MINISTRY EVALUATION
Various leaders in Xenos jointly composed this document during the 1980’s. We don't disseminate it widely because of the sensitive nature of the pastoral issues raised. Your notes on people you pastor are private, so you should keep them confidential.
I Cor. 9:26 - “Therefore, I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air.”
This work sheet is intended to be an aid to help us follow the principle stated above: that we should not be aimless in our ministries. Stated positively, this work sheet is intended to assess the progress and needs of the person to whom we are ministering, and then to prayerfully map out goals and strategies for how we can more effectively love that person.
You need to pray as you go through this study. God may show you things you hadn’t considered. For each question that asks “why?” or “why not?” answer as frankly and concretely as possible. Do not give vague or general answers such as, “She needs to understand grace more,” or “He/she needs to receive the love of God.” These responses are not helpful because they express goals of the Christian life, rather than practical reasons why a person is lacking in an area of his/her walk. Instead, give practical answers like: “I haven’t told him how to do it yet,” or “I didn’t show him the importance of this area,” or “I don’t know yet,” or “I don’t think it is appropriate to get into this area yet.”
The questions are intended to get us thinking in a way that allows us to come up with a complete picture of the situation. Keep in mind that if this work sheet is to be effective in helping to discover areas of need, we will have to be honest! Take responsibility for your failures.
Because the worksheet is mainly intended to help a Christian worker think and pray through complex ministry situations and possibly arrive at new ideas, it should be used privately. Be very careful about sharing this with others because most of the assessments are subjective and tentative.
Notice that you may not know the answer to many of the questions. Where this is the case, just write, “Don’t know.” These questions help point up areas we should investigate further.
a) Have you seen convincing signs that he/she reads the Bible on his/her own? For instance, mention of specific passages, questions about what something means, etc. Record recent evidence. a) What is your impression of his/her personal times of prayer? Have you heard specific comments that indicate this is a regular part of his/her life? Give an estimation of his/her personal prayer life. a) Does he/she give? ______ Belong to the FST?______ a) What evidence do you see that he/she has an appropriate understanding of discipleship? Do you see a desire to follow up, pastor, and disciple others? Is there effort? 1. Have you remembered that we will be unable to motivate someone unless we believe in them? Have you projected confidence in your person? A. If possible, check your assessments on this paper with other competent workers. A. Considering everything you have written, what word or phrase would you use to describe this believer’s state at this time? A. Carefully determine which area needs attention first. Explain why you think your answer is right. Remember that the most important area may not be the area you can address first. 1. What specific attitudes or outlooks need to be fostered at this time? a) How do you want to come off? With warmth? Concern? Confidence in them? Surprise? Challenging? Why? 6. What will you say before any plea or admonition to set the context? (e.g. “You know how long we’ve been together, and how much I value our friendship…”)
b) Does he/she know how to study and interpret the word? Have you ever covered inductive study, rules of interpretation, or using helps?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
c) Have you sensed that he/she realizes the importance of the word, and have you sensed growing love of the word? What have you seen that leads to this conclusion?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
d) Does he/she read other Christian books? How do you know? Should this area improve, or are you satisfied for now?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
e) Does he/she understand the “positional truths” and other key areas impacting spiritual growth?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
f) The Big Picture --Based on these criteria, how would you describe his/her progress in this area? Are you satisfied that his/her relationship to the Word is normal for a Christian at this stage, or is it deficient? If he/she is doing exceptionally well in this area, mark it for encouragement.
2. Prayer
b) How do you feel about his/her involvement in corporate prayer? Does he/she pray fairly regularly at meetings? How about with other individuals?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
c) How well do you think he/she understands prayer and the related doctrines?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
f) Have you heard him/her mention that the Lord answered a prayer? How strong do your think he/she is in thanksgiving?
g) The Big Picture --From what you have seen so far, what is your overall impression of his/her prayer life? Summarize the thrust of your view. Remembering that hardly anyone feels completely satisfied with their prayer life, is there any evidence that this is an alarming problem area? Or is it an area of strength?
3. Trials, and the Discipline of the Holy Spirit.
a) Does he/she understand the role of trials, suffering, and discipline in his/her walk?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
b) Have you seen evidence of victorious suffering with thanksgiving? Or does he/she just feel sorry for him/herself? Think of a recent trial and record how he/she did and whether fruit was borne.
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
h) What sin area is he/she tempted to turn to in time of suffering?
k) The Big Picture –Again, summarize the overall status of this area. Is any further action required at this time, or can it wait? Does your person need encouragement for holding up under trial?
4. Involvement in the Body of Christ.
a) Summarize your impression of his/her level of involvement in fellowship, including CT, home church, and cell.
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
b) When at fellowship meetings, does he usually try to share and pray? Do you think he/she sees the importance of his/her contribution to meetings?
c) Does he/she ever make efforts to get into Spiritual conversations with new people or members after the meetings? Does he/she know how to talk to a new person, for instance, asking good questions? Is he/she focused when he/she talks to people, or too diffuse (i.e. changes the subject leading to superficial conversation)? Have you ever heard him/her ask another something about their life?
d) Is he/she initiating friendship building with other believers adequately?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
e) How long does he/she stay after meetings? In other words, is he/she taking a hand in trying to do Christian work during fellowship times. Does he/she have a feeling of accomplishment after going to meetings?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
f) Do you know of cases where he/she gets involved in social events, workers’ meeting, ad-hoc hangouts, etc. outside normal fellowship meetings?
g) The Big Picture --Do you feel, in view of the evidence, that progress is sufficient in this area for a Christian of his/her age? Is there a glaring need here, or could you say that this area looks strong?
5. Friendships
a) Assess your own relationship with him/her from his/her viewpoint. Does he/she consider you his/her best friend? Authority figure? Counselor? Peer? How would you describe your relationship, and how do you feel about that?
b) How would you rate his/her openness? Is there reluctance? defensiveness?
c) Does he/she see himself playing a role in your life?
d) What relationships is he/she forming with others in the cell group or home church, and how is that going?
e) Does he/she understand the importance of relationships with believers of the same sex?
f) Summary --Sum up your overall impression of the present state of his/her relationships. Is he/she still lonely? Or is he/she making steady reasonable progress toward a healthy relational framework in the home church? Can you think of positive steps needed? Is there an area of weakness you could minister to?
6. Evangelism
a) Do you see credible evidence of consistent efforts to witness?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
b) Has he/she ever been successful in at least bringing people?
c) Does he/she know some useful salvation verses?
d) Does he/she know how to clearly present the gospel?
e) Does he/she know how to give his/her testimony effectively?
f) Might there be demoralization in this area?
g) Do you have any impressions about why he/she might be failing?
h) How can you encourage him/her without creating pressure? Is outreach a sore spot? If so, do you think the problem has to do with lack of effort, or poor approaches? If you see successes, or at least effort, have you adequately encouraged those areas?
7. Money
b) How would you characterize his/her view on stewardship?
c) Can you see any evidence of problems with materialism?
d) Is he/she to be commended for selflessness in this area? Or would a warning or more teaching be more appropriate?
8. Follow-up & Discipleship Ministry
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
b) Is he/she currently discipling anyone?
c) Are you satisfied with his/her understanding that ministry is a means of growth?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
d) Do you feel satisfied with your coaching of his/her ministry? If there are barriers, does he/she understand where he/she is failing? Have you guided him/her into goal-oriented thinking and prioritization with his/her disciple(s)? Are you feeding vision into their relationship?
e) What concrete progress have you noted in his/her disciples?
f) Do you think he/she understand how to motivate his/her disciples to live for Christ without inappropriate use of pressure?
Strong Okay Needs more work Nothing yet
g) Overview --Based on these answers, and remembering how difficult it can be to establish ministry, should this be considered an over-all sore spot? Or is his/her attitude and effort in this area acceptable for the time being? Is this an area of strength that deserves encouragement?
9. Character: Areas of Weakness and Strength
a) How would you characterize his/her attitudes concerning past sins (e.g., do you see a problem with guilt, or an ongoing desire to return to that area of sin)?
b) What about his/her attitudes concerning present sins? Is he/she being convicted and becoming repentant, or does he/she not care, or simply unaware of the problem? How would you assess his/her attitude?
c) Are there possible problems in the following areas? How bad?
1. Sexual
2. Drugs and Alcohol Abuse
3. Materialistic greed
4. Negative Emotional Areas
Guilt?___
Fears?___
Depression?___
Anger?___
Loneliness?___
Insecurities?___
Bitterness?___
Emotionally demanding?___
Selfish?___
Emotionally vacant?___
Resistant to authority? ___
Does he/she recognize these things and ways to deal with them? Is there any area you need to discuss?
