Church Life Survey

Dear Pastors

Church Life Survey (CLS)

My guest writer this week is Ben Mai. Ben is the Manager for the CLS that comes around every 5 years. I am supporting this initiative 100%. The CLS is very similar in intent to the General Population Census that we have recently completed. It will give us a snapshot of the Church scene in NZ. Unfortunately we don’t have a Barna Research Organisation or a Pew Foundation or a Lifeway Christian Resources in NZ that do solid research from time to time on the ‘State of the Nation’. The CLS does exactly that. For this reason I think it would be so good if every church in New Zealand could engage with this important piece of social research and data collection. Here is Ben.

Ben Mai

Great data about your church at your fingertips

Do you know that in New Zealand we have a nationwide survey of church attenders? The Church Life Survey NZ (CLS) takes place every 5 years, in Census years.

Has your church significantly changed since the pandemic? The CLS is an opportunity to find out who is part of your church and what their demographic profile is.

The health of our people is important - perhaps more than ever. The CLS provides a snapshot of the spiritual health of your church.

Leaders who grow are leaders who seek out feedback on their leadership. The CLS provides feedback on your leadership and the future direction of your church.

Benchmarking your church against others is a healthy practice. The CLS enables you to benchmark your results against others in your group or denomination, and against national averages

You're contributing to a national picture of NZ church life. The CLS provides meaningful information about the size & structure of the church in our nation. It's unique, we don't have other info like it.

The idea is to maximise participation within your church. The survey takes attenders 10-15 minutes to complete via smartphone, laptop or tablet, or pen & paper. A handy feature is that results are available in real time to church leaders. Both standard reports and you can build your own reports.

I believe the NZ Church would benefit from knowing more about ourselves, our church life, our faith life, our community interaction, and our opinions on the future of the Church. Good data helps inform wise decisions.

Already, many denominations, movements and churches from across NZ have signed up. It is simple to do so and at $60 for one church, it is very well priced for what you will receive.

Can I strongly encourage your church or denomination or movement to participate in the 2023 Church Life Survey NZ?

You can register your group / denomination / movement or church at any time via the website. If you are registering as a group, do that first before you register churches within the group.

If you have questions, get in touch with Ben Mai ben@clsnz.org or 021 136 2392.

Blessings
Alan