Survey Descriptions

Church Map - this is a general church assessment of 126 questions covering 27 different categories and topics such as discipleship, evangelism, church planting, small groups, stewardship, worldview, theology, etc. It provides an overall picture of the perceptions church members have about themselves and about their church in these subjects.

Missons Map - this is a missions-focused assessment of 42 questions that follow the Acts 1:8 Challenge paradigm of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and Ends of the Earth. It provides a picture of the perceptions church members have about themselves and their church concerning local, state, national, and international missions.

Paradigm Descriptions

Traditional Program - Churches that rely on traditional Southern Baptist programs (e.g. Sunday School, Prayer Meeting, Discipleship Training, Brotherhood, WMU, RA’s, GA’s, weekly Visitation) to answer the spiritual needs of their community.

Traditional Progressive - Like traditional, churches that rely on programmatic structure to answer the spiritual questions of their community.
These churches often use Sunday School and/or Small Groups and organized Outreach, but do not necessarily employ other traditional SBC programs. They also often incorporate non-SBC programs (e.g., AWANA).

Purpose Driven - Churches that deliberately align their activities with the PDC five purposes of the church (Worship, Evangelism, Ministry, Fellowship, Discipleship) as practiced by the Saddleback Community Church model. These churches systematically approach the assimilation process of moving unchurched attendees from crowd to core. These churches often have a seeker-sensitive approach to their primary worship service.

Seeker - Churches utilizing Sunday services that are seeker-focused and typically target the unchurched. They tend to be influenced by Willow Creek Community Church, using Small Groups and gift-centered ministry approaches.

Affinity - Churches that predominately target the needs of a particular affinity group or ethnic population (e.g. Cowboy Church, Biker Church).

Relation Based - Churches with structure and growth driven completely by face-to-face relationships (e.g. Churches that meet in Homes, Cell Churches, International Christian Communities…).

Emerging - Also sometimes referred to as “Post-Modern,” these churches have leaders who tend to be non-linear thinkers and have a structure that is more organic (structure submits to Spirit) than organized (hierarchical, Spirit works within structure). Worship often includes the use of ancient church elements (candles, incense, and deep reflection) rather than production elements (videos, skits, music and drama). Outreach models tend to focus on "belong then believe" as opposed to confrontational evangelism.

Non-SBC - Any non-Southern Baptist Convention church that NAMB works in cooperation with to advance His Kingdom.