Webster's definition of survey is:
1: to examine as to condition, situation, or value : appraise
2: to query (someone) in order to collect data for the analysis of some aspect of a group or area
3: to view or consider comprehensively
4: inspect, scrutinize
I am sure that we have all taken surveys. Companies spend significant amounts of money to get to know their clients. Have any of you been enticed to win the $5000 Target gift card by following the link on the bottom of your receipt to take a survey about your experience? Or have you sat down to a nice family dinner, only to be interrupted by a phone survey from politicians wanting to know their constituents? When I worked at the Olive Garden we tried to survey one in three guests in order to improve the services we were providing.
Polling/surveying budgets, the added length at the bottom of countless receipts, and those wonderful dinnertime calls attest to the importance of surveying. Why should survey work not be equally important for a ministry?
So what happens on a survey trip? I will discuss three things that I believe are important to a survey trip: information gathering, networking, and prayer.
Harvey MacKay coined the term, "If you fail to plan then you plan to fail." A critical piece to church planting is knowing the community and the people who will fill the church. So, gathering information is vital for strategic planning. What kind of information? This is an interesting question because there is little information that I cannot easily access on the internet today. But using multiple methods of information gathering gives you a much fuller understanding. The face to face encounter significantly adds to the information already obtained by internet (and book) browsing to create. In these encounters we discuss questions of faith and examine values and beliefs while reading emotions of joy or pain. It is amazing how a simple oral survey on the street often results in a person's entire story unfolding. These stories can then paint a larger cultural and community story.
Networking is also important. Often you can find people in your area already doing ministry, and networking with them can give you information, resources, and ideas. It can also provide a stable group of people who are interested in your spiritual and emotional health.
We are finding that today people are more likely to begin following Jesus in groups rather than individually. So church planting strategy has to rely heavily on networking. You need to find the existing communities (family, sports leagues, public spaces such as parks, schools, coffee shop hangouts, etc.) and access their network by joining, finding a contact within, sharing similarities, etc. Not only does this multiply the number of people you can reach, but it creates a more comfortable setting for conversion (doing it with someone)!
We are finding that today people are more likely to begin following Jesus in groups rather than individually. So church planting strategy has to rely heavily on networking. You need to find the existing communities (family, sports leagues, public spaces such as parks, schools, coffee shop hangouts, etc.) and access their network by joining, finding a contact within, sharing similarities, etc. Not only does this multiply the number of people you can reach, but it creates a more comfortable setting for conversion (doing it with someone)!
And last, but certainly not least, we better be praying our hearts out. There is something powerful about walking the streets while praying over a city or people (many books have been written on this topic; consider reading Mark Batterson's The Circle Maker). Praying for the transformative power of the Holy Spirit to awaken hearts to belief is the most important thing that can be done. There is something awesome and humbling about physically surrounding a place in prayer. In a few weeks the children at our church (Ethos) are going to do a prayer walk around the church neighborhood. I wonder how many souls will be showered with prayer by our little ones? Isn't it humbling to know this is God's work, not ours? We had better invite Him in.
There are many more pieces to a survey trip besides information gathering, networking, and praying, but I hope my discussion of these topics gives you a better idea of what a survey trip is. In part two of this blog I will specifically discuss the trip for which Laura and I are preparing. Hopefully it will become clear how we will use this experience to build a strategy for planting new churches in London.
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