“What We Heard” Surveys are tricky things…

• Some surveys offer questions that are written in ways to illicit a desired response.
• Some have such long questions that the respondent can get confused as to what the actual question is! The same can be true for questions that are too short.
• So, the survey questions, and how those questions are asked can make a big difference in how people respond…and then there is the interpretation of the survey results!

In this short series of articles concerning the work of the Call Committee to this point, I will not be interpreting the surveys for you, rather, I will simply share some results of the survey for the Call Committee and all of us to ponder. 

The first congregational survey was titled: Gifts for Ministry, with the instruction: Choose the five gifts you feel are a top priority for our new ministry leader to have and five gifts you believe would be helpful to have. 

The report we received had four ways to read the survey results: the raw data – how votes for “Top Priority” and “Very Helpful” received, the “Top Priority” results by votes in descending order, The “Very Helpful” results by votes in descending order and the combined votes in descending order. I find the Combined Results to be the most helpful in assessing the priorities for future staffing. So, without further ado…. here are the Top Five Combined results respondents gave: 

1. Be an effective communicator.
2. Help people develop their spiritual life.
3. Be able to share leadership and work in a team.
4. Be skilled in planning and leading programs.
5. Bring coy and good humor to relationships.
6. Provide care and nurture.
7. Be effective in working with our youth.
8. Deal effectively with conflict
9. Build a sense of community among the people with whom he/she works
10. Be effective in working with children.

Interesting, eh? 

If you have not had the opportunity to respond to any or all of these surveys, they are attached below. Please fill the survey(s) you have missed and return to the office by mail, drop them off, or send to my email address: ppetersen23@gmail.com 

Your Call Committee is hard at work in reading, discussing and discernment. It is indeed an honor to work with them! Stay tuned for next week’s report on Survey #2! 

Shalom, Pastor Paul