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Church Culture Assessment

Resources

7 Resources
From the Staff From the Staff
Five Things to Know about Assessments
Assessment tools are used in congregational planning. Such tools are helpful in strategic...
book
A Precious Fountain: Music in the Worship of an African American Catholic Community
This resource uses the lens of worship music to explore the culture of a Black Catholic parish...
web resource
Church Assessment Tool (CAT)
This congregational assessment from Holy Cow Consulting provides benchmark data to inform...
event
Creating a Culture of Renewal
This ongoing series of annual education events hosted by Rebekah Simon-Peter equips...
article
How to Shape Your Church's Culture
This article from LifeWay provides an introduction to understanding what defines church...
book
Look Before You Lead: How to Discern and Shape Your Church Culture
This book helps congregations lead cultural change by providing an overview, practical...
web resource
Transforming Church Insight (TCI)
This assessment tool provides an evaluation of your congregation's sense of community.

Guest Contributor

Contributor
Kate White

Kate was the associate director for resources at the Center for Congregations. She managed educational resources and worked to get the best resources into the hands of congregations.

Church Culture Assessment

Religious organizations may need to think carefully about how they can work to construct a strong culture in their community. With the right culture, it is possible to attract the right people, create a welcoming environment, and serve as a positive force in the community. That is potentially why a lot of religious leaders are looking for a way to conduct a church culture assessment.

Unfortunately, a lot of religious organizations can sometimes find themselves having to deal with toxic church culture. There are numerous cultural issues in the church with which religious leaders have had to reckon. As a whole, the religious community has undergone a significant amount of evolution during the past few years, and out of this, a stronger religious culture should likely arise. That way, all religious leaders can have the potential to move forward into the future with their congregation, using a positive religious culture. At the same time, it can be a good idea for religious leaders to be able to spot signs of toxic church culture. For example, there may be rampant feelings of mistrust throughout the community. Or, people may not know where to turn during times of needing help. These are all possible signs that there could be problems with the culture in the religious community.

The only way religious leaders are likely going to be able to do something about this is if they are able to even spot the signs of problematic culture to begin with. That is why it might be helpful to conduct a religious culture assessment, from time to time. That way, pastors and other religious leaders can work to make the changes they might need to make, in order to improve organizational culture.

Church Organizational Culture

First, it might be good to discuss the potential importance of having a strong church organizational culture. Church culture today comes in many shapes and forms. In the past, a lot of pastors may not have thought that organizational culture was important in a religious community. After all, people would show up for services, possibly attend small group services, and then go home. Today, religious communities have become an integral part of the livelihoods of many families, and many people view their religious leaders as pillars of the community. Therefore, religious communities can serve as examples to everyone else. That is why church organizational culture can be helpful.

Furthermore, if the organizational culture in a religious community is strong, it may be easier for the religious community to get people to participate in various activities. For instance, if there is a conference coming up in the near future, then a community with a strong organizational culture will likely have an easier time in recruiting people to go on the trip. If the organizational culture is strong, this can radiate from the religious community, helping convince other people to become members of the congregation. In order for religious leaders to build a strong community that can set the tone for the future, they might have to think carefully about how they can build a strong organizational culture within the congregation.

Setting the Culture at Church

So, a lot of religious leaders are currently wondering about setting the culture at church. It can be good for them to think about the core values of a healthy church. Naturally, one of the foundational pillars likely has to be in a relationship with a higher power. This should perhaps be at the very center of everything the church does. From there, all the other core values can be built around it. For example, honesty and integrity may perhaps have to be some of the most important core values. That way, members of the congregation will potentially be better able to trust the leaders of the religious community. This can help religious leaders build a strong community, moving forward.

After discussing core values, it can also be good to pay attention to church improvement ideas. The easiest way to build a strong culture in a church is perhaps to get people to know one another. Once people have been able to get to know one another, they will likely have an easier time trusting each other. How can religious leaders help convince members of the congregation to spend more time with one another? It may be a good idea to set up small groups that meet at various times during the week. Then, members of the congregation may have an easier time interacting with one another during these small group sessions. This can go a long way toward helping build a healthy culture in the church.

Church Culture and Leadership

It might also be a good idea to discuss church culture and leadership. In order to build a healthy church culture, there may have to be strong leaders at the top. Leaders often set the tone for culture in church, and when members of the congregation are wondering how to respond to a certain situation, they are often going to take a look at how the leaders are responding. Then, they are going to quite possibly respond in the same manner. If religious leaders are able to set a healthy time for the church, the members of the congregation might then follow.

At the same time, there are occasions in which toxic leadership in ministry can create issues. Even some of the most successful religious communities have had problems, from time to time. For instance, there may be some religious leaders who do not place the needs of the higher power or the congregation at the top of the priority list. They may place their needs ahead of those at the church. This is potentially one of the most common examples of toxic ministry. It can be good for religious leaders to conduct assessments from time to time in order to make sure that all members of the leadership staff are working toward one common goal. If there are any issues that need to be addressed, they should likely be addressed during regular evaluations. That way, religious leaders can try and put the right people in charge.

How To Change the Culture of a Church

If leaders are wondering how to change their church, there are perhaps a few key points to keep in mind. First, changing a church culture likely requires patience. If they are wondering how to change the culture of their church, it has to be done through actions, not words. Actions can also take a while to unfold.

For example, they may want to make sure that members of the congregation feel comfortable coming to them with any issues or concerns. If members of the congregation raise a specific issue, it deserves to be investigated thoroughly and dealt with accordingly. If members of the congregation feel as if their voices are being heard, this can go a long way toward improving the culture of the church. It can also help the church set a tone for the future, in which everyone is going to be held accountable.

Gradually, the culture of the church might begin to improve, which can be demonstrated by growing numbers in the congregation and growing levels of trust among everyone. Furthermore, it can be good to take a look at some of the resources that are available on theCRG, as this could be a great way to help religious leaders change the culture in the church.

Church Culture Examples

It might also be helpful to take a look at a few church culture examples. A few instances of positive church culture include:

Every member at the church seems to get along with one another Members of the religious leadership team are comfortable bringing issues to the forefront Members of the congregation appear to trust members of the leadership staff Whenever volunteers are required for a certain event or conferences, lots of people step up The seats appear to be packed during every service There are lots of people who are providing positive feedback Members of the congregation are comfortable talking about issues that could merit improvement

At the same time, there are also a few signs that may indicate that the church is in trouble. These include:

People do not seem to trust one another People do not seem to know where to go, if they have a question or concern No one is willing to provide feedback on anything No one is willing to volunteer for events or conferences that are coming up It looks like there are fewer people coming to services, and no one wants to participate in small group sessions

These are just a few signs that religious leaders may need to pay closer attention to the culture in their church.

Types of Church Cultures

Ultimately, there are lots of types of church culture out there. Some types of church cultures are positive, while other types of church cultures are negative. It can be a good idea to focus on building a healthy church culture, as this is likely going to help set the foundation for the future. With a strong culture, the church can be better primed to grow in the future.

There are a lot of people who are wondering what makes a good church service. Similar to churches themselves, every service is likely going to be different. It might be a good idea for religious leaders to think about how they can tailor their services to meet the needs of their specific congregation, then. This likely starts with learning how to describe church culture. What makes a positive church culture? What makes a negative charge culture? If leaders are looking for ways to define their church culture, what can they do?

It might be helpful to take a closer look at some of the resources that are available on the CRG. That way, they can perhaps learn more about the assessments they should perform regularly to take a closer look at the culture of their church. By regularly auditing their church culture, they can help work to make improvements for the future.

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