If you are like many church leaders, you are looking for ways to increase your church’s vitality, relevance and/or impact. And you may be stuck trying to figure out where to start. Or understanding why strategies that worked last year aren’t working this year. Or maybe your biggest obstacle is getting people on the same script. The first step in getting unstuck is always going deeper with God through prayer, fasting, scripture study, worship and other spiritual disciplines.

In addition to deepening spiritual disciplines, there are two tools that are helping churches across the annual conference with their discernment process: Readiness 360 and MissionInsite. While they have several things in common, they provide different insights.

1. They are both available to churches in the Baltimore-Washington Conference as a part of your apportionment dollars at work--they cost you nothing additional to use.
2. They provide information of specific relevance to your congregation via written reports. 
3. Congregations that use the information from these two tools discover new energy and approaches for ministry.

Together they provide multi-dimensional insight. Like watching a 3D movie with 3D glasses--things pop-out at you.

WHO ARE WE? The Church Discipleship Culture Lens
The Readiness 360 reports help you see what attitudes, behaviors and beliefs accelerate your church’s ability to grow and multiply followers of Jesus and those that are preventing that essential behavior. It allows you to see your congregation’s strengths, suggests areas of potential improvement and provides ministry tips that help you take practical steps toward multiplying your impact for God. It includes an online survey which an unlimited number of people can take and three levels of reports so that the right people get the right information (and not TMI) for discernment.

BELOW, PAUL NIXON ANSWERS SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT READINESS 360:

WHO ARE OUR NEIGHBORS? The Outside Culture Lens
Often a church defaults to member preferences when planning ministry. Yet without a clear understanding of those who are not yet here—and making adjustments to better relate to them—those plans rarely produce new disciple fruit. Using USA Census, Experian and other data, MissionInsite delivers essential snapshots of your neighbors and can do so based upon traveling time, mileage radius, zip code or customized parameters. The newly revised Mission Impact Guides, by Tom Bandy provide clear, input for leadership, worship, small groups, outreach, communication and more.

The most helpful report for actionable ministry is the ComparativeInsite Report. Click here to learn more.

Ministry is difficult enough. There is no need to be surprised by things that are knowable. Things like preferences, values, behaviors and attitudes of your congregation and your neighbors; aspects that have practical implications for your ministry. Planning and executing ministry without using Readiness 360 and MissionInsite is like watching a 3D movie without the glasses. Incomplete.