5. Other: Are any of these areas excessively problematic?
--Excessive arrogance?
--Introvert?
--Overly Autonomous?
--Gossip?
--Dishonest?
--Over-drinking?
–Hyper-dependent
--Self-righteous?
--Legalistic?
--Overly sarcastic
--Unreliable?
--Gluttony?
--Laziness?
d) Name some of the key moral or character strengths you see so far in his/her life:
e) Strengths: Do any of the following describe him/her?
--Likeable?
--Warm?
--Committed?
--Well-disciplined?
--Funny/personable?
--Empathetic?
--Caring?
--Patient?
--Passionate?
--Generous?
--Strong?
--Fearless?
--Loyal?
--Leader?
--Honest?
If you need to criticize or call for change, these areas of strength could be mentioned at the same time.
f) Overall Appraisal --We all have sin areas, but are any of these areas really devastating to his/her walk? Do you think it may be essential to try to minister to one or more of these areas soon? Which area needs to come first?
Remember that people don’t change everything at once. We will have to decide which areas are more important than the others, so that we will know which ones we must get involved with, and which ones we can ignore for now. Have you seen an adequate motivational base for the change you want to see? (In other words, people usually don’t give up one thing until they have something to replace it with). Also, will you recognize progress when it occurs, or are you expecting to see a sudden and complete disappearance of the problem? Record your assessment.
G. Potential Strengths & Progress So Far
1. What vision do you have for this type of person in the Body of Christ? Does the person have the same vision for him/herself? Are you excited about this vision?
2. Have you identified any possible spiritual gifts? Which ones?
3. Does he/she know he/she is strong in these areas?
4. Does he/she believe that all his/her strengths belong to God and are to be used for His purposes?
5. Does he/she know practical steps that will develop his/her strengths?
III. Self-adjusting Your Outlook
A. Questions to ask yourself:
2. Are you sure you are not developing a problem-oriented approach with your person? Explain why.
3. Are you keenly aware of the slightest progress in his/her life, and are you able to reinforce and encourage it effectively?
4. Have you remembered that confrontation is most effective when it is used sparingly and within the context of a relationship that is positive and encouraging?IV. Consultation and Further Adjustment
B. How do your views compare with theirs?
C. Are you more negative or softer than them?
D. Do others tend to agree with each other?
E. Who do you think is right and why?V. Overview
B. What should your feeling be in view of this big picture?
VI. Strategy
B. Develop a plan of action in order to lovingly affect change in this area. Your plan should include things like the following:
2. Will he/she need to be persuaded of the correctness and/or the importance of this area? Don’t call for change in the area of action, unless you are fairly certain that the person first understands the reasons and holds convictions in that area.
3. Give an estimate of how you think he/she will respond. Is there more to be done before you approach him/her with this issue?
4. When will you try to talk with him/her? Be sure to choose the proper setting. Avoid the temptation to bring up problems on the spur of the moment. Anything negative should usually be brought up in private.
5. Think about what you will say, and how you will say it. Include specific plans in the following areas:
b) What benefits will accrue to him/her if he/she does what you suggest?
c) What danger would accompany failure to change?
d) How will you introduce or bring up the subject? Remember, this may determine whether or not the rest of what you say is received.
e) What are you going to do if the person responds differently than you expected, such as disagreement or resistance? (i.e. continued persuasion, a suggestion that he/she think it over, nothing further on your part, etc.) Why?
f) What positive encouragement do you plan to include?
e) How will you know change has occurred? Remember that often, people respond in action very differently than they did verbally. Name some behaviors that might suggest change has occurred. (Matt. 21:28-32).
g) Is your expectation of change in action realistic? Does reflection on your past ministry reveal that you tend to expect too little, or too much? Why do you think your expectation is realistic? Be sure to correct for your usual tendencies.
g) What will you do if change does occur? Would it be best to bring up further changes immediately, or to wait for a while? Why? How will you encourage more of the same?
h) What will you do if change doesn’t occur? Will you suggest the same change again soon, or wait for a while? Will you go about it differently? Will you confront him/her with failure, or ignore failure and try again? Why?
i) If you have decided to go for a lesser (partial) change, what are the reasons for your change in strategy?
j) How will you assure that you have a proper attitude and realistic plan before you talk to him/her?