 5-10% 50% What these two graphs show is that CCC is weak on inviting people to church and getting weaker. Invited/relational dropped from 46% to 40% (already weak, getting weaker). Walk-ins increased from 36% to 50% (already too high, getting higher). Neither are good trends. CCC is falling short on the inviting/relational part of getting new people to come to your church. Shared Pilgrimage Summary: CCC has an amazing mixture of new, medium-length, and long-term Christians. Eleven percent (11%) have been Christians five years or less. Among adult groups, Millennials have the highest rate of new Christians at 15%. The biggest single source of New Attenders at CCC is other local churches (53%). The second largest source are people who were not attending any church when they came to CCC at 24%. This number includes new converts as well as recovered former church attenders. Most of the rest (22%) moved into the area. People come to CCC from a wide variety of church backgrounds. Among New Attenders, the largest group are people from Catholic backgrounds (35%) followed by people from evangelical backgrounds (30%) followed by people from other Protestant backgrounds (18%). Ten percent (10%) have no church background. Historically, percentages are similar. Sermons (38%) tend to be slightly the greatest reason that keeps people coming to the church followed by relationships (34%). Many are also involved in supporting in-church ministries (14%). Very few just come because it is the right things to do (8%), supporting the idea that CCC tends to be an activist church. People think enough of CCC and its programs to drive further than average (9.2 miles) to participate. A significant number (22%) acknowledge that coming to CCC represented a significant shift in their religious perspective. Overall, 13% of current attenders acknowledge that since coming to CCC they have become Christians. The number is 14% among New ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 41

42 Attenders and 26% among Pioneers. Except for the Silents, all generational groups have a double-digit rate of evangelism. One of the data surprises is that CCC is weak on inviting people to their church. Ideal is for at least two-thirds of New Attenders being influenced to come to CCC because of relational reasons such as being invited. However, only 40% of New Attenders reported a relational reason. Most people currently are finding the church on their own 50% of New Attenders were walk-ins. Section 3: Ministry Potential Commitment to Mission/Evangelism Q: I believe that the Bible instructs every Christian to find ways to share his/her faith with non-christians. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of survey participants agree with this statement. Three of the four who were not sure were New Attenders. The vast majority of CCCers agree with this statement. Q: How many of your close friends or family do not attend any church? CCCers tend to be a pretty social group. Almost all (97% = 100% minus 3%) have nonchurch attending friends and family and lots of them. All tenure and generational groups reported that at least 74% of them have six or more close friends, and/or family who do not attend any church. CCCers have relationships with lots of people that they can invite or look to get involved with the church. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 42

43 Q: How many people at this church do you consider to be close friends? Number of Good Church Friends 42% New Attender Good Friends In The Church 45% 12% 25% 21% 20% 23% 12% This question supports the contention that relationships are important to CCC attenders. People have a good numbers friends both inside and outside of the church. New Attenders have not yet developed as many friends in the church has have people overall. Q: How involved are you in the life of the church? What activities do you regularly participate in? This first chart provides the actual number of people in each category. The second chart shows the percentage of that group who are participating. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 43

44 All New Inter Pi's Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Sat Night Service Sun 9AM Service Sun 11AM Service Sun Service Live Stream Worship Community Celebrate Recovery Small group Prayer Meeting Men's Ministry Women's Ministry Children's Ministry Student Ministry Welcome/Hospitality Outreach--Mid-City and other Transformation Team Building Maintenance Paid Staff Totals All New Inter Pi's Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Sat Night Service* 22% 23% 21% 25% 11% 26% 18% 23% 40% Sun 9AM Service* 45% 45% 45% 47% 50% 38% 48% 46% 27% Sun 11AM Service* 33% 33% 35% 28% 39% 36% 34% 31% 33% Sun Service Live Stream 13% 16% 10% 11% 0% 27% 13% 8% 29% Worship Community 11% 10% 13% 4% 14% 27% 7% 10% 0% Celebrate Recovery 7% 7% 7% 11% 0% 9% 4% 10% 0% Small group 54% 46% 60% 56% 29% 58% 49% 56% 79% Prayer Meeting 3% 2% 2% 7% 0% 0% 0% 5% 7% Men's Ministry 13% 13% 13% 15% 0% 12% 10% 17% 14% Women's Ministry 11% 7% 15% 7% 0% 9% 10% 13% 7% Children's Ministry 16% 19% 16% 4% 21% 27% 21% 11% 0% Student Ministry 8% 7% 9% 4% 36% 21% 7% 2% 0% Welcome/Hospitality 13% 10% 14% 19% 0% 12% 4% 21% 7% Outreach--Mid-City and other 14% 14% 16% 11% 7% 0% 12% 20% 21% Transformation Team 4% 1% 5% 7% 0% 9% 2% 3% 7% Building Maintenance 4% 3% 4% 7% 0% 9% 3% 4% 7% Paid Staff 4% 2% 5% 4% 0% 15% 2% 2% 0% * Many participants marked more than 1 service "that they usually attended." Percentages are based on the total of the three services. For example, 276 people took the survey. However, they picked 320 services that they usually attended. The 320 was used so that totals for the three services would add up to 100% ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 44

45 These charts are provided for the use of leaders at CCC. We will offer some observations, but hopefully CCCers will see additional information that will be helpful for planning. Who Attends the Various Services Saturday Night Service Seventy people indicated that they primarily attended the Saturday evening service. The first graph shows the actual distribution of those seventy. The second graph shows the contribution that each tenure-generation group makes to the overall attendance. All percent s are the numbers in the same squares in the preceding graph divided by the total attendance of 70. What this graph shows in the tenure, generational, and tenure-generational percentage for each subgroup. For example, the Saturday evening service is made up of 41% New Attenders, 46% Intermediate Attenders, and 13% Pioneers. The service is made up of 3% teens, 17% Millennials, 24% Gen Xers, 47% Boomers, and 9% Silents. The unshaded squares show the percentage for each tenure-generational group. Observations: Who Attends The Saturday Night Service Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Totals New Inter Pi's Totals Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Totals New 1% 9% 13% 17% 1% 41% Inter 1% 6% 10% 21% 7% 46% Pi's 0% 3% 1% 9% 0% 13% Totals 3% 17% 24% 47% 9% 100% 1. Approximately 22% attend this service. 2. Most Saturday night attenders are either New (41%) or Intermediate (46%) Attenders. 3. Boomers make up the largest generational group (47%) followed by Gen Xers with 24%. Twelve Millennials reported attending this service. Six Silents attend this service. 4. Pioneers and Teens are in short supply. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 45

