Survey Report

By Lis Van Harten

(First appeared in the March 2006 issue of Ministry Reports to Classes and Councils)

The goal of the SPE project is to create a culture of pastoral excellence in the CRC. In the fall of 2004 a survey assessing this culture was sent to pastors and clerks of council. The results of this survey will be compared to the results of the same survey to be conducted in 2007—the final year of the SPE project.

SPE maintains there are six marks of good ministry. These marks were explored in the survey which had a 62% response rate. It was found that almost half of the pastors engage in daily devotions and 90% do so at least three times a week (spiritual formation). Of the five core elements of the CRC mission statement, praise and worship was ranked as most important (vision and mission of the church). Nine out of ten pastors report a thorough or close to thorough understanding of the Christian faith from a Reformed perspective (knowing and communicating the Christian faith). Ninety percent of pastors said they would start their careers again as a pastor (healthy pastoral identity). Over half of the pastors see themselves as having a “servant leadership” style (pastoral leadership). Over 90% of pastors reported attending at least one continuing education event in the last year. Forty percent said they were a part of a peer learning group and over 40% reported being in a mentoring relationship (life-long learning).

The study found that about two-thirds of pastors receive systematic feedback on their preaching from their councils. Clerks of council reported that 57% of their churches reflect with the pastor on his/her spiritual formation and growth.

If you would like an electronic copy of the preliminary findings please contact us at pastoralexcellence@crcna.org .