The Christian Standard Annual Survey of Churches is now available! Surveys were sent via email to many churches over the past week. (Please check your email and perhaps even your spam folder.) If you have not received a survey, please use this link to take the survey by Friday, Jan. 26.
This survey of 2023 data is designed for every Restoration Movement church (Independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ).
“Participation from every church in our movement is encouraged and appreciated,” says researcher/writer Kent E. Fillinger, who has worked with Christian Standard to conduct the survey for almost two full decades. “The survey is designed for churches of all sizes and only takes a few minutes to complete.”
“We would love to hear about your congregation,” notes Christian Standard editor Shawn McMullen. “I know some church leaders hesitate to complete the survey for fear of sounding prideful or to avoid competition. We appreciate that, but we’re looking for something entirely different here. We’re compiling statistics that will help our movement as a whole; and the more churches we hear from, the more accurate and helpful the survey will be.”
The annual survey is the only definitive source of data for our group of churches. Collecting information, over time, on attendance, baptisms, giving, etc. is essential to evaluating trends within our movement, Fillinger says. The insights and information gained is intended to help all of us see and celebrate how God is working in and through our churches.
“Church leaders regularly tell me how much they appreciate and value the takeaways from the survey findings,” says Fillinger, who each year collects the data, crunches the numbers, and uses the information for articles that appear not only in our May/June issue, but in his Metrics columns for months following. Additionally, survey insights are considered as editors develop issues and assign news stories over the next year.
“This year,” Fillinger says, “we’ve added several new questions to track what churches are doing to equip and encourage their congregations in the areas of discipleship, spiritual growth, and Bible engagement.”
Your participation this year will provide valuable information for our movement to celebrate and to learn from. We encourage you to take part!
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