In this episode, we talked about our discovery of eight types of churches. We call these “archetypes” and they are akin to church “personalities.” Finding the archetypes was a huge breakthrough, not only because it gave us a framework for understanding differences among churches, but because it provided a focused lens to view each church. These archetypes help us see more clearly how a church is wired, so we can understand their results and prescribe a path to greater vibrancy.

How We Discovered the Archetypes

Over the course of hundreds of conversations with church leaders about their REVEAL results, patterns began to emerge. Two churches of different denominations, in different parts of the country, different in size, had results that seemed very similar. Over time, more churches seemed to fit into particular patterns of results. We took these observations and began analyzing REVEAL’s vast database of survey results to see if we could detect patterns in the data.

First, we looked at our data on the spiritual catalyst—agreement with core Christian beliefs, engagement in key personal spiritual practices, and how people put their faith in action in ways like serving those in need and having spiritual conversations with non-Christians. We grouped churches by the level of spiritual maturity of their congregations, but that only gave us part of the picture. Next, we used our insights about five Best Practices for churches (covered in Episode 8). Some churches were delivering the best practices at a high level, while others were doing well at one or two but not paying enough attention to others. Some churches were struggling in all areas. When we put these two lenses together—the spiritual catalyst lens and the best practices lens—the archetypes came into perfect focus. We were able to see where churches landed on the combination of catalysts (what congregants are doing to grow) and best practices (how the church is helping them grow).

A Brief Summary of the Eight Archetypes

• Troubled: spiritual maturity is low and dissatisfaction with how the best practices are being implemented is high. (14% of churches)

• Complacent: spiritual maturity a little worse than in the Troubled Church, but satisfaction with the church—in spite of its apparent ineffectiveness—is average. (17% of churches)

• Average: nothing stands out; congregants lead average spiritual lives guided by a church doing an average job of implementing the best practices. (13% of churches)

• Introverted: has tremendous spiritual strength in its congregants’ strong beliefs and practices, but congregants want more from their church in implementing the best practices. (17% of churches)

• Extroverted: congregants love their church, but they are spiritually immature, meaning the church has a lot of work to do to help them grow. (9% of churches)

• Self-Motivated: a church filled with people who know and love Christ, but they feel let down by their church and want more support for their growth. (10% of churches)

• Energized: are thrilled with their church’s efforts to help them grow, but their spiritual life outside of church activities isn’t quite where it needs to be. (12% of churches)

• Vibrant: these churches are filled with people who are sold out to Christ and who give their church very high marks for all of the best practices. (8% of churches)

The most important thing we discovered is that every church fits in one of these archetypes, and every church can change. Find out more about the archetype in the book RISE: Bold Strategies to Transform Your Church.

Want to discover your church’s archetype?

The REVEAL for Church survey report provides your church’s archetype and prescriptions for change based on how we have seen other churches in that archetype be transformed over time. Learn more at www.revealforchurch.com