46 Sunday 9AM Service Who Attends The Sunday 9AM Service Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Totals New Inter Pi's Totals Observations: Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Totals New 3% 8% 15% 14% 1% 40% Inter 3% 3% 17% 24% 1% 49% Pi's 0% 1% 1% 9% 1% 12% Totals 6% 13% 32% 47% 3% 100% 1. This would seem to be the largest of the three worship services with 45% attending this service. 2. This service is mostly attended by New Attenders (40%) and Intermediates (49%). Seventeen Pioneers also attend this service. 3. The service is almost half Boomers (47%) with 32% Gen Xers. Eighteen Millennials attend this service. Seventeen Pioneers attend this service. Thus, this is the most attended service for both Pioneers and Millennials even if their numbers are relatively small. Sunday 11AM Service Who Attends The Sunday 11AM Service Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Totals New Inter Pi's Totals ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 46

47 Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Totals New 1% 8% 18% 12% 1% 40% Inter 6% 6% 10% 25% 4% 51% Pi's 0% 3% 2% 5% 0% 9% Totals 7% 16% 30% 42% 5% 100% Observations: 1. About a third (33%) of CCCers attend the Sunday 11AM service. 2. Again, it tends to be a New and Intermediate Attender service with mostly Boomers and Gen Xers in attendance. Interpretative Note: Survey participants felt free to mark more than one service in many cases. For example, 33 participants were Millennials. However, they marked that they attended 47 services. However, the data should still be approximately correct. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 47

48 Sunday Service Live Stream Who Watches The Sunday Service Live Stream Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Totals New Inter Pi's Totals Teens Mills Xers Bmers Silents Totals New 0% 17% 14% 17% 3% 51% Inter 0% 6% 14% 11% 9% 40% Pi's 0% 3% 6% 0% 0% 9% Totals 0% 26% 34% 29% 11% 100% What is surprising about the Live Stream participation is the range of age groups that are participating. It is not just for elderly shut-ins. Other Observations on Church Activity Participation: 1. Fifty-four percent (54%) participate in small groups. The criterion for good involvement is 60%. The Intermediates (60%) and Silents (79%) meet the criterion. Involvement is pretty consistent across the categories. New Attenders are a little slow to get involved in small groups. 2. Seven percent are involved in Celebrate Recovery. The program involves both New Attenders and more tenured people of all ages. 3. Outreach involves 14% of current attenders. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 48

49 Q: If you didn t check Small Groups please check the appropriate reasons why? One hundred fourteen people responded to the question of which over half were New Attenders. Lack of time was the most often given reason followed by scheduling issues. Some 29 individuals entered an other response. Others Other Involvements 9 No childcare 6 No interest 5 Uncomfortable 3 No topics of interest 3 New 2 Bad experience 1 Some of the others were reassigned if they fit well in one of the other categories. Some were unclassifiable. Four were youth. The most common reason given was other involvements followed by no childcare offered. Some said that they were not interested in small groups or were uncomfortable with them. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 49

50 Q: I feel confident enough to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. These are higher than average results on this question. Given the diversity of backgrounds of people who have been attracted to CCC, these are impressive results. People seem to clearly know what the gospel is and feel confident to share it. Q: I am growing at this church. The average response on this question for other churches where VitalChurch has been is 72%. Clearly CCC at 79% is doing better than average. New Attenders are the most affirming of the tenure groups. Teens and Boomers are most enthusiastic among generational groups. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 50

51 Q: Do you contribute financially on a regular basis to this church? This would seem to be a healthy level of response. Q: Do you agree or disagree that church members and attendees make a sincere effort to help visitors and newcomers feel welcomed into the life of the church? The average score on this question at other churches is 69%. The normal criterion for satisfactory is 80%. CCC is for the most part doing a good job of including new people. There is some room for improvement. However, the most encouraging piece of data is that the New Attenders themselves indicate that they felt well welcomed. Q: Do you have relatives living outside your home who attend this church? It is important to understand what is being measured. We are not talking about an elderly parent living with his child or the young adult who has not yet found a job that allows them to find their own place. We are talking about relatives that one would tend to look forward to seeing at church each week. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 51

52 From the perspective of a newcomer, a church with a high level of interrelatedness can seem like a clan that is impossible to penetrate. At best, one soon becomes aware who is related to who and can easily feel left out. Actually, one is often truly left out unless those with relatives intentionally compensate and make a special effort to make those not connected with their family feel like family. Research shows that when a church or subgroup in the church reaches 20% extended family, it generally begins to affect the degree that the group can fully welcome and include new people. The next graph shows the degree to which each segment of the church is interrelated. Teens Mills Gen Xers Boomers Silents Totals New 17% 47% 26% 30% 33% 30% Inter 63% 50% 40% 38% 20% 40% Pi's 75% 67% 58% 63% Totals 43% 52% 34% 38% 29% 38% Overall 20-29% 30%+ CCC is overall 38% interrelated with extended family almost twice the criterion. Pioneers (63%) and Millennials (52%) are over half interrelated. Only the Silents and New Attending Teens are less than 30% interrelated. While CCC is clearly doing well in spite of this characteristic, we shall see that interrelatedness does have a detrimental effect on the acceptance and belonging experienced by those without extended family especially among New Attenders. Conclusions on Ministry Potential Much of the important data of this section can be summarized as one-liners. 99% accept that Christians should find ways to share their faith 84% feel confident to share the gospel with people (high) 79% consider that they are growing spiritually at this church Most (74%) have close non-church attending friends who potentially could be invited to participate in church life at CCC Nearly all current attenders attend one of CCC s three in-person services or the Sunday Service Live Stream ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 52

53 There are minor differences between who attends each of CCC s worship services 54% of current attenders participate in small groups (a little low 60% is minimum ideal) especially Intermediates (60%) and Silents (79%). New Attenders are weak (49%) in getting involved in small groups The most common reasons given for not participating in small groups o Lack of time o No group when I can attend o No childcare o No interest or discomfort with small groups 14% are involved in organized outreach (fantastic) 7% are involved in Celebrate Recovery which is evenly made up of both New and Intermediate Attenders 87% report that they contribute on a regular basis to the church financially 79% say CCCers do a good job of welcoming and including newcomers including New Attenders who report an 80% approval rating on how they were included CCC is nearly at twice the level of interrelatedness (38%) where the condition normally begins to interfere with effectively including new people. As we shall see, interrelatedness is a negative factor for including New Attenders. Section 4: Quality of Fellowship Christianity is by nature profoundly relational. It is first a relationship between God and man. Then it becomes a relationship with men created in the image of God. An essential outcome of true faith must be a love of people and commitment to their welfare (including spiritual) with special deference to the family of God. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:10 Jesus foremost distinctive of being one of his disciples is love. All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. John 13:35 NIV New Testament Christians cared about each other and were involved in one another s lives. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 53

