Assessing Church Health

It seems to me that statistics are never that helpful when we want to assess the health of a church – there are too many outside factors that can cause a shift in 'bums on seats', so here are some other possible Church Health Assessment ideas.
In medical health they talk about Human homeostasis that refers to the body's ability to regulate its internal physiology to maintain stability in response to fluctuations in the outside environment. The liver and kidneys help maintain homeostasis. The liver is responsible for metabolizing toxic substances and maintaining carbohydrate metabolism. Regulating and balancing in response to external factors makes a healthy organism – I suspect the same can be said of the Church as population/economic/social/immigration/migration trends seem to knock stats one way or another. This means they are quite difficult to read. If we take this sort of approach to Church Health – which I suspect reflects more the gospel we might be able to come up with some other factors. Resilience – I would suggest that is over stating the case as one sign I would consider of health/discipleship is resilience - pointing more towards where the people are in their faith rather than the ministry of the Vicar/priest/ministry team

Every Member Ministry - I think a good indication also – to be Christian is to be a minister how seriously is that taken up – not just in church but in the community. I suspect a better indicator of health is volunteers per parish population base, from there we could give a percentage basis- I would suggest 50% + would be healthy. The fact volunteerism is on the decline may be an indicator of either poor discipleship, people's busyness, lack of opportunity to serve or poor teaching, but it is certainly an indication of poor church health

Fringe Activities: The Church is in tension it is on one hand a closed system (a worshipping community) but by nature and professing it should also be growing form the fringes. If the Church has homeostasis health then as a body it should be able to regulate its internal physiology to maintain stability in response to fluctuations in the outside environment. Therefore you would see Healthy growth and also healthy decline in response to the external environmental pressures. Health of church governed by what is happening on the fringes – that's what makes it different to the social clubs – that is how worship and mission are balanced out with that in mind here are some other possible indicators:

1. Visitor Volume Ratio – 5:100 and form there a Visitor Retention Ration – 4:100 –
   
2. Friendship Ratio – 1:7 vital sign of life
   
3. Small Group Ratio – 7 groups per 100 people
   
4. Financial Ratio – $1 in $10 to outreach (local and or Mission)
   

For what it's worth....

Different Ways of doing Youth Ministry

Over the last few years I have gotten increasingly despondent at the ways in which the average Church seems to approach youth ministry. There seems to be little in the way of innovation and nothing beyond social programs and worship services. But I am feeling a lot more chipper as I take stock of what is emerging in our region:

Group one has set up a travelling LAN party ministry aimed not only at youth but their fathers too. About once a month they invade a church hall set up 15+ computers connect them into a server and play Battle Field games – they cook a meal together and also have a devotional. In January they hope to turn the event into an overnighter with paintball too. The kids who hate the regular youth group stuff love this...

Group two intends to run bush line activities for small groups 6 weekends a year – they'll take the small group (1 to 3 leader ratio) into the bush teach them how to make fires, shelter and forage and use it as a growing up experience (mini rites of passage I guess)...

Group three takes two van loads of young people each weekend during Winter up to the snow – where they board and learn how to climb – they've even had a go at making an igloo...

Group four isn't even a group it's a developing project based around an online chaplaincy (care) for youth who are in remote churches, the hope is that using technology we can help the one or two kids from every small town church in the region join together – face to face meetings will take place too but much of it will be net based.

Group five is a young people who got dragged into a youth development course – every other year we bring 20 or so young people from around the region to learn life skills – to develop communication, leadership and confidence in themselves.

We still have regular youth ministries but it seems that it's these new initiatives that strengthen the regular ministry, they are also helping to link in with the wider church – kingdom building...

We are on the move....

Well its official the Treston Family is on the move. On January 19^th my wife starts work as a mental Health Nurse in Blenheim, on January 28^th our two kids will start at their new school in Blenheim. As for me well I have been accepted for ordination to the diaconate (big words).

What that means that some time in the next few months I will cease to work for the Diocese of Nelson and commence work for a Parish in Blenheim. I am looking forward to working once again with a community of people on a faith journey – the last few years has been very difficult professionally and personally not feeling as though you have a church family to belong too, so I am looking forward to that. Also looking forward to seeing Maureen's work blossom – she has done really well in her training and beat 20 odd people to get this position – I'm very proud of her and she is going to be a great Mental Health Nurse.

Last night our summer soccer season started and I guess that is one of the things I will miss outside of the Church I have made some good relationships with people through football and I know quite a lot of people around town as a result. Scored my first goal last night which was an absolute scorcher – came close on two other occasions too, a 25 yard shot beat the keeper and skimmed the cross bar and a point blank shot was fumbled of the goal line...

I can't say where I will be working yet – until the Church has announced it but it's a job I was offered in June – it's taken until now for the clergy rings to be jumped through. Just as well God doesn't move as slow as the Church sometimes....