Launching multiple sites has been a top “go to” strategy for church expansion for three decades. Of the 70 multi-site churches that have fielded the REVEAL for Church survey, a large percentage fall into the more spiritually vibrant archetypes. But while many multi-site strategies have been great successes, there have been failures along the way.  In this episode, we examine what REVEAL data show about the spiritual vibrancy of multi-site churches and talk with Jim Tomberlin about strategies for successful expansion into multiple campuses. Jim has launched many multi-site congregations and is the founder of a consulting organization called Multisite Solutions.

The Secret to Multi-site Success (Season 2: Episode 2)

About 7% of the churches in the REVEAL database are multicultural churches, with at least 20% of congregants being of diverse ethnicities. These churches are among the most spiritually vibrant of the churches who have taken the survey. In this episode, we share the impressive statistics that show the vibrancy of multicultural churches and speak with Albert Tate, founding pastor of Fellowship Monrovia Church in California, which is a thriving multi-ethnic, multi-generational congregation.

The Magic of the Multicultural Church (Season 2: Episode 1)

REVEAL's Church Leadership Podcast is coming back in January 2019 with all new insights into topics that matter to you. We also have some news to share about new products and a special offer for podcast listeners.

Season 2 Preview

In this episode, we open the REVEAL database to share some surprising information about what “average” looks like. Having surveyed more than 2,000 churches, REVEAL’s database provides a statistical profile of averages for many aspects of church life, including congregant behaviors (how often do they really read the Bible every week?) and congregant attitudes (how strongly do they believe in salvation by grace or the authority of the Bible?).

The Surprising State of the Average Church

In this episode we focus on how churches that take the REVEAL survey can benefit from engaging with a coach to help them plan and implement changes based on their results.

The Benefits of Coaching

In this episode we interviewed Keith Doornbus, one of our first REVEAL clients when he was pastor of Providence Church in Holland, Michigan. Providence took the REVEAL survey three times, improving from Troubled to Average.  Keith shares his perspective on using REVEAL to turnaround Troubled and Introverted churches, both as a pastor who used REVEAL to understand his own congregation and as the coach for many pastors in the Christian Reformed Church who have taken the survey.

Leading Change in Troubled and Introverted Churches

This episode introduces you to the Troubled Church, an archetype that accounts for 14 percent of the churches in the REVEAL database. The Troubled Church is one in which congregants are both spiritually immature and unhappy with their church. This dual challenge makes turning around a Troubled Church difficult, but not impossible. In fact, 80 percent of the Troubled Churches that have taken the REVEAL survey more than once have changed archetypes.

The Troubled Church

This episode introduces you to the Complacent Church, which is the one of the largest of the eight archetypes we described in Episode 10. Complacent Churches account for 17 percent of the churches in our database. The Complacent Church is filled with people who are happy with their church, their pastor, and their busy, active lives. But they’re going through the motions—unaware of the danger that they are missing out on the central purpose of being a Christian, which is to grow into a disciple of Jesus Christ

The Complacent Church

In this episode, we talked with Robert Kelly, lead pastor of Beacon Church in Long Island, New York. Beacon Church took the REVEAL survey in 2012 and fell into the Extroverted Church archetype. Robert  shares what his church has done to create a discipleship pathway to grow newcomers into missional disciplemakers.

Meet an Extroverted Church Pastor

In this episode, we talk about the factors that set the Extroverted Church apart and then use the stories of a few Extroverted Churches to give you some practical insights. The Extroverted Church is just what the name implies—it’s a church that is “turned outward.” It’s friendly; it likes to meet new people. It is also highly engaged in serving its community. However, Extroverted church congregants are weak in their core Christian beliefs and don’t engage very frequently in personal spiritual practices. Just nine percent of the churches in the REVEAL database are in the Extroverted archetype.

The Extroverted Church

This podcast features an interview with Eric Arnson, the market research genius behind the development REVEAL. Earlier in his career, Eric led the North American brand strategy for McKinsey and Company, one of the world’s most respected consulting firms. Cally interviewed Eric to learn more about his perspective on why church leaders should be interested in their congregants’ satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, with the church.

Why Should Church Leaders Care About Satisfaction?

In this episode, we discussed the characteristics of the churches in the Introverted Church archetype, which compromise 17% of churches in our database, making it is one of the largest archetypes. As the name suggests, churches in this archetype tend to be inwardly focused. However, their congregants have strong beliefs in core Christian doctrines and are dedicated to their personal spiritual practices. These strengths provide a solid base for Introverted Churches to implement changes that will lead the church to become more vibrant.