54 Carry each other s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 NIV People even took responsibility for each other s spiritual growth.... let us consider how we may spur one another toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24 NIV If there were any doubts about the role of love and relationships, it is fully resolved by I Corinthians 13 where it clearly says that no matter what gift (prophecy, tongues, knowledge, or other) a person has, without love (expressed in relationships) it is NOTHING. Unconditional acceptance and belonging should be the mark of the church. Jesus modeled it. We should be doing it. Most evangelical Christians are looking for a Bible-believing church as their first requirement. Research shows that after that requirement is met, most (90%) are looking for a church that will offer the level of acceptance and belonging that they are looking for. Church consultant Lyle Schaller finds that the failure of people to find acceptance and belonging in the church to be the number one reason why people drop out of a church. Here are the two survey questions. Q: To what degree is a sense of belonging and acceptance important to you in your church relationships? Q: To what degree do you personally feel like you belong and are accepted as part of this church? Both of these questions offer four alternative answers: A great deal Quite a bit Some Little/not at all The question that is on the minds of almost everyone who begins attending a church is Will my family and I find the acceptance and belonging that we want here? Related to this question is often a second, Will my family s needs be met here? Research shows that one-half to two-thirds of people who begin attending a church will drop out before ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 54

55 five years are up. The most common reason for them leaving is that they did not find the acceptance and belonging they were seeking. This is a very big issue. Scoring Note: This section has many numbers and as such can be confusing. This section measures three things: 1. Idealized acceptance and belonging is based on the first question. This is the quality of fellowship that people say they want in their church relationships. 2. Experienced acceptance and belonging is the level of fellowship that people report that they actually receive at CCC and is based on the second question. 3. The Disappointment Gap is the difference between what people say they want in terms of relationships in the church and what they actually experience. 4. Idealized and Experienced acceptance and belonging are scored separately. Ideally, if a person has an idealized (what he/she wants) acceptance and belonging score of 80%, he/she should also have an experienced acceptance and belonging score of 80% unless the person is either disappointed in what they are experiencing or if they are experiencing a greater level of acceptance and belonging than they thought they wanted. CCC Data The quality of fellowship section is one of the most important parts of this diagnostic report. It usually identifies clear issues that can be purposefully addressed with the result that the church is better able to meet the acceptance and belonging needs of more people. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 55

56 The graph above shows how important finding acceptance and belonging at CCC is to people. Eighty-nine percent ( divided by 276) of current attenders say finding acceptance and belonging in their church relationships is either a great deal or quite a bit of importance to them. As high as this seems, it is slightly below average compared to other churches where VitalChurch has been. Specifically, CCC is at 45%ile in its overall desired/wanted level of acceptance and belonging. This slightly below average score is not surprising since larger churches tend to be known for exceptional preaching and excellent programs. Large churches are also known for falling apart when the exceptional preacher leaves unless it has done a good job building relationships between its people. Looking at Idealized Acceptance and Belonging what people say they want The next graph shows the level of acceptance and belonging that each tenure and generational group at CCC desires in the church relationships expressed in percentiles. The graph above tells several important things about the quality of fellowship at CCC. First, the desired level of acceptance and belonging varies a great deal from group to group. At most churches where VitalChurch has been, there is almost a standard level of acceptance and belonging that characterizes the church especially among the Pioneer and Intermediate ranks. At CCC, tenure groups vary from slightly above average at 52%ile for Intermediates to extremely low for Pioneers as a group at 5%ile. However, as we shall see, there is great diversity within the various tenure groups. It is typical for generational groups to vary some. Usually the Millennials are highest and the Boomers somewhat lower. Silent often show an increase again. However, at CCC the variance from generational group to generational group greatly exceeds the normal range. Again, as we shall see, there is considerable differences with different tenure groups of the various generation. As we shall also see, there are significant differences between how men and women at CCC experience fellowship. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 56

57 Let us begin by looking more precisely at what various subgroups want ( idealize ) in terms of fellowship. All but one Silent are Intermediate Attenders and as a group want a 52%ile quality of fellowship. Among the Pioneer generational groups, only Boomers have a large enough sample to be meaningful. If we look at the New Attender row, we can see the relational expectations of the various generational groups being attracted to CCC. The New Attending Millennials come hoping for a very high level of fellowship at 91%ile. (Proportionally, Millennials are the fastest growing group at CCC.) New Attending Gen Xers want a slightly above average level of acceptance and belonging. This group actually added the largest number of New Attenders in the past five years. New Attending Boomers have come to CCC with quite low expectations of finding meaningful levels of relationships in the church at 25%ile. A reasonable generalization is that Boomers who have wanted a higher quality of fellowship in their church have not chosen to come to CCC. While Boomers are the largest generational group at CCC, they are not adding enough New Attenders to grow. Ninety-one percent of current attenders are either New Attenders (42%) or Intermediate Attenders (49%). For the most part, New Attenders are trying to find their place in the world of the Intermediate Attenders. If there is a standard level of quality of fellowship for each generational group, it is found in the Intermediate row at CCC. What we see in Millennial column is that all three tenure groups of Millennials want a higher than average quality of fellowship, but the groups vary from exceptionally high for New Attending Millennials to slightly above average for Pioneer Millennials. Focusing on the two large groups, both New Attending and Intermediate Millennials want a considerably higher than average quality of fellowship in their church relationships. The expectations of the two large groups of Millennials are reasonable matched. Among Gen Xers, there is a mild mismatch of expectations. New Attending Gen Xers are slightly above average in their expectations with Intermediate Gen Xers having more moderate expectations. The difference between the groups will produce a level of disappointment in the New Attenders, but it is not likely to be severe. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 57

