M4 ASSESSMENT
Why Assessment?
To help the church planter to see what they already have and what needs to be developed for fruitful church planting ministry, in four main areas of calling, character, chemistry and competence
To provide their coach with an extensive picture of the church planter’s strengths and areas for growth so that the coach can come alongside them in a more effective way
To provide other people around the church planter with whom they choose to share the assessment results (for example, their team as well as their leaders, supervisors, etc.) with a realistic picture of the potential of the church planter so that they can work together better
Main Values
Confidentiality
Honesty and transparency
Respect and active listening
Balance between grace-giving and truth-telling
Exploring for quality feedback instead of testing for passing/ failing
Blessing and encouