This final goal was developed as a means of gleaning insights to improve future class offerings. The qualitative survey was included in the course workbook and participants were asked to write down their thoughts each week so they were not
forgotten. Each participant turned in fully completed surveys during the final session, as requested.
The surveys provided some helpful insights as noted in chapter 4. The single most challenging comment was not critical of the course but highlighted the important of selecting future course leaders. This particular survey stated: “The leader is critical! I’m not sure that many would participate with anyone other than you.” While this comment was encouraging as the instructor, it highlighted the need to ensure future course leaders
101
have a have a high degree of credibility with the participants. For this course of
instruction to exist beyond my tenure as pastor, the focus must not be simply on how we can continue offering this course, but on a strategic-level emphasis on developing strong and mature Christian leaders within the church. This emphasis is also crucial when developing additional courses in the discipleship construct referenced earlier.
As with the statistical surveys, there is always potential for feedback inflation.
This problem is more likely to exist in a small group because of the intimacy of the relationships that are formed in such a setting. Additionally, it is also more likely to occur when written comments are required as opposed to multiple choice responses.
There are at least two issues that my assessment of this course highlighted. The first issue is that the familiarity developed in the small group discussions made it relatively easy to determine who provided the feedback. I strongly suspect participants understood this reality. When participants completed the post-course survey, some of them did not immediately recognize their identification code. As I read out the numbers, at least two participants noted immediately that it would not be hard for me to identify who made which comments. While those remarks did not appear to be critical in nature, they do highlight the potential to take care in providing candid comments. Subsequent courses will emphasize the importance of writing down identification codes so avoid stifling candid comments. A second element that could lead to feedback inflation is that these relationships could well prevent candid comments for fear of discouraging the instructor.
While I could not specifically identify any such instances, this possibility will always exist. The upshot of these observations is that truly candid comments will probably relatively rare. As a result, the post-course evaluations must be carefully crafted to glean as much as possible from participant feedback. That all acknowledged, this survey has the potential for providing significant insights and will be used in follow-on courses.
102
Strengths of the Project
The single most significant strength of this project is that it provided insight into the devotional perspectives and practices of the congregation. Beyond that, it provided real insight into the number of members who spend little time in reading and prayer. This not only helps explain why many members are uninvolved in church activities, but also why the local church has so little impact in the local community. The survey confirms what I have witnessed during my time in vocational ministry, that what impact we do enjoy is the result of a relatively small number of members. While this is not a newsworthy insight, it does provide clear direction for future preaching topics and discipleship efforts.
The project also highlighted the value of specific instruction in personal devotions. As noted in chapter 1, many church members understand a relationship with God primarily in the context of corporate activities such as Sunday school and the weekly preaching event. This project prepared me to address this problem directly. While many of the participants felt they had some understanding of personal devotions, there was a common sense that this course introduced them to a new level of understanding and helped them actually develop a strong personal daily devotional practice. The
enthusiasm of the participants was palpable throughout the course which also affirmed the value of the course. And in keeping with the role of the church as an equipping organization, this course offers the church an additional tool in its Great Commission mandate to develop disciples (see Matthew 28:19-20).
Weaknesses of the Project
The most significant weaknesses of this project were not in the project construct or even the content, but in the early preparation for the course. As noted earlier, one of the goals that was not met as intended was the number of congregational surveys completed. While I believe there were sufficient numbers of surveys
103
accomplished to successfully accomplish the project, I could reasonably expect that there would be additional insights with greater survey participation.
Much of this shortfall could have been mitigated by improving how the congregation was introduced to the project. Months prior to the release of the survey, I began providing information to the congregation regarding the nature of my project, that it would include a congregational-level survey, and an eight-week class on how to
develop the practice of daily personal devotions. My assumption was that my enthusiasm and regular reminders would have piqued the interest of members and resulted in greater survey participation rates and volunteers for the class. This could have been
accomplished by leading up to the survey with a sermon, or a series of sermons on the importance and value of personal worship as a spiritual discipline. The information gathered for the first two chapters would have provided a wealth of support for this series. Future offerings will be preceded by at least one sermon on the topic.
Another minor, yet important weakness in this projects was not in the course structure but in the delays that extended the duration of the course. As discussed in chapter 4, this did not appear to have a negative impact on this first course, but given the uncertain level of maturity of future participants, it could cause them to lose momentum and commitment. Future course offerings must include a process to ensure that schedule delays do not cause a break in the learning cycle.