A newsletter of Faith Communities Today

Volume 1, Number 2
May 2000

Survey methods, workbooks tested

On the eve of the most extensive survey of religious congregations ever conducted in the United States, Faith Communities Today tested its sampling methods and utilization guides last February in the Dayton, Ohio, area. More than 100 local faith communities in Montgomery County participated by responding to some 190 questions.   Read about it here!

Next Months' Features:

• Scott Thumma on how the FACT website can help you  
• Ways to share data with faith group leaders
  

Join our Email Mailing List       Contact Us      Review past newsletters

Survey methods, workbooks tested

On the eve of the most extensive survey of religious congregations ever conducted in the United States, Faith Communities Today tested its sampling methods and utilization guides last February in the Dayton, Ohio, area. More than 100 local faith communities in Montgomery County participated by responding to some 190 questions.

The pilot project was conducted under the leadership of United Methodist Researcher Craig This. Specialists associated with the project came to the Ohio City from across the United States to review data collected from local churches and mosques and to help local congregational leaders consider the implications of the survey for their own activities. The specialists were eager to observe the use of the workbooks created to help local groups look at themselves in comparison with neighboring congregations, their national denomination, and religious communities across America. These workbooks will be a principal tool as congregations seek to build on their strengths and discover areas that need improvement.  One local pastor, the Rev. Robert Thornton of United Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), was impressed by the similarities between mainline and evangelical Protestant congregations including commitment to social service. "This survey tells us that we have many of the same concerns. As a pastor, I now realize that I'm not out there alone." "But the research also shows that, especially in terms of outreach, our congregation still has a way to go," he said. A regional executive for the Presbyterian Church (USA) was delighted with what she saw in Dayton. Margaret Haney, who is a trained sociologist, said the study will be very helpful to members of her denomination. "We do a lot of research. Over the years we have assembled a great deal of information about what we think and do. But this survey will be very helpful because it will help us know ourselves better in relation to other churches." Joan Spaehn, a lay person involved with the Dayton area Interfaith Ministries for Reconciliation, believes that the study was done at "an opportune time." Pointing out that Dayton now has a downtown revitalization plan and "a lot of interfaith dialogue," she said "the study will help us see what we are doing--and how well we are doing--and discover how we can partner with other congregations in the region. "The data are invaluable; the implications are endless," she said. Dr. Khairat Ahmed, a physician, was interested that so many religious groups are concerned about spirituality. "More and more, materialism seems to be moving people away from their spiritual natures," he reflected. Following a half-day discussion of the FACT survey in his mosque, he noted that "Islam is new and growing on this continent." He expects the survey will help many people better understand the faith of their Muslim neighbors.

A Dayton University sociologist, Sister Laura Lemming, believes that the local followup --in congregations and in interfaith groups--is the most promising aspect of the FACT effort.

"More than just data gathering, FACT will help congregations
become more effective instruments of the faith they profess…" Sometimes the Faith Communities Today (FACT) project feels to me like Johnny Carson's Great Karnak who asks for the envelope saying, "Here's the answer, what's the question?" One foundational finding in the Dayton pre-test may seem obvious, but actually is little understood. In our FACT study we are re-discovering that congregations provide our national treasury of spiritual awareness. So while we were in Dayton we in effect heard Carson's Karnak announce the answer: "It's spiritual!" Only then he read the question, "Why are religious congregations the oldest, largest, and most diverse form of continuing community life in the 200 years of our national history?"

The first round of preliminary FACT data suggests several ways this information can be helpful, for example:

1. As opposed to the myth that spiritual journeys are primarily taken alone, our initial findings affirm the vitality of congregations as the primary source for spiritual nurture. But we want to know how they do it. We want to discover more about the ways that congregations become and remain important sources for spirituality in vastly different, highly mobile populations across America.

2. Contradicting the perception that congregations are focused primarily on themselves, we are finding that the most spiritually-alive congregations also are making significant contributions to their communities. We want to know more about the complex yet productive relationship that allows these congregations to sustain the link between spiritual vitality and community outreach.

3. Although congregations often carry a denominational name, we are finding a decline in commitment to denominational heritage. We want to know more about the changing functional relationships among churches within the same denomination, and also about the shape of new networks that are sustaining local religious bodies today.

4. Although congregations often define themselves by their differences from others, we are finding that they have far more similarities than differences as social organizations and spiritual centers. We want to know more about those comparisons in order to find ways to strengthen congregations, and perhaps to build appreciation and alliances for common effectiveness.

5. In an organizational culture of specialization, in which churches often are marginalized, we are finding that congregations of all sorts provide numerous social, health, and In an organizational culture of specialization, in which churches often are marginalized, we are finding that congregations of all sorts provide numerous social, health, and educational services beyond their membership. We want to expose and celebrate the extent that religious groups contribute to the social welfare and rich culture of American life.

