Purpose of the Vital Congregation Profile

The Vital Congregation Profile measures dimensions of congregational life related to becoming a Vital Congregation—a growing, outreach-focused congregation of disciples. The Profile is used in two ways:

• As a current snapshot of life in your congregation: The Profile can assist a congregation in identifying both strengths and needs of the congregation, and can be an important source of insight as a congregation develops and implements plans toward becoming a Vital Congregation.
• To assess progress: By administering the Profile periodically, a congregation can see its progress toward its goals. The Vital Evangelical Leadership Collaboration (VELC) also uses these results from all participating congregations to assess the effectiveness of the VELC programs.

How the Vital Congregation Profile Was Developed

Based on its collective years of experience in church vitality, both in research and in application, the Vital Evangelical Leadership Collaboration (VELC) identified dimensions of congregational life related to being a vital, evangelical congregation that attracts new members from the unchurched population in the community. To measure those dimensions, reliable survey questions were drawn from several of the finest research studies of ministry and congregational life of the past 30 years, including Ministry in America (The Association of Theological Schools and Search Institute ca. 1975-1980, replicated ca. 1990), Congregational Tools for Effective Evangelism (The American Lutheran Church and Brekke Associates ca. 1986), Effective Christian Education (Search Institute ca. 1990), and Youth Ministry That Transforms (Link Institute and Brekke Associates, Inc., ca. 2001). Additional questions were drafted based on an understanding of current research, including findings from the Healthy Church Index (copyright TAG, Fairfax, Virginia), Natural Church Development (copyright NCD International, Emmelsbuell, Germany), and many other studies. Using empirical cluster analysis with the 900 completed surveys from the first 20 congregations surveyed, 33 item sets ("Dimensions") were identified, each measuring a particular aspect of congregational life. The 33 Dimensions were organized into 7 broad areas ("Themes"), again using empirical cluster analysis. The Vital Congregation Profile report was developed to present a congregation’s scores on these 7 Themes and 33 Dimensions and to guide a congregation in the use of the information.

How A Congregation’s Profile Report Is Created

As part of a congregation’s participation in VELC, all leaders—pastors, paid program staff, and lay leaders—and a random sample of at least 50 active members are asked to complete a Profile survey on the VELC web site, www.vitalevangelicalleadership.org. The Profile survey responses are compiled and scored by an independent research firm, Brekke Associates, Inc., who also produces the Profile report. Only surveys that are submitted as “completed” are used for the report. All surveys are anonymous; that is, no information about a respondent, other than the respondent’s role (pastor, staff, lay leader, or member) and their answers to the questions on the survey, are stored or used for the report.

How the Vital Congregation Profile Relates to Other Congregational Assessment Tools

The Vital Congregation Profile was developed specifically for use in the coaching-based programs of the Vital Evangelical Leadership Collaboration (VELC). During the development of the Vital Congregation Profile, many tools that measure characteristics of congregations were studied, including the Healthy Church Index (copyright TAG, Fairfax, Virginia), Natural Church Development (copyright NCD International, Emmelsbuell, Germany), the Church Planning Inventory (copyright Hartford Seminary, Hartford, Connecticut), and the Church Vitality Profile (copyright Kent Hunter, Corunna, Indiana). Many insights from those tools helped to shape the content of the Vital Congregation Profile Survey. No actual questions from those tools were used, however, and the 33 Dimensions measured by the Vital Congregation Profile were developed empirically through statistical analysis of completed Profile surveys. Consequently, though some of the Dimensions may be similar to measures in other congregational assessment tools, no direct comparisons can be made.

The Statistical Validity and Reliability of the Vital Congregation Profile

Based on the initial 900 surveys from 20 congregations used to develop the Vital Congregation Profile, the internal consistency reliability of the Dimensions range from 0.59 to 0.95, and average 0.83. The internal consistency reliability of the Themes range from 0.53 to 0.93, and average 0.73. Users generally report that the Profile has a high degree of face and content validity, and that it describes congregations quite accurately. Formal tests of criterion-related validity (such as predictive and concurrent validity) have not been conducted.

For More Information

Please email us if you have other questions about the Vital Congregation Profile.