58 Among the Boomers, there is a consistency of low expectations for quality of fellowship. All groups are considerably less than average. In an earlier question, we saw that What keeps (Boomers) coming was sermons at 48% with relationships at 29%. Among generational groups, this was highest preference for sermons and the lowest preference for relationships. Boomers have the weakest relational focus of the generational groups. Interpretational Note: That the Boomers only want an overall 19%ile quality of fellowship is not an asset to the church. Most people looking for a new church are looking for a family-like relationship with people in the church. Nineteenth percentile (19%ile) will not get that job done. Many more Boomers would be attracted to CCC if the opportunities for a higher level of acceptance and belonging were present. Silents were not included in this graph because all but one of them is an Intermediate Attender. They want relationships to be at a 52%ile level slightly above average. Among tenure groups, the Intermediates want the highest quality of fellowship (52%). New Attenders as a group have relatively low expectations at 31%ile. The New Attender s low expectation is partially due to church backgrounds. More formal churches including Catholic and many other Protestants tend not to emphasize fellowship. For whatever reason, Pioneers have exceptionally low quality of fellowship expectations (5%ile). Among generational groups, younger people, particularly Teens and Millennials, want exceptionally high quality of relationships in the church. This is not a surprise think social media. Gen Xers are just above average at 52%ile. The Boomers are surprisingly low at 19%ile. It is normal for idealized acceptance and belonging to go down some with age. Millennials are usually higher than Gen Xers and Gen Xers are usually higher than Boomers, but to go from 52%ile for Gen Xers to 19%ile for Boomers is far more than a usual drop. Something amiss is going on. The Silents are the smallest in size of the adult groups, but want slightly above average (52%) quality of fellowship. Silents are often the exception of idealized scores going down with age. Silents often score more highly in idealized/wanted acceptance and belonging than the Boomers and, sometimes, the Gen Xers. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 58

59 Looking at Experienced Acceptance and Belonging what people say they have experienced at CCC The next two graphs show how each group has experienced acceptance and belonging at CCC. The first graph is based on the second question (what people personally experienced at CCC). The second graph is the disappointment gaps the difference between what they say they want and what they experienced at CCC. Experienced Acceptance and Belonging Mills Gen Xers Boomers New 32% 48% 10% Inter 2% 32% 43% Pi's 75% 99% 23% Disappointment Gaps Mills Gen Xers Boomers New 59% 4% 15% Inter 71% 6% -12% Pi's -23% -11% -18% For our current purpose, the graph of disappointment gaps is of greatest interest. Boxes shaded in green identify groups that are satisfied with the level of fellowship that they are experiencing. They are either experiencing what they said they wanted or actually experiencing a higher level of fellowship that they said they wanted. Red-shaded boxes identify groups that are significantly disappointed in the quality of relationships that they said they wanted. The criterion for significant disappointment is 20%. Unshaded boxes show a level of disappointment, but less than significant. Observations based on the Disappointment Gaps graph: 1. The huge red flag in the data is the two red-shaded squares. New Attending and Intermediate Attending Millennials are very seriously disappointed in the quality of fellowship that they are experiencing at a level that makes it surprising that they are still around at CCC. Interpretative Note: One of the realities that needs to be faced is that for all its variety and size, CCC tends to be an older persons church that is not necessarily meeting the needs of its younger members. Meeting the needs of younger adults needs to be a major focus for CCC as it goes forward. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 59

60 2. This graph shows us that relationally, the Gen Xers are the healthiest generational group at CCC. They overall want a quality of fellowship at a 52%ile level and no tenure group including New Attenders are significantly disappointed in what they are experiencing. No wonder this group is attracting the most New Attenders. 3. The Boomers want the lowest overall quality of fellowship at 19%ile. The standard offered by the Intermediate Boomers (31%ile) and Pioneer Boomers (5%ile) is very low. The expectations of the New Attending Boomers who actually have decided to attend CCC is a very low 25%ile. Even so, the New Attending Boomers are just short of being significantly disappointed in what they have experienced at CCC. The overall picture of Boomers is that they offer a very weak level of fellowship. One has to wonder how many potential Boomers have been lost due to such a low standard of fellowship. Factors That Influence Acceptance and Belonging A number of factors impact acceptance and belonging in a church. We will look at several. Interrelatedness CCC is 38% interrelated. This factor has a significant impact on the church especially on the level of acceptance and belonging that people actually experience. Here is what this graph tells us: ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 60

61 1. People with relatives in CCC actually expect to experience a higher level of acceptance and belonging (52%ile) than those who do not have family at CCC (38%ile). 2. People with family in the church also experience a higher quality of fellowship (53%ile) as compared to those who don t have family (27%ile). 3. People without family are more disappointed in the level of acceptance and belonging they experience (11%ile disappointment gap) than those who do have family (minus 1%ile no disappointment). Interpretative Note: Effectively this graph shows us that CCC has two tracks to acceptance. The one that is most satisfying and successful is for those who already have relatives at CCC. People with relatives both expect more and experience more in the area of relationships. The second track only attracts people with lower expectations of fellowship and they are both experiencing a much lower level of fellowship and disappointment in that experience. The best hope for New Attenders is that if they stay long enough to become Intermediate Attenders that they will find good relationships that are not dependent of blood relationships. This difference is most important for New Attenders who are still in the process of developing relationships in the church. The next graph looks at the role of interrelatedness just among New Attenders. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 61

62 Here is what this graph tells us: 1. New Attenders who come to the church with relatives already at the church have built-in meaningful relationships. They have a lower need for relationships from non-relatives in the church (45%). A consistent principle is that people who come to a church without any relatives present are generally looking for family-like relationships in the church. The CCC data supports this data. Those coming with family are looking for a 45%ile level of relationships while those without family are hoping for more (60%ile). 2. New Attenders who come to the church with relatives present in the church tend to experience almost exactly what they said they wanted (minus 3 disappointment gap). Those New Attenders without family coming to CCC experience 33%ile less than what they said they wanted. A full third of the available scale is a significant level of disappointment for New Attenders without family in the church. While both New Attenders with and without family acknowledge that they were well welcomed when they came to CCC, New Attenders without family need considerably more assistance and follow-up to be effectively assimilated into the CCC family. It is possible to see the effect that interrelatedness has on New Attenders of each generation. New Attenders Without Family Mills Gen Xers Boomers Idealized 98% 88% 3% Experienced 6% 53% 7% Gap 92% 35% -4% True to earlier findings, New Attending Millennials without relatives in the church want an even higher level of acceptance and belonging (98%ile) and are even more disappointed in what they are experiencing at CCC (92%ile disappointment gap). Non-related New Attending Gen Xers also hope for a much higher level of acceptance and belonging (88%ile) than Gen Xers in general (52%ile) and are significantly more disappointed in their actual relational experience (35%ile disappointment gap). ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 62

