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STRATEGIC MINISTRIES

Discipleship

A vital congregation is one that has disciples who make other disciples. The goal is to increase the number of these congregations in the East Ohio Conference. 

As we seek to make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, it is important to have an understanding of what a disciple is. A simple way to say this is that a disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ for life who is committed to:

All churches in the East Ohio Conference now have access to the Real Discipleship Survey online. This system, designed by Phil Maynard, offers a way for churches to survey their maturity on six dimensions of the discipleship journey. This service is offered to all EOCUMC churches free of charge. The survey measures: a life of worship, a life of hospitality, a life open to Jesus, a life of obeying Jesus, a life of service, and a life of generosity. Upon taking the survey, participants discover if they are exploring, beginning, growing, or maturing in each of those categories.

For Pastors/Church Administrators

Setting Up Your Church Account

Before church members can take the Real Discipleship Survey online, the church pastor or administrator must set up that church in the system. Pastors and Administrators can find PDF instructions for setting up their church accounts.

To claim your church account, visit discipleshipsurvey.com/1/church_claim_district.php.

Select your district and church name from the dropdown lists provided. If your church is not listed, please contact Beth Ortiz.

Setting Up Groups within your Church Account

Once you’ve set up your church account, you can define groups within your church in order to use those statistics and data. Use the blue “Edit Profile” button to set up your administrative account. Be sure to create a unique and strong password. Use the “Groups” fields to enter up to 20 groups within your congregation who may want to measure their discipleship and growth. For example, if you’d like to use the Real Discipleship Survey with your entire church, but would like to be able to look at the data for just your Church Council members who have taken the survey in order to gage their discipleship as a whole, you would want to create a Church Council group on this screen.

Use Your Statistics

After individuals and groups within your church take their Real Discipleship Survey online, their data will show up in your church account. Only the pastor or administrator (as defined above) will have access to that data. Log in to your church account using discipleshipsurvey.com/1/church.php and use the blue “Church Stats” or “Group Stats” buttons to view the results.

From this screen you can filter results by time period if you choose. (This feature might be valuable for churches who take the survey one year, offer resources and opportunities for growth after the initial surveys are taken, and then take the survey a second time to measure changes or growth.)

For Church Participants

Use this PDF of instructions for taking the Real Discipleship Survey online.

Sign Up

Visit discipleshipsurvey.com/1/member.php and enter our conference code: PEACEJOYLOVE

In order to take the Real Discipleship Survey online you will need to enter an email address and create a secure password. Choose your District and your church from the dropdown lists, fill out the email and password fields and then click the blue “Sign Up” button. Use the click here link on the next screen to continue. You can also access the survey by visiting discipleshipsurvey.com/1/member_login.php after creating your account. After creating your account you will need to use the password and email address provided to log in and take the story.

Choose Your Groups

(optional) Some churches have chosen to measure the survey statistics both at the churchwide level and by individual church groups. If your church has created subgroups, use the blue “Edit Profile” button to select the group(s) to which you belong. (ie: Church Council, Teachers/Leaders, etc.) Simply choose YES for those groups to which you belong.

Take the Survey

Take the Real Discipleship Survey by clicking the blue “Take Survey” button and then selecting the one box of each color that fits you best. After completing the survey use the blue “Submit Survey” button at the top of the page. Do not use the return to dashboard button or your results will not be submitted. Your results will be displayed for you at that time. You may also select to view additional information or have your results sent to your email account. Either have the results emailed to your account or print them out because you will not be able to access them later.

View Survey Results

Survey results will be available after completing the survey. 

You may also use discipleshipsurvey.com/1/member_login.php to log in and view your results at any time. You will also be able to retake the survey at a later date in order to measure changes in your discipleship over time.

Questions about the Real Discipleship Survey online: Contact Beth Ortiz.