Feedback can be an overwhelming word. For many of us, it feels like rejection, so we avoid it. The hard truth is that feedback is how we grow and improve. When we hear from others about how things are going, it helps us see our blindspots, areas for improvement, or things that aren’t working altogether. Unfortunately, due to insecurities or past pains, many churches do not have a culture of feedback. If that’s you, it’s not too late to implement a culture of feedback in church. Try these 8 things and watch how people in your church begin opening up and bringing their great ideas to the table.
1. Open the door
Receiving feedback can be overwhelming and painful even. It isn’t easy to hear if someone doesn’t like your church, can’t relate to your preaching, or finds that you have a cliquey culture. It’s important to hear any and all feedback for growth. Bill Gates said, “We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.” So, the first step to getting better is for you to open the door to feedback. Give people space and opportunity to share things they see or ways the church could improve.
Note: This does NOT mean that you allow people to complain. The church doesn’t need any more complaints departments. Instead, it’s time for people to feel comfortable sharing their honest thoughts, opinions, and experiences to help your church become better.
2. Listen, don’t get defensive
Remember, this is feedback. It doesn’t mean you have to implement every idea or agree with every thought presented. The best way to create a culture of feedback in church is to provide a safe listening space for others to share. When people feel heard and safe to express their viewpoints, you will hear the full truth and benefit from it. When we get defensive in these moments, it lets people know that we’re not safe and the subject is not safe. Create a safe space for people to share honestly by listening. Take notes. Write it down and then process it after the conversation to see if and what you may implement.
3. Don’t make people pay
Steph Curry is considered one of the best shooters to ever play basketball in the NBA. Do you know what he also has? A shooting coach. He pays a lot of money for someone to tell him how to shoot better. We should take the same approach in creating a culture of feedback in church. As leaders, we should take on the cost of feedback. Don’t make people pay for offering their honest opinion. You are creating an unsafe environment when you punish others for offering their input. This will never lead to a healthy culture of feedback in church.
4. Starts at the top
Culture always comes from the top down. You can implement so many great opportunities for a good culture of feedback in church, but if the Lead Pastor is not on board, it will never fully succeed. The Lead Pastor must be committed to the plan for feedback and culture you ultimately want to create. Culture is always caught and not taught. For example, if you teach people that the culture of your church is friendly, you have to actually display that from the top down. You can teach things all day long, but it isn’t your culture if you aren’t modeling it.
5. Create a formal process
Remember those businesses that used to have “suggestion boxes”? Our churches need a formal “suggestion box” process. People need to know that their feedback is wanted and how to give it. Creating a place and process for it can help mitigate unwanted opinions or untimely feedback. Some processes you can implement are:
- Four helpful lists – Ask people:
- What are we doing right?
- What are we getting wrong?
- What is confusing?
- What is missing?
- SWOT Analysis
- Strengths – What are our strengths as a church?
- Weaknesses – What are our weaknesses as a church?
- Opportunities – Where do you see opportunities for improvement in our church?
- Threats – Can you identify any threats you see in our church?
- Host Round Table Events
- Give people a place to come with ideas, feedback, and insight. You can do this in a round table format where you have a facilitator taking notes on the things brought forward. Then compare all the notes and identify key themes, ideas, or concerns.
- Give people a place to come with ideas, feedback, and insight. You can do this in a round table format where you have a facilitator taking notes on the things brought forward. Then compare all the notes and identify key themes, ideas, or concerns.
In your processes, keep written notes of the feedback given. Then you can reference back to weigh it at any given moment. It’s much easier to act on the feedback when you’ve kept notes that you can reference in the future.
6. Create an organic process
As much as you need a formal process, you also need an organic process. You need a healthy culture of feedback in church that happens in a way that people feel they can bring thoughts at any time. This happens mostly in relationships. You can ask questions during conversations after the service and throughout the week. You can ask things like:
- How was the service?
- How was the message?
- How was the event?
- What was good about it? What can be better?
Organic feedback is more conversational and, for some, more natural. If a formal process is important, an organic process is also essential.
7. Ask people from every layer of the organization
It’s easy to feel most comfortable asking for feedback from the people you’re closest with, but this will greatly limit the ideas received. You want to talk to everyone in every layer of your church. Ask people who are experiencing your church for the first time, those who are involved, people who are planning and strategizing, and people who see it from a higher leadership level. One of the most valuable players in the feedback culture in church is the first-time guest. How did they feel in the church? Did they feel welcome? Did they understand what the message was about? Avoid the temptation to only ask for feedback from those who are already involved in the church. Ask everyone!
8. Make adjustments from feedback
When people can see their feedback being implemented, it will motivate them to bring more to the table. This is a really important part of creating a culture of feedback in church. When people see that what they think is valuable and matters, they will be more bought into the church as a whole. Remember, as a leader, this is your house, but it is theirs too. Avoid the trap of receiving feedback but not acting on it. This will be disheartening to your church, and people will stop trying. You don’t have to implement every single idea presented, but you want people to see overall that feedback is valued and helps lead to positive change.
Ultimately, for you to have a culture of feedback in church, you need everyone to do it. It can’t just be something for a select few, but for it to become culture, it must be for everyone. You want people in your church’s highest and lowest positions to understand that feedback is healthy and welcomed. When you pave the way for that kind of environment, you will experience health and positive change on every level. For the minimally involved, seeing their feedback implemented will help engage them even more. And for the person heavily involved, receiving feedback creates a healthy humility and perspective on their involvement as a whole.
