low value of the responses to this statement could be that the congregation does not feel a need to use the storyline of Scripture in evangelism since they already feel equipped. This explanation would fit with the high number of individuals who responded that they feel equipped for evangelism.
The responses of statement 9 received the lowest level of response, the average being 2.79 on the six-point scale. This would indicate that while the congregation states they are equipped and practice evangelism, they are still nervous while doing it. This is a common experience for many people. I hoped that this was one of the markers that would show significant change for those who went through the curriculum.
Figure 5. Average response for evangelism survey
respond to these statements using a six-point Likert scale. The Likert scale being strongly disagree, disagree, somewhat disagree, somewhat agree, agree, strong agree.
The goal was considered accomplished when 30 percent of the congregation completed the survey, and the data was analyzed. As previously mentioned, 70 percent of members of River Valley Community Church responded to the survey, a total of 61 responses. The data was analyzed and so the goal was successfully accomplished.
The first item of note with the responses to the survey was that the overall score was very high. The average score on the biblical knowledge section was 5.09. The
breakdown of the responses can be seen in figure 6. This high score would seem to indicate that the congregation had a firm grasp on the biblical storyline, which would raise the question of a need for the curriculum focused on the biblical overarching narrative.
There are some possible explanations for why knowledge of the biblical storyline was deemed to be a weakness, but the survey seemed to indicate otherwise. The first explanation is that the survey was a poorly worded and written test for knowledge of the biblical storyline. The statements could have been too easy to agree with or have been too easy for the congregation to know what they were supposed to answer.
Another explanation is that biblical theology has been a component of River Valley Community Church’s preaching and teaching for the past two years. During this time, the congregation could have grown in their knowledge so that the initial assessment of lack of biblical theology being a weakness could have been addressed to some degree.
This explanation is supported by a statement written on one of the paper surveys which stated, “Your sermons have given me a GREAT appreciation for the Old Testament.”
While this statement was just one person’s response, it does show how the recent biblical teaching of the church could have had an influence on the congregation’s knowledge of biblical theology.
Examining the statements can help understand where the congregation needs to grow in their knowledge of the biblical storyline. The lowest scored statement was
statement 10. This was one of the statements that was worded in the negative so that the Likert scale would be in reverse order, with strongly disagreeing being scored a 6. While the negative wording of the statement could have impacted the responses, the other negatively worded statement did not score as low. The statement was worded, “The stories of the Old Testament are primarily moral in nature.” The average response to this statement was 3.77. It could be argued that the congregation being divided on the primarily purpose of the Old Testament can show a lack of knowledge of the biblical storyline. The
curriculum was built to help show that while there are moral components to the Old Testament, the primarily purpose to is to convey the story of redemption through the storyline of the Bible.
The statement with the highest level of agreement was statement 4, which said,
“All Scripture is useful for the Christian.” The average response was 5.63. This high level of agreement shows that the congregation appreciates all of Scripture and knows that it is useful. This is an encouraging response since a strong emphasis of the preaching and teaching of River Valley Community Church is to uphold the usefulness and relevance of the whole Bible.
A few other statements scored just slightly lower than the norm. These were still relatively high, showing more agreement than disagreement, but not as strong of agreement as the average. These were statements 12, 13, and 14. Statement 12 said, “Jesus uses the same imagery as the Old Testament.” The average response to this statement was 4.82. While this is still a strong agreement, it is lower than the average. The curriculum was designed to focus on imagery and themes developed through the biblical storyline and so address this statement.
Statement 13 said, “The Bible can be divided into four parts, Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation.” The average response to this statement was 4.87. The lower response could be attributed to a poorly worded statement. It would have been
four parts, rather than saying simply the Bible could be divided. The curriculum used this division of the Bible to help explain the biblical narrative and in so doing addresses this statement.
Statement 14 said, “I can trace the storyline of the Bible.” The average response was 4.56. This lower response could indicate that while the congregation has some knowledge of the storyline of the Bible, they are less confident in their ability to articulate that storyline. The curriculum was designed for this reason: to given the congregation the ability and confidence to relate the storyline of the Bible to other people and so be of use in sharing the faith.
The survey showed that the congregation of River Valley Community Church has a firm grasp on the concept of the Bible having an overarching storyline, but may be less confident in how to express that storyline or how it can be easily broken down into component parts. An evaluation of goal 4 determined if the curriculum achieved its purpose in giving the congregation greater knowledge on how to breakdown God’s story.
Figure 6. Average response for biblical knowledge survey
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i3 i2 i3 i4 i5 i6 i7 i8 i9 i10 i11 i12 i13 i14 i15
Average response
Goal 3: Develop a Curriculum on