6. In a national culture that spans both tolerance and bigotry, we are finding religious groups that desire to understand each other across racial, ethnic and religious differences, but feel that they have little experience and few guidelines. We want to identify the congregational patterns that combine stability of religious commitments with the energy and vision to meet changing conditions creatively.

So what does this short list of questions have in common? I am convinced that in FACT we have the potential not just to gather data about many religious bodies in America, but also to transform that information into knowledge and, in the process, to help these groups--separately and together--become more effective instruments of the faith they profess. Professor Carl S. Dudley of The Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford Seminary is co-director of the research and educational program known as Faith Communities Today.

Church of God in Christ uses Dayton research

The leaders of the Turner Road Christian Church, Dayton, Ohio, were so caught up in the Faith Communities Today pilot project that they began immediately seeking ways to apply what they learned.Although a review of more data will be needed, as Senior Pastor Andrew Brewster pointed out, the members who met to discuss the early findings quickly identified points at which the congregation's spiritual life and worship patterns need to be enriched. Mark Hill, one of the participants, said that he will work for change in the congregation. "What we perceived as negatives--or challenges--need to be made positive," he said.Another person who participated in the FACT-sponsored discussion, Pam Day, confessed that "I'm not where I want to be as a member. Now I see myself as playing a more active role. I see that I must become part of the solution." Brewster said he liked what he heard his members saying. "They are grasping the bigger picture because of the survey. The use of the survey materials in our church helped me as the minister see places that need to be changed and places that can be changed. Our leaders now know they need to do more public modeling."Douglas Foster, the key teacher for the Churches of Christ, led the Turner Road group through the process of looking at their congregation and comparing themselves with other Dayton-area churches. Foster, who teaches church history at Abiline (Texas) Christian University, said he could see "real lights come on in their eyes and minds" as the group used the FACT materials. "This instrument allows a congregation to see itself in ways it hasn't before--to take an indepth look at themselves," Foster said. "Especially in the area of spiritual vitality they thought things had been okay but now they have begun to see more clearly what is needed."The associate pastor, David Carnes, said he was not surprised that people identified weaknesses in the congregation. "Some people--even I--would have preferred to respond to the questionnaire in terms of what we wish the church was like. But we saw ourselves as we are. It is hard to ignore our weaknesses when we put them on paper." He sees "a great opportunity" now to help the church become stronger.

Disciples of Christ prepares special teaching tools

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will provide special teaching tools that utilize data obtained from FACT surveys, according to Mike Naylor, of the denomination's research department."FACT comes at just the right time for us," he said during the pilot project in Dayton, Ohio. "The survey will make it possible for us to help our congregations see themselves clearly in relation to a program that we call 'The Marks of a Faithful Church.'" The Disciples' program, developed at the initiative of Dr. Richard Hamm, the church's General Minister and President, focuses on "deep spirituality," "true community," and "passion for justice." Naylor says, "FACT offers us the opportunity to interpret back to congregations just what these Marks mean in their church."Many congregations also are engaged in a Disciples' program called the Faithful Planning Process. Naylor, who has participated in Faith Communities Today as a key researcher, expects the new tools to be available in 2001. The resources are being prepared through the Disciples' Division of Homeland Ministries.The church also plans to make its FACT data available on a CD-Rom in conjunction with information and statistics from its annual Yearbook.

Workbooks introduce five survey topics

To help congregations look at themselves and discover ways to improve their efforts, workbooks are being developed for intentional reflection on five typical areas of their common life.Workbooks designed to help local congregations look study themselves in the light of FACT research will focus on five areas: Public Worship, Spiritual Growth, Inviting and Including, Community Outreach and Managing and Leading. The five areas were chosen by Key Teachers because the areas often are among priorities of local churches, synagogues and mosques. The areas were selected from a more extensive list of topics covered in the questionnaire.Congregations and their leaders will be offered tools by which to compare themselves with faith groups in their community as well as with their own denomination and with the national religious landscape. The workbooks were planned to be "self-guiding," but a number of faith groups expect to train facilitators to guide individual groups through the process. According to Prof. Carl Dudley, of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, the educational strategy for the workbooks includes ten steps.Congregations, or their leaders, will be encouraged to:

• Focus on a few questions in one area of the larger study.Engage participants in answering the questions for themselves. Compare their responses with the responses of their denomination and discuss.Then compare responses with other denominations and discuss. Offer interpretation and invite discussion.Provide additional links to other data within their group and with other groups. Suggest other areas of the survey and additional implications for its use.Conclude the discussion within two hours -- while interest remains high. Keep notes or records of the discussion and its implications.
• Invite follow-up consultation and additional areas for study.

The workbooks were tested in a dozen different settings during the pilot project in Dayton (see page 1). As a result of the test, a task group led by Dirk Hart, of the Christian Reformed Church, and Rick Krivanka, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cleveland, is developing a revision that will be more user friendly. Along with related tools such as diagrams, graphs, factoids, and generic news releases, the workbooks will be available on the FACT website: http://fact.hartsem.edu. Several faith groups expect to customize these materials for their own community.