Trinity Episcopal Church
Holy Cow Assessment Survey
Executive Summary
December 2022

Introduction

The Trinity Vestry established a Discernment Committee in July 2022.  In addition to evaluating
candidates for a new Priest-In-Charge (PIC) and recommending a preferred candidate to the Vestry, the Committee was also tasked to pursue a ‘self-study’ of Trinity that will be used to create a profile of our church’s membership, providing valuable planning guidance for the incoming PIC and the Vestry. 

The Discernment Committee utilized the services of Holy Cow Consulting (HCC) which has developed a Congregational Assessment Tool (CAT) survey to help measure congregational energy and satisfaction, pinpoint organizational/congregational strengths and weaknesses, and discover where members would like to go in the future.

The survey included 101 questions.  It was e-mailed to 452 members of the congregation on September 16, 2022.  The online link to the assessment tool was available from September 16 through October 16.  In addition, 13 printed copies of the survey were provided to congregants that requested a paper copy.  Weekly reminders were provided by e-mail, the church e-news, the church bulletin and during Sunday services to remind members to take the survey.  A total of 217 church members responded to the survey, representing a response rate of 47%.  According to HCC, a response rate of at least 30% renders the assessment results reliable.  To view the survey, go to http://bitly.ws/xHit

A summary profile of Trinity CAT survey participants is as follows:

Key Findings

Overall satisfaction.  Overall, 59% of Trinity members who responded to the survey were clearly satisfied with things in the church.  Another 35% were characterized as ‘on the fence’ and the remaining 6% were dissatisfied.  HCC considers 59% overall satisfaction average for church congregations nationwide, based on its national benchmark sample of hundreds of congregations who have taken the same survey over the past five years.  (Congregational satisfaction was measured by asking survey participants to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with the statement: “On the whole, I am satisfied with how things are in our church.”)

When gauging their overall satisfaction with the way things are going in the parish, members are
influenced by some issues more than others and these issues vary from congregation to congregation.  At Trinity, the following five factors influenced overall satisfaction most.  When people feel more positive in these areas, they tend to feel more positive overall.  Conversely, when they feel less positive about these factors, they tend to feel less satisfied with their overall experience at Trinity. 

1. Problems between groups in this church are usually resolved through mutual effort.
2. Our former Rector made things happen.
3. Our former Rector helped us accomplish our mission by bringing out the best in everyone.
4. Our former Rector articulated a clear vision for our church and kept it before the people in   a compelling way.
5. The leaders of our church show a genuine concern to know what people are thinking when
decisions need to be made.

Congregational Feelings About the Pastoral Transition.   Through their survey responses, Trinity members generally expressed a great deal of positivity and support regarding the current period of pastoral transition.  Only 6% of those surveyed indicated that they would likely use the transition time to explore other churches.  Regarding financial giving, 79% expected theirs to stay the same, while 15% anticipated higher giving.  One-third indicated that they would be more available for additional responsibilities that may arise during pastoral transition in the form of additional committee work, focus groups and the like, while half said their availability would stay the same as it is now.  Elsewhere in the survey, one in three survey participants expressed some level of agreement with the following: “I often feel like I have something to give to the church, but I don’t know how to give it.”  So, there is increased interest in volunteering/ministry during this time of transition, but some aren’t sure how to activate that interest, which perhaps indicates a need for Trinity to re-think how it recruits and develops its volunteer core for ministry. 

Most anticipate the need for some change.  When asked, “how much change is needed to realize your vision for the church?”, less than two in 10 felt no change was needed, but only 6% indicated the need for substantial change.  77% anticipated the need for “some” or “moderate” change. 

Future priorities.  As Trinity members look towards the future, their top four goals expressed in the survey include:

1. Make necessary changes to attract families with children and youth to our church.
2. Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to reach new people and incorporate them
into the life of the church.
3. Create more opportunities for people to form meaningful relationships (e.g., small groups,
nurtured friendships, shared meals, etc.).
4. Develop ministries that work toward healing those broken by life circumstances. 

These priorities are relatively consistent across the congregation, except in the under 35 age group.  Unlike their older brethren, social issues and community outreach are the top priorities of this age  group.  While this group represented a small portion of Trinity’s survey respondents, they undoubtedly comprise the largest demographic that the congregation professes to want to attract – families with young children.  For this reason, the extent to which the goals and values of Gen Z and younger Millennials are addressed by Trinity will likely be an important topic of discussion for our new Priest-in-Charge, the Vestry and the congregation as we move forward. 

Those interested in a ‘deeper dive’ into the survey findings can see HCC’s full report go to
 http://bitly.ws/xHiv.

Should you have any questions about the survey results, the Discernment Committee will do their best to answer them.  Email your questions to discernment@trinityepiscopalchurch.org.

What’s Next?

The Discernment Committee thanks all Trinity parishioners who took time to complete this important survey.  The results of this survey will undoubtedly assist church leadership to develop and implement future strategies that will benefit Trinity’s all-encompassing mission inside and beyond its doors in our future.