We are committed to a church planting strategy centered in people. We believe Vision360 DFW will be effective in church planting to the degree that we deploy effective church planters. Central to our efforts, then, is to identify those whom God is preparing for a church planting ministry. Use of an Assessment Center is the keystone to that identification process.
What Is It?
Much study has gone into identifying traits commonly found in those finding church planting to be both a satisfying and fruitful avenue of ministry. An Assessment Center is an intensive, multi-day event structured around church planting competencies to help determine the advisability of a person entering a church planting ministry, arguably one of the hardest challenges on the planet!
How Is It Structured?
Multiple, trained assessors are present to observe. The candidates work through a variety of simulations, exercises, and measurements (Meyers-Briggs, DISC, StrengthsFinder) while assessors observe. The elements are developed based on the character qualities and job tasks that a church planter needs to demonstrate. To guarantee a uniform understanding among assessors, competency grids with predetermined standards for each area are used. Candidates are also interviewed by teams of assessors and each couple has a private session with a professional counselor. Based on the intensive, multi-day process, the team of assessors discuss, evaluate, and collate their findings. A final assessment is then given to the church planting candidate.
Who Serves As Assessors?
To guarantee breadth of perspective, any team of assessors will be comprised of a combination of directors of church planting, staff in church growth and evangelism, pastors from existing churches, church planters, and business leaders.
What Is The End Result?
Each candidate couple will have an exit interview and will be given one of three recommendations related to church planting:
• Recommended for church planting-Go Now!
• Conditionally recommended for church planting
• Not recommended for church planting
In an exit interview, strengths, growth areas and contexts for ministry will be discussed. There is no set number of candidates that will be qualified through the Assessment Center. Theoretically everyone could be recommended or not recommended. There is neither competition between candidates nor relative ranking.
How Does The Assessment Center Fit Into The Overall Scheme Of Church Planting?
In addition to helping individuals discover and confirm areas of giftedness and fruitful service, one clear goal of the Assessment Center is to create a pool of potential church planters. A “recommended” assessment is necessary for a person to be considered for a church planting position within the Vision360 Detroit initiative.
Objectives Of The Assessment Center
1.) To accurately assess the ability of a candidate to effectively do the taks of church planting.
2.) To assist in the process of developing a pool of potential church planters.
3.) To provide candidates the opportunity to get accurate feedback on ministry and church planting
strengths and growth areas.
4.) To provide a recruiting platform for potential church planters.
5.) To provide assessors with additional tools and motivation to be active supporters of the church planting movement.
6.) To provide the basis for training and supervision of those called to start new churches.
Assessment Center Components
Orientation
This session provides the introduction to the Assessment Center activities. All the candidates and staff will be together for the first time. Participants will be briefed on the purpose and flow of the Center.
Mini-Sermon/Call & Philosophy/Q & A
Each candidate is requested to present a 10-minute mini-sermon, followed by a 10-minute explanation of his/her call to ministry and church planting. A 10-minute question and answer time will wrap up the hour. These are interspersed throughout the Assessment Center to keep them interesting and lively.
Personality Factor Profile – DISC
The Personality Factor Profile is an instrument designed to help an individual discover his or her behavioral work style. Candidates will take this inventory, and be involved in the scoring and interpretation of their Profile.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The MBTI is a non-judgmental exercise that is primarily concerned with the valuable differences in people that result in where they like to focus their attention, the way they like to take in information, the way they like to decide, and the kind of lifestyle they adopt. These different strengths are discussed in terms of ministry and church planting.
Case Study
Candidates will be assigned to groups of 5-7 individuals. This case study describes an actual church planting composite story of a core group that was attempting to start a new church. The task is to analyze the situation and determine what you would have done. No structure is imposed on the group - they are free to let their own leadership emerge and to control the group dynamics as they see fit. Two or three assessors will be assigned to each group to evaluate the group behavior and how each member performs.
StrengthsFinder
The Gallup StrengthsFinder™ is foremost an assessment and feedback tool for the individual. It is designed to help focus attention on signature themes in each of four key areas: Relating, Impacting, Striving and Thinking. Relative to the church planter’s assessment, it is primarily used to identify leadership pairs and their strength in the area of overall leadership.
Model of Ministry
In this exercise, candidates are divided into groups of 5-7 and given the task of describing the philosophy and model of ministry that the group would like to see implemented in a new church plant. This is intended as a micro church plant exercise, and should focus on the development of the vision and body-life of the new church, not the strategy or demographics of pioneering a new area. In this exercise, the Assessment Team will be looking for content and process. Groups are encouraged to arrive at a consensus as they develop their philosophy of ministry.
Evangelism
Effective evangelism is key to a fruitful church plant. In this exercise, candidates are asked to develop personal evangelism strategies. After a discussion of the evangelism process in a new church, each candidate is given a chance to make a brief evangelistic presentation to a typical contact.
Church Planting Strategy
This exercise focuses on the ability to analyze a situation and come up with a comprehensive plan to impact a region through church planting. This is a macro church planting exercise in which demographic information is provided about a metropolitan area of the United States. Candidates are allowed to form in groups as they wish, so long as candidate and spouse are together and the groups are as equal in size as possible. The groups are then to study the background information provided and develop strategies to plant churches in that area. They will be asked to make a public presentation to the Assessors a plan whereby a multi-ethnic movement of new churches is developed in that area within 10 years. It is expected that this presentation will be well organized and show a high degree of professionalism and communication skill.
Individual Interviews
The Individual Interview will be scheduled on the third day between candidates and members of the Assessment Team. This will allow the Assessment Team to pursue issues that are better dealt with in a more personal setting and to get feedback in task areas that might not be obvious from the other exercises. It also allows the Assessment Team to follow-up on issues that may have come up previously and need more clarification. The candidates will also have a chance to discuss matters of their own choosing.
Couple Counsel
Each couple will have the opportunity to meet with a professional counselor to discuss personal and/or marital concerns, particularly in anticipation of the stresses of church planting.
Feedback Interviews
These Interviews will be conducted with each candidate couple or individual after a final assessment rating has been achieved. Each candidate will be led through the written report about the recommendation and his/her strengths and growth areas.
Assessment Center Evaluation
Candidates will be asked to complete a written evaluation of the Assessment Center before they leave.
LINKS
On-Line Assessment Center:
http://www.churchplanterprofiles.com
On-Site Assessment Centers:
http://www.churchplanting4me.org
http://www.missioncatalyst.org
Marketing & Communication:
http://www.church-marketing.com
Church Equipment:
Advanced Lighting and Sound
http://www.church-equipment.com
Missions:
Training:
Other Resources
http://www.church-planting-solutions.com
http://www.churchplantingvillage.net
http://www.leadingedgeministries.org
