Church Life Cycle

How does it work?

We start by identifying your key members then allow them to complete the online survey.

Then the system will automatically collate and visualise the data for you to review and recommend next steps.

The Life cycle survey totally changed how we measure progress at our church, it enabled us to have metrics that actually make a difference to our community.

It also encourages accountability amongst our leadership team.

How Accurate is The Life Cycle Tool?

The goal of the tool is generating conversations based on answers your leadership team have entered. Even if you do not agree with the life cycle point established, it is interesting to think through why your team answered the way they did. The tool has shown itself to have criterion validity across a range of Seventh-day Adventist congregations however as more data is collected the tool will be statistically validated and adjusted for more accuracy.

Is my church too small to benefit?

The life cycle tool can generate valuable conversations regardless of congregation size and model. While the questions mostly assume a Seventh-day Adventist context including Groups, Companies and Churches the questions can be still be helpful for other contexts (e.g. home and micro churches) who are still addressing the same missional factors.

Do I need any training?

No. While it is useful to understand the overall life cycle concept a short reading guide will cover the key factors involved. The extension guides attached to the various stages offer additional resources if you would like to explore further. However, the tool is designed to be simple, easy to use and self-explanatory. Remember, the goal is generating conversations—the tool just makes the conversations easier.

The Life Cycle Tool and Natural Church Development

Many Seventh-day Adventist churches in Australia use the Natural Church Development Tool to assess congregational life and work out which factor/s will be addressed. The life cycle tool does not replace the in-depth analysis of NCD and engaging with both tools is valuable.

The NCD tool is like a full service for your car. It takes time and costs however the results are very insightful. The life cycle tool is like a quick check up on how your car is going along the way.

NCD provides a score across eight church health factors. The life cycle tool generalizes to four areas. What NCD measure across the eight factors is reflected in the four life cycle areas.

Vision – Empowering Leadership,

Relationships – Loving Relationships, Wholistic Small Groups

Ministries – Inspiring Worship, Need oriented evangelism, Passionate Spirituality

Structures – Functional Structures, Gift Oriented Ministry

The Goal is the Right Conversations.

The church life cycle tool is a simple set of questions that helps with mapping out the next step for a congregation.
Every church, regardless of model, size or context, has a next step to take toward being a more worshipping, connecting, growing, serving, connecting community.
Every congregation has a different ministry environment including the community it ministers within and the resources, including gifts, the congregation has.
At the same time, there are factors all organisations have in common that shape a common set of questions, even though the answers will be different.
Without intentional questions and refocusing, churches move through the life cycle in remarkably predictable ways.
While we can learn from other congregations, especially those with similar challenges, taking their answers, without adapting, is often not the best option.
Seeking God’s leading and asking the right questions is an essential part of working out what the next steps looks like for your congregation.

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