Journey Discipleship Survey

The Journey Discipleship Survey has been developed as a response to leaders within our movement asking for a tool to help discern discipleship strengths and weaknesses within a local congregation. This information then allows congregational leadership to develop and adjust their discipleship emphases in a manner that matches needs within their congregation.

The Survey is based upon the Journey to Wholeness in Jesus framework, reflecting four mileposts of Christian growth and maturity. Besides basic Demographic Information the survey is divided into three sections: Personal Christian Growth, Congregational Growth Practices, and The Role of the Pastor in Facilitating a Discipleship Framework.

The Personal Christian Growth section ask respondents to self‐identify the strength of their convictions about Core Beliefs and Attitudes that Christians (and particularly the Wesleyan family) have agreed upon over the centuries. Respondents are asked to indicate the frequency with which they practice a collection of Disciplines or habits (Wesleyan “means of grace”), commended or modelled in the life of Jesus — which Christians over the centuries have found contribute to transformation, growth and maturity.

Congregational Growth Practices addresses Christian growth from the perspective of the local church, rather than the individual. The questions ask how the local church is doing at the task of helping individuals come to faith and grow to maturity. It asks about Church Activities – planned, regular, aspects of church life. Then the respondents are asked about less “organized” but still very important Church Practices – less tangible, but reflecting the general values and ethos of the local church.

The final section, Role of the Pastor in Facilitating a Discipleship Framework in the Congregation, is intended as an optional piece that may or may not add insight to your process. It focuses on the role of pastoral leadership in developing a discipleship framework in the life of the local church. Respondents are asked about the importance to them of a series of values, attitudes, practices and activities of pastoral leaders, and then, to evaluate how pastoral leadership does at accomplishing these.

Survey Process

If your church would like to see a Sample Report to understand how this information might help your congregation, contact Vinola Pakkianathen or Marc McAlister.

If your church would like to complete the Journey Discipleship Survey, contact Vinola Pakkianathen, who will send you the Survey forms as well as a Step by Step guide to the process, which includes both paper survey forms and online data entry information, all to be completed by your own congregation. An individualized Journey Survey Report will then be analyzed with comments provided from a member of the National Leadership Team.

Step 1: Church Board views a Sample Report and decides whether or not to do the survey

Step 2: Request Survey and individualized online data entry portal

Step 3: Complete paper survey with as large a number of church attendees as possible (try to get at least 60% response from your congregation – more is better). Survey takes approximately 15 min to complete.

Step 4: someone in your church enters all the data in the individualized online data entry portal

Step 5: A Journey Survey Report is completed by NLT member and returned to your church.

Step 6: An NLT member can be requested to do a feedback session with your church board.