Customized Survey Instruments

Belief Measures and Knowledge Tests

People are attending church or classes (in a school or a community setting), are they learning what you want them to learn?  Are Church members maturing in their faith or just spending time?  Are clients learning what they need?  Are they applying this knowledge to improve their lives?

Church members do, first of all, have to know what Christ taught and how Christian beliefs differ from other religions or philosophies.

At one level, church leaders need to know what it is that their members know.  This will tell you how effective your teaching has been.  Do people think "God helps those who help themselves" is a quote from the Bible?  Are they aware that angels are never described as having wings?  Do they understand the concepts of substantiation and justification—even if they don't know those words?  How important are personal Bible study and corporate worship to them?

Before people can act on their beliefs, they must have the right beliefs.  Our customized belief measures help churches understand what their people believe.  When you know what they believe, you can best shape your preaching and teaching.

For schools and community organizations we can help you develop accurate tests to assess what students learn.  Then we can help you move past the all-to-familiar (and all-to-useless!) participant surveys that ask "How did you like the class?" on to better ways to assess the impact of a class on the lives of clients.

Similarly, when a church wants to start an evangelistic campaign or a community agency wants to build a campaign to help change community behaviors you need to know the beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge of your audience or community.  Where are they at?  How far do they need to come?  Community surveys can let you know where the people are—spiritually or in knowledge or attitudes—so you can target your message to their specific needs.

Churches have an even more specific need to survey their members' beliefs.  Every church has a belief statement they hold central to the reason that church exists.  Then, too, there are numerous other beliefs that are held important to that body, even if they are not stated in a denominational creed or Statement of Belief.  Do your members agree with these beliefs?  Where do their beliefs differ from those of the pastor or leadership?

Community Empowerment Research has surveys of Christian belief that can be used or adapted to your church or denomination.

And we can help you write knowledge surveys (ok, Tests) to assess what members or clients have learned.

Sample Church Surveys