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Do you ever wonder what the community really thinks about your church? Have you ever asked them?

Community research can feel daunting, but it’s a great way to get feedback from the very people your church is trying to reach. We encourage churches to get out there and see what people think. Because you’ll never know if you don’t ask.

Before you get started on your survey questions, here are a few tricks of the trade:

1. Put together your community research plan – establish your goals (for example: connecting with people from the community to learn about their perceptions and awareness of local churches, specifically yours); if you want to target your survey to certain demographics; the number of respondents you want to talk to; and where you’ll conduct the survey.
2. Use survey software, like SurveyMonkey or Formstack, to build your survey, track answers and pull reports efficiently.
3. Take no more than five minutes of each respondent’s time (about 10 questions or so).
4. If possible, use a tablet of some kind to enter answers into your survey form. For multiple choice questions, you could even show your screen to the person, so they can see the choices and answer easily.
5. If there’s any criteria that the respondent has to meet in order to take the survey, mention that first. Also offer a gift card for their time (and offer it up front to pique their interest).
6. Consider having volunteers or an outside firm conduct the surveys for you. Depending on what you want to find out, it could be difficult for people to feel comfortable answering honestly if they know you work at the church. Likewise, it may be difficult for you to remain neutral in asking. Also, have multiple people conduct the survey to share the load and hit your goal number of respondents faster (and definitely make sure they are friendly and personable too!).
7. Prepare a findings report from the surveys and determine what next steps you’ll take as a result of what you learned.

• Demographics – This is everything from gender, age and marital status to education level, race/ethnicity and if the survey respondent has kids and what ages. You can leave your survey open for anyone to participate, or you can target your survey and ask only those in demographics that make sense for your church or from whom you’d like to learn more; for example: Millennials who are unchurched, people in their 30s with kids or empty nesters who live in the surrounding area.

• Free time – Ask questions to see how people spend their weekends. Do they mention working, volunteering or kids’ activities? Do they spend time with others, shop, go to movies or eat at restaurants? Do they mention attending church or not? This is where the door is subtly opened to ask church-related questions, especially if the respondent attends church somewhere.
  
  We saw a big difference in church attendance depending on where we were asking the question. We conducted surveys at a community event hosted at a church, and nearly everyone we talked to attended church there or somewhere nearby. Contrast that with the surveys we conducted at a farmers’ market (near a church), and the vast majority didn’t attend church anywhere. Definitely keep in mind where you conduct your surveys and the people who will be there because it will impact the results.

• Church or not – Once you find out if survey respondents attend church, you can find out where they attend and how long they’ve attended. We met everyone – people who’ve attended their church for decades, others who had just started at a new church in the last few months and those who don’t attend anywhere.
  
  If they attend a church but not yours, ask where they attend, and see what they say about it. What do they like about the church? What drew them in? Why do they keep going? If they don’t attend church anywhere, ask why not.
  
  You can also ask if they think attending church is important or not and why. Do they go to be closer to God or for their kids to learn about Jesus? Or do they think church isn’t relevant to them or feel like God is missing from the experience?

• Top of mind – Ask what three churches in the area come to mind. See if your church is one of them and if they know your church’s name. This was an interesting question because even when we were in the church parking lot asking this question, many people didn’t name the church! And when we were at an event nearby a church, some people named churches much further away or referenced the nearby church not by name but as “that church down the street.”
  
  See who they mention and why; what do they like about the church or know about them? Ask what they know or think about your church. What have they experienced personally, heard from others or perceived? Do they know more or less about your church than you thought? Have they heard good or bad things about your church? If they used to go to your church or have attended in the past and don’t anymore, find out why. You can ask if they’d attend a service or event at your church again and why/why not. Also would they recommend your church to others and why/why not?
  
  For all of these questions, be open and warm when asking. Help the respondent feel comfortable sharing their answers and be open to their feedback, seeing what you can learn from it.
  
  
• Church appeal – Whether survey respondents attend church or not, you can ask all sorts of questions about what would make a church appealing to them. For one survey, we asked respondents to describe their ideal church and gave them two words to choose from – Classic or Trendy? Relaxed or Exciting? Variety or Consistency? Sanctuary or Auditorium? You will see areas where your church meets what the person is looking for and where you don’t (and maybe could). You might see trends emerge as well; for example: the majority of Millennials surveyed prefer this type of setting or most families prefer these kind of children's activities.
  
  Another question we liked asking was, “What could a church in your community say or do that would make you want to learn more about them?” This insight will aid your church in reaching out to your community in ways that are just what they’re looking for.

The goal of community research is to get to know the people in your community who need your church. You might find that the audience you thought you were reaching isn't who surrounds you at all. You'll learn what people know and appreciate about your church as well as what they don't and what you could do about it. No matter what, community research should give you a renewed motivation and insight into serving the people right outside your door.