The Introverted Church

Four Factors Characterize Self-Motivated ChurchesSelf-Motivated Church congregants have high frequency spirituality.·      Rates of serving, tithing, evangelism, and spending time in prayer and reflecting on Scripture are 20 to 40% higher than our database average, right on track with congregants in Vibrant Churches.·      Forty percent serve in a ministry at their church on a weekly basis, which is the highest percentage of any archetype. They also very strongly agree with the statement “I know and use my spiritual gifts to fulfill God’s purposes” at a higher rate than all but Vibrant Church congregants.·      Self-Motivated Churches have the highest percentage of Christ-Centered congregants of any archetype. About one-third of the congregation in this most mature segment of spiritual growth. Despite their spiritual maturity, Self-Motivated Church congregants have unrealized expectations of their church.Satisfaction with the senior pastor is 10 percent below our database average and satisfaction with three of the five Best Practices (Episode 8) are below the database average. Congregants’ overall satisfaction with the church is also much lower across the board compared with Vibrant Churches.It could be that congregants are holding their churches to a higher standard due to the intensity of their own efforts to grow spiritually.A possible reason we have encountered for this below-average satisfaction is that the pastor recently launched a church initiative or strategy that was not completely embraced by the congregation—like a building campaign or a church plant or a transition to a multisite strategy.In other Self-Motivated Churches we have talked to, congregants feel that the pastors have taken their eye off the discipleship ball or the small groups ministry has lost direction and focus.Self-Motivated Churches have a problem that no church wants: vanishing congregants.·      Self-Motivated Churches are more likely than any other archetype to report that weekend attendance has been in a downward spiral over the past twelve months.·      Because these churches are more likely to be smaller to start with, these declines are especially troublesome. Demographically, Self-Motivated Church congregations are older, southern, and rural.·      Self-Motivated Churches have a high percentage of congregants age 55 years old or older.·      These churches are typically located in south-central states, like Texas or Oklahoma, or in the Southeast, often in small towns. How do Self-Motivated Churches become vibrant?The path forward for the Self-Motivated Church begins with leaders being willing to listen to the concerns of dissatisfied congregants. For many Self-Motivated Churches, taking the REVEAL survey has been an important first step in that listening process. Following up on the survey results with focus groups or other types of listening sessions can bring additional insight into the reasons behind t

The Self-Motivated Church

In this episode, we talked with Phill Tague, lead pastor of Ransom Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ransom Church took the REVEAL survey in the spring of 2016 for the first time. The church fell into our strongest archetype—the Energized Church.

Meet an Energized Church Pastor

In this episode, we discussed the characteristics of the churches that fall under the Energized Church archetype, which compromise 12% of churches in our database. This archetype is the most likely “next step” for churches that are in some of the weaker archetypes (like Complacent, Average and Extroverted Churches). We have seen many churches move to the Energized archetype after they address issues that show up in their first survey, making the Energized archetype an important one for all churches to get to know.

The Energized Church

In this episode, we talked with Jeremy Yancey, lead pastor of Timber Creek Church in Lufkin, Texas. Timber Creek has taken the REVEAL survey twice—once in 2013 and a second time in the spring of 2017. Both times the church fell into our strongest archetype—the Vibrant Church.Jeremy served as Timber Creek’s Executive Pastor for nine years before becoming the lead pastor three years ago. Timber Creek is a 90-year-old church with its roots in the Assembly of God denomination. Like many Vibrant Churches, it’s large—more than 1200 adults attend weekend services—and it’s also young—one out of five of the people who took the survey were in their 20s, which is well above our database average.

An Interview with a Vibrant Church Pastor

In this episode, we discussed the characteristics of the churches in the REVEAL database that fall under the Vibrant Church archetype. The Vibrant Church, which is the strongest of the eight archetypes we described in Episode 10, is also the smallest archetype, accounting for 8% of churches compared with the Complacent and Introverted Church archetypes, which each account for 17% of churches in our database. 

The Vibrant Church

In this episode, we talked about our discovery of eight types of churches. We call these “archetypes” and they are akin to church “personalities.” Finding the archetypes was a huge breakthrough, not only because it gave us a framework for understanding differences among churches, but because it provided a focused lens to view each church. These archetypes help us see more clearly how a church is wired, so we can understand their results and prescribe a path to greater vibrancy. 

The Eight Church Archetypes

In this episode, we talked about what we have learned about the process of spiritual growth based on responses to the REVEAL for Church survey. One key finding of REVEAL’s research is the Spiritual Continuum: four stages of spiritual maturity identified in our earliest research: Exploring Christ (10% of churchgoers on average); Growing in Christ (40%); Close to Christ (25%) and Christ-Centered (25%).  Our goal with the Spiritual Continuum is not to put people in boxes. Once we discovered these four groups, we set out to learn what triggered movement from one segment to the next to help pastors determine the best next steps to help their people grow in their relationship with Christ. We call these drivers of spiritual growth “catalysts” because they speed growth much like a catalyst speeds a chemical reaction. 

Unlocking Spiritual Growth in Your Church

One of the most influential findings from REVEAL is its discovery of five best practices for churches—specifically, best practices for developing disciples of Jesus Christ. This was a discovery the REVEAL Team intentionally pursued. After we developed the Spiritual Vitality Index (SVI), we were able to identify the top 5% of churches in our database and find out what they were doing to be so effective at discipleship.  

REVEAL's Church Leadership Podcast

REVEAL's Church Leadership Podcast

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