Everybody has a different reaction when it comes to the idea of evaluation — especially in the Church. Some leaders feel like “evaluation” sounds corporate or businesslike. As a result, pastors often resist evaluation because it doesn’t seem spiritual. Other times, we may avoid evaluation because we’re afraid of what it might reveal.

Our insecurities get the best of us because we don’t want to look like a failure. On the other side of the spectrum, some see evaluation as a way to make improvements, bolster growth and raise the level of excellence.

Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, leaders must recognize that evaluation only reveals facts, and facts are ultimately our friends. You can’t change your reality if you don’t first face it. Even though these facts might reveal weaknesses, gaps and deficiencies, they ultimately give us the information we need to craft a roadmap to improved health and growth.

Ignoring the facts only turns short-term gaps into long-term graves. A church refusing to build a healthy culture of evaluation will die a slow death.

Leaders must recognize that evaluation only reveals facts, and facts are ultimately our friends.

This issue of Make It Count explores how to build a culture of evaluation with these eight insightful lessons:

1. The Value of Evaluation
2. The Keys to Effective Evaluation
3. Evaluating Yourself
4. Evaluating Church Health
5. Evaluating Strategies
6. Evaluating Staff and Leaders
7. Evaluating Culture
8. Removing the Frustration From Evaluation

The goal of each lesson is to present the topic from a biblical and holistic perspective, foster meaningful discussion, and provide a roadmap for building a healthy culture of evaluation.

This eight-week study, which appears in the September/October 2019 issue of Influence magazine, is now available online as a free download. Church leaders can print multiple complimentary copies of this resource and use it to promote development, spark discussion and inspire vision among team members.

The online resource also includes a fill-in-the-blank guide for team members to use as they follow along with the studies.

Adapted from the September/October 2019 edition of Influence magazine.