63 Unrelated Boomers have very low expectations of quality of fellowship (3%ile) and are essentially experiencing that level as well. The conclusion supported by the data is that the experience of acceptance and belonging by New Attending Millennials and Gen Xers (adults under 52 years of age) is substantially negatively affected by interrelatedness at CCC. Role of Small Groups In the modern church, small groups are designed to facilitate a deeper quality of fellowship among those who attend the church. How effective they are depends on how they are run. All small groups do not equally meet the acceptance and belonging needs of those who participate. Here is the data on small groups at CCC: Here is what the graph tells us: 1. Another of the consistent principles that shows up at most churches is that people who participate in small groups are the ones who tend to value close relationships in the church. At CCC, those who attend small groups desire/want a 52%ile level of relationships. Those who don t attend small groups are at 31%ile. 2. Those who attend small groups also experience a higher quality of relationships (48%ile). Those who don t attend small groups experience a 23%ile level. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 63

64 3. In the case of CCC, the significant difference between those who participate in small groups and those who don t attend small groups is their level of expectation of fellowship. Their disappointment gaps are not significantly different. Interpretative Note: CCC has an unusual opportunity because it draws many of its New Attenders from more formal churches that do not focus on quality of fellowship. These people have not experienced good Christian fellowship and will thrive when they do. They will also be much better assimilated into the church when they experience true Christian fellowship. Relational Experience of Other Identifiable Groups As a large, diversified church, CCC has many subgroups within its fellowship whose relational needs may or may not be being met. Here are the results on four of these subgroups. Recovery Outreach Never Married Divorced Idealized 45% 73% 67% 45% Experienced 12% 53% 27% 19% Gap 33% 20% 40% 26% A number of important observations can be made from this chart. 1. Both persons involved in Recovery and whose current relational status is divorced want exactly the church average for acceptance and belonging, but neither group is experiencing the quality of fellowship that they want. Those in Recovery are experiencing about a fourth of the quality of fellowship that they said they wanted (12%ile/45%ile). Divorcees are doing slightly better with a disappointment gap of 26%ile. Both groups are experiencing significant disappointment in the quality of fellowship they are experiencing. 2. Those involved in outreach desire a special level of comradery (73%ile). They actually experience an above average level of acceptance and belonging (53%ile) but somewhat less than they would like (20%ile disappointment gap). 3. Like New Attenders without family in the church, Never Marrieds tend to hope for a family-like set of relationships in the church (67%ile). However, as a group they are not finding it at CCC (40%ile disappointment gap). ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 64

65 4. All four of these groups offer opportunities for improvement. Conclusions from Quality of Fellowship Overall CCCers want/idealize a slightly below average quality of fellowship (45%ile) compared to other churches where VitalChurch has been (50%ile is average). However, the level of desired acceptance and belonging varies considerably from group to group. Among tenure groups, New Attenders overall have relatively low expectations (31%ile). Intermediates have the highest at 52%ile. Pioneers as a group, excluding Millennials, seem to lack much of a relational focus. Among generational groups two items should be noted. The expectations for quality of fellowship on the part of Millennials is sky high at 94%ile. Boomers have a weak relational focus at 19%ile. The problem with a weak relational focus is that 90% of people looking for a church are looking for a significant level of acceptance and belonging. People tend to offer the level of relationships to others that they, themselves, want. At 19% idealized quality of fellowship for the group, most potential Boomers are going to be disappointed in what they find at CCC and may not stay. The adult group where many are disappointed in the acceptance and belonging that they are experiencing are the Millennials. Millennials are very disappointed in the quality of fellowship that they are experiencing. Since Millennials are by their nature very relational, this is a problem that needs to be addressed. CCC needs to realize that it tends to be a Boomer/Gen Xer church and in some ways fails to meet the needs of younger adults. CCC is 38% interrelated. This is nearly twice the level that generally causes a church or group within the church to less effectively include newcomers. New Attenders without family are the ones who are being most affected by this condition. They want a higher level of family-like relationships than those with family, but are not currently experiencing it. New Attenders without family need a higher level of support than those who come with family already in the church. It is apparent that maintaining a high quality of relationships in its various activities has not been a primary focus. Of the four other identifiable groups at CCC, the fellowship needs of those in Recovery and Never Marrieds are weakly being addressed. Those in the divorced group and those involved in outreach are better, but still weak. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 65

66 For reasons that need to be determined, women as a group at CCC are currently quite disappointed in the quality of relationships that they are experiencing. This subject is investigated in the next section of this report. Section 5: Looking at Relational Gender Differences at CCC At CCC gender plays a surprising role in the experience of acceptance and belonging. What the graph tells us: 1. Both men and women at CCC desire the same quality of fellowship at 45%ile. This fact alone is unusual. Women tend to be more relational than men, but not so at CCC. The two genders overall start out with an even expectation of acceptance and belonging. 2. The actual experience of acceptance and belonging between men and women is very different. Men are actually experiencing a higher quality of fellowship than they said they wanted 38% more. Women are experiencing a much lower level than they said they wanted (33%ile disappointment gap). This is very unusual. There is a saying that If mama ain t happy, nobody s happy. The data has been checked and rechecked. Women as a group are currently significantly disappointed in the quality of fellowship that they are experiencing. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 66

67 Differences in Gender Expectations at CCC Let us attempt to identify some of the factors involved in this difference. We will first look at the differences in relational expectations of men and women. Women: Idealized Acceptance and Belonging Men: Wanted Acceptance and Belonging Mills Xers Bmers Mills Xers Bmers New 88% 73% 52% New 96% 25% 3% Inter 88% 19% 25% Inter 19% 60% 45% Pioneer groups get too small to be meaningful when divided between men and women and, so, are not included. What does this graph tell us? 1. Among Millennials, both female and male New Attenders expect/hope to find very high levels of acceptance and belonging. Female Intermediate Attenders share the same high expectation as the New Attending ladies. However, male Intermediate Millennials have low expectations (19%ile) compared the male New Attending Millennials. However, one of the factors that needs to be considered is that most of the Intermediate Millennials are women (9 of 12 survey participants). 2. Among New Attending Gen Xers, there is a huge difference between what men and women expect in terms of relationships. a. Women come in hoping for very close, family-like relationships in the church at 73%ile. In needs to be remembered that New Attenders are joining the more tenured and established Intermediate Attenders. New Attending Gen Xers women are badly mismatched with Intermediate Gen Xers women (73%ile to 19%ile). This mismatch is a recipe for significant disappointment on the part of New Attending Gen Xer women. b. New Attending Gen Xer men come in with low expectations (25%ile) in the quality of fellowship department but are greeted with Intermediate men that expect higher than average relationships (60%ile). This mismatch is a recipe for a pleasant surprise for New Attending Gen Xer men. 3. Boomer gender comparison a. New Attending Boomer women come in hoping to find a slightly above average level of acceptance and belonging (52%ile) only to find that the Intermediate Boomer women are only expecting and offering to them a 25%ile level of fellowship. Again, a recipe for significant disappointment for the New Attending Boomer women. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 67

68 b. New Attending Boomer men come expecting very little in terms of relationships in the church (3%ile). However, Intermediate men expect and are offering a 45% level. Like New Attending Gen Xer men, New Attending Boomer men will be surprised and pleased for the quality of fellowship that they find. Gender Differences in Experienced Acceptance and Belonging at CCC Women: Experienced Men: Experienced Acceptance Acceptance and Belonging and Belonging Mills Xers Bmers Mills Xers Bmers New 48% 27% 3% New 15% 89% 43% Inter 1% 6% 4% Inter 86% 79% 98% Women: Disappointment Gaps Men: Disappointment Gaps Mills Xers Bmers Mills Xers Bmers New 40% 46% 49% New 81% -64% -40% Inter 87% 13% 21% Inter -67% -19% -53% Here is what these graphs tell us: 1. Among New Attending Millennials of both genders, the expectation for finding meaningful levels of acceptance and belonging in the church is very high. a. Among Millennial women of both New Attenders and Intermediate Attenders, the level of experienced acceptance and belonging is much lower than what they said that they wanted. i. New Attending Millennial ladies are experiencing an almost average level of fellowship (48%ile), but this is much less than they said they wanted (88%ile). There is an important distinction here. New Attending Millennial ladies are not saying that they are no finding acceptance and belonging. They are saying they want a higher level. ii. Intermediate Millennial ladies report experiencing almost none of the high level of relationships that they said they wanted (disappointment gap of 87%ile of the desired 88%ile). This a much more serious level of response than with New Attending Millennial ladies. When responses are this extreme, there is generally more than a disappointment to church relationships involved. They are unhappy with the church in general. b. Among men, the results are considerably different than with women ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 68

69 i. New Attending Millennial men are very disappointed (81%ile disappointment gap) in the quality of fellowship that they are experiencing. New Attending Millennial men are, for all their high expectations (96%ile), only experiencing a 15%ile level of relationships an 81%ile disappointment gap. This is very serious. ii. Intermediate Millennial men say that they place a low value on relationships in the church (19%ile) but are experiencing a much higher level of relationships than they said they wanted at a 86%ile level. This is another pleasant surprise scenario. Interpretative Note: When a group has an average or higher expectation for acceptance and belonging and are experiencing less than half that level, these people are generally questioning their relationship to the church and may be considering leaving. This criterion puts both New Attending and Intermediate Attending Millennials on the endangered age group list. 2. Among Gen Xers a. Among New Attending Gen Xer ladies there was a high expectation of close relationships within the church (73%ile) that was substantially higher than Gen Xers in general (52%ile) or of New Attending Gen Xer men (25%). When the New Attending Gen Xer ladies mixed with the Intermediate Gen Xer women, they found that standard for relationships was only 19%ile. This was a built-in recipe for disappointment for the New Attending Gen Xer ladies and was fulfilled with an experienced level of 27%ile or a disappointment gap of 46%ile. b. Intermediate Gen Xers ladies who idealized only a 19%ile level of relationships were, themselves, disappointed in what they experienced with a 13%ile disappointment gap. A 13%ile disappointment gap seems small, but it is experiencing only about a third (6%ile/19%ile) of what they said they wanted. Even though they set their sights low (19%ile), they are still significantly disappointed in the level of relationship that they experienced. Neither New Attending or Intermediate Gen Xer women are experiencing the quality of fellowship that they said that they wanted. c. New Attending Gen Xer men came with very low expectations of fellowship (25%ile) but when they mixed with Intermediate Gen Xer men (60%ile), they were pleasantly surprised with what they found. They experienced far a far greater quality of fellowship that they had a vision for. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 69

70 d. Intermediate Gen Xer men already had above average expectations at 60%ile and their experience also exceeded what they had envisioned (79%ile). Gen Xer men at CCC are doing well. 3. Boomer Gender-related experiences a. New Attending Boomer ladies came hoping for a slightly above average level of acceptance and belonging (52%ile), but when trying to mix with the Intermediate Boomer ladies found that their standard for quality of fellowship was less than half of theirs (25%ile) with the result that they experiencing almost none of the quality of relationships that they desired (3%ile) and had a disappointment gap of 49% of the 52% they desired. b. The Intermediate Boomer ladies whose standard was 25%ile in the fellowship department were themselves disappointed in what they experienced (4%ile with a disappointment gap of 21%ile of the 25% that they wanted). Both New Attending and Intermediate Boomer ladies are quite disappointed in the quality of acceptance and belonging that they are experiencing. c. Boomer men are models of good fellowship. New Attending Boomer men came to CCC expecting little in terms of fellowship in the church (3%ile) but found the Intermediate Boomer men idealizing a 45%ile level of fellowship. While this is somewhat lower than average, it is a pretty good starting point. New Attending Boomer men are experiencing 40%ile more than they were hoping for. d. Intermediate Boomer men idealized a 45%ile level but are experiencing an enthusiastic 98%ile level of fellowship or 53%ile higher than they were hoping for. Boomer men at CCC are doing very well. Conclusion: The activities available to men at CCC are much better in encouraging a quality of fellowship than the activities available to women. One of the activities available to both men and women are small groups. Let look at the role small groups play for men and women. Fifty-three percent (53%) of women participate in small groups. Fifty-six percent (56%) of men participate in small groups. Those who participate in small groups, both men and women, desire a 60%ile quality of fellowship. Those who do not participate in small groups, both men and women, desire a 31%ile quality of fellowship. Both men and women are starting out with equal expectations. Here are the rates of participation for each generational group: ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 70

71 Rate of Small Group Participation Mills Gen Xers Boomers Women 52% 50% 53% Men 67% 48% 63% The rates of participation are amazingly even. A slightly higher rate of participation comes from the men at CCC. Having established that men are doing well from an acceptance and belonging perspective, let us shift our attention to the women and the role of small groups in providing acceptance and belonging. Here is how New Attending women of the various generational groups come out: Here is what this graph tells us: 1. New Attending Millennial women who attend small groups both want a very high quality of relationships in the church (96%ile) and they also are experiencing that level of fellowship. This one of only two settings in which women are actually experiencing close to what they said they wanted. 2. New Attending Millennial women who do not attend small groups still hope for a high quality of relationships (79%ile), but they are almost totally disappointed in what they are experiencing (72%ile disappointment gap). Three factors may play a role: ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 71

72 a. Nine of the Millennials who took the survey are involved in supporting children s ministry. Six of them are women suggesting a problem of time. b. One of the most common reasons for not participating in small groups was the lack of childcare. Some Millennial women are mothers of small children. c. Millennials have the highest percentage of single women who may have unique needs. 3. New Attending Gen Xer women who attend small groups desire a considerably higher quality of fellowship than average (79%ile) and are almost experiencing it (70%ile 9% disappointment gap). This is the second group where participants are experiencing close to what they said they wanted. 4. New Attending Gen Xer women who do not attend small groups also want/desire an above average level of acceptance and belonging at 60%ile, but are almost totally not experiencing it at 6%ile 54%ile disappointment gap. 5. New Attending Boomer women who attend small groups want the same high level as the Gen Xer women who participate in small groups at 79%ile. However, unlike the Gen Xers women, New Attending Boomer women participating in small groups are not having their relational needs met with a 60%ile disappointment gap. Some other factor(s) may be at work here. 6. New Attending Boomer women who do not participate in small groups have very low expectations of quality of fellowship within the church at 19%ile and are also experiencing little (1%ile). Conclusions: Most New Attending women at CCC, especially those who participate in small groups want an above average quality of fellowship in their church relationships. For all but the New Attending Boomer women, participation in small groups makes a significant contribution to this end. Failure to participate in small groups has generally resulted in a significantly lower level of expected and experienced church relationships. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 72

73 Here is the same study focused on Intermediate Attending women: What this graph tells us is: 1. Intermediate Millennial women who attend small groups have a very high desire for close relationships in the church (98%ile) but they are not experiencing them (1%) and are extremely disappointed (97% disappointment gap). Attending small groups is not resulting in meeting their relational needs. 2. Intermediate Millennial women who do not participate small groups still want slightly above average relationships in the church (52%ile) but they are not experiencing them (1%ile). Interpretative Note: Experience has shown that extremely low scores on experienced acceptance and belonging are highly correlated with general dissatisfaction with the church. Assuming that this is true, the conclusion is that most Millennial women (excluding Pioneer Millennials), especially Intermediates are quite unhappy with the church as well as very disappointed in the quality of fellowship that they are experiencing. The reasons that Millennials are so unhappy with CCC needs to be discovered and addressed. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 73

74 3. Intermediate Gen Xer women who attend small groups present an interesting picture. They have moderate expectations (38%ile) but are experiencing a higher quality of fellowship than they said they wanted (79%ile). Small groups are working well for them. Like several of the men s groups, they are pleasantly pleased by the quality of relationships that they are experiencing. 4. Intermediate Gen Xer women who do not attend small groups have very low fellowship expectations (5%ile) and are experiencing a minimal quality of fellowship (1%ile). 5. It should be noted that Intermediate Boomer women who attend small groups desire the same moderate level of relationships as Intermediate Gen Xer women (38%ile) but small groups are not meeting their relational needs (7%ile). What this suggests is that the small groups that they are attending are not being run in a relational way. There may be a need for CCC to examine how its small groups are run, especially groups involving Boomers. Interpretative Note: There are not enough Pioneer women to do a meaningful trend analysis of the various generational groups. There is one final factor that we will look at in trying to understand why many women are unhappy in their relational experience at CCC. The question is Do you agree or disagree that our church is a safe place where people can share what is going on in their lives. Overall, the average score on this question is 72% which is minimally satisfactory. However, the scores are not consistent across the tenure/generational groups. (See Section 6 for further discussion of graph.) ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 74

75 Here is what this graph shows: 1. Overall Millennial women do not particularly feel like it is safe to share what is going on in their lives at 57% one of the key characteristics of close fellowship. Being able to share what is going on in one s life is a very high Millennial value. New Attending Millennial women believe that such sharing is safe at CCC at 89%ile. For whatever reason, Millennial women who have attended the church for more than 5 years seriously disagree with both Intermediate and Pioneer Millennial women rating the question at 33% very low. 2. Gen Xer women of all three tenure groups rate this question well into the healthy range greater than 70%. This is one of the reasons why Gen Xers are the healthiest generational group at CCC from a relational perspective. It is also a major reason what this generation is attracting the most New Attenders. 3. Boomer women show a similar pattern to the Millennial women but less extreme. New Attending Boomer women make the minimum healthy range at 70%, but more tenured Boomer women feel less comfortable (53%) sharing what is going on in their lives with each other. 4. The Silents shine in this characteristic. They are clearly comfortable bearing one another s burdens. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 75

76 Interpretative Note: That there is in all cases except for the Silents a drop the ability to share what is going on in one s life from New Attenders to Intermediate Attenders has to be a concern. Why would women who have attended the church for longer than five years feel less safe in sharing what is going on in their lives? Summary of Findings Regarding Female Disappointment In Relationships At CCC All the findings support the fact that women at CCC are overall disappointed in the quality of relationships that they have found at the church. New Attending Millennials, Gen Xers, and Boomers all want to experience at least an average level of acceptance and belonging in their church relationships. New Attending Millennials and Gen Xers want a significantly higher than average quality of fellowship. Millennial women of all tenure groups want an intimate level of relationships. Only New Attending Millennial women who participate in small groups and New Attending Gen Xer women who participate in small groups are not significantly disappointed in the quality of fellowship that they are experiencing. Of greatest consequence is the fact that, as groups, Intermediate Gen Xers and Intermediate Boomers only desire a very limited level of relationships in their church. This desire for limited relationships is the first major source of female disappointment. This factor is the major cause for the disappointment of New Attending Gen Xer women (46%ile disappointment gap) and New Attending Boomer women (49%ile disappointment gap). Participation in small groups is usually accompanied by a higher desire for relationships in the church and also tends to produce a better relational experience. In the cases of New Attending Millennial women, and New Attending Gen Xer women, this principle holds true and is somewhat true for New Attending Boomer women. In the case of New Attending Millennial and Gen Xer women that participate in small groups, the quality of fellowship they want is high and what they experience is almost what they said they wanted. In the case of New Attending Boomer women who participate in small groups, they desire a better quality of fellowship (79%ile), but they do not experience it (19%ile) a 60%ile disappointment gap. This is a crushing level of disappointment for New Attending Boomer women. It should also be noted that New Attending Boomer women who do not participate in small groups share the same low expectation of close fellowship as the Intermediate Boomer women. Intermediate Attender generational groups present a complex picture. Both Intermediate Gen Xer and Intermediate Boomer ladies that participate in small groups desire a moderate (38%ile) level of relationships, but what they experience is entirely different. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 76

77 The small group participating Gen Xer women are actually finding a better than average experience of acceptance and belonging in the church. The Intermediate lady Boomers who participate in small groups are experiencing little of what they had hoped for relationally (7%ile). For whatever reason, small groups are doing little to meet the relational needs of Intermediate lady Boomers. Perhaps, the small groups in which they are participating are lacking in relational focus. With the exception of New Attending Millennial women who participate in small groups, all other Millennial groups except Pioneers are very disappointed in their relational experience at the church. A significant factor would seem to be that they do not feel safe to share what is going on in their lives. It is significant to note that all New Attending generational groups feel like it is safe to share what is going on in their lives at CCC. All Gen Xer and Silent groups agree that this is so. However, the longer attending Millennials and Boomers question if this is really true. New Attending Millennials rate the openness at 89%ile, but Intermediate and Pioneer Millennials only rate CCC s safety in sharing what is going on in their lives at 33%ile. The Boomer results are similar to the Millennial pattern, but less severe. New Attending lady Boomers rate openness to 70%ile. Intermediate (53%ile) and Pioneer Boomers (49%ile) rate the ability to share much lower. There has to be a reason for this distrust that women of all ages who have attended the church longer than five years seem to feel. Strategy To Change The Relational Culture at CCC Several conclusions are supported by the information in this section. The first is that the historic relational culture especially among women at CCC has supported a limited amount of acceptance and belonging among its members. The overall desired level of acceptance and belonging among all who have attended CCC more than five years is 38%ile. The second is that the vast majority of women at CCC are currently disappointed in the quality of fellowship that they are now experiencing. Several principles about how churches tend to work are also relevant to this conversation. The first is that once an established church has developed pattern, in this case a pattern of relationships, it is very hard to change especially if the pattern has been in place for many years. Effective change will have to be done on purpose. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 77

78 The second principle is that if a significant number of people want a change, the pressure for change can overcome resistance to change. Two factors suggest that there is sufficient pressure to change the historic resistance to being relational in the church. First, there is no missing that the women of CCC are, as a group, significantly disappointed in the quality of fellowship that they have been experiencing. They have been experiencing 33%ile less than they said they wanted. Secondly, the majority of women want to be more relational than the traditional culture at CCC has encouraged. Consider the following graph: Percentage of Women Choosing "A great deal" Mills Gen Xers Boomers Silents Totals New 67% 67% 59% 65% Inter 67% 52% 48% 50% 52% Pi's 67% 67% 45% 53% Totals 67% 61% 51% 50% 57% The question that measured what people wanted in terms of relationships in the church was To what degree is a sense of belonging and acceptance important to you in your church relationships? The highest alternative of four was a great deal. What this graph tells us is that 57% of women overall consider finding close relationships in the church to be of a great deal of importance to them. As we have seen and see again is that acceptance and belonging are most important to New Attenders and Millennials. Slightly over half (51%) of Boomer women are on board. More tenured Boomer women are weaker on the subject, but still a significant number would like to see the focus on relationships increase. Not everyone is going to be for that change. Some will not participate in the change. However, not all have to participate for the change to take place. What is necessary is for people to actively seek to increase the focus on relationships in the activities of CCC. Small groups need to be transformed to have a relational focus even if that means recruiting new leaders or retraining existing leaders. One of the red flags is that for Boomer women, participation in small groups did not result in a significant increase in fellowship. If small groups are done with a relational focus, a feeling of acceptance and belonging, feeling part of the family of God, will take place. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 78

79 Section 6: Other Questions This final section covers a series of questions that do not fit into other sections of this report. Q: Do you agree or disagree that our church is a safe place where people can be open and vulnerable with what is going on in their lives? Given that the acceptance and belonging level is at 45%ile, a 72% rating on CCC being a safe church to share what is going on in your life is consistent. Seventy-two percent is a little better than average score compared to other churches where VitalChurch has been. Seventy-two is a satisfactory score, but not what it could be especially with Pioneers (56%) and Boomers (66%ile) dragging down the average. This question from the perspective of women at CCC is explored in the previous section. Q: How do you currently feel about your relationship to this church? I am very involved and excited about my church (81-100%) I am currently involved in supporting my church (61-80%) Neutral I am attending and participating in church life (41-60%) I am beginning to get discouraged with my church (21-40%) I am barely hanging on (0-20%) ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 79

80 The goal of this question is measure how people feel in general about their church. All groups, except the Pioneers, are in the 61-80% range, but near the lower end of this range. People are semi-positively involved in CCC. The scores should be higher in the 70%+ range. Q: I understand the vision, plans, and goals of this church. Q: I am in agreement with the vision, plans, and goals of this church. This set of questions has two primary applications. The first question focuses on the degree to which people understand what their church is about and/or what is going on in ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 80

81 their church. In most healthy churches, the people in the pews or chairs will be able to explain to others what their church s goals are. Partially, they are able to do this because they have heard it regularly and consistently from their leaders. Overall, only 53% of survey respondents feel they understand the vision, plans, and goals of their church. The minimum acceptable score for a healthy church is 70% or greater. Experience has shown that when understand is in the 50 s, that people generally say what they think the vision, plans, and goals ought to be and if interviewed are likely to say different things. The Transition Team (Leaders on the graph) affirm that the vision, plans, and goals for CCC are currently unclear and probably about to change. The fact that there is very little difference between understand and agree shows that there is little strife over the issue. People neither understand nor agree with the current vision, plans, and goals which are currently poorly understood. Q: I believe that this church has good potential for healthy growth in the future. These results are a positive affirmation that most believe that CCC has a bright future. The members of the Transition Team see a very positive potential. New Attenders are affirming the future of their church of choice at 93% with Intermediates not far behind at 86%. Gen Xers who are actually adding the largest number of New Attenders are also in the high group as are the Silents at 86%. The average on this question at churches where VitalChurch has been is 80%. An average score of 88% is definitely good. ã Fall 2017 VitalChurch. All rights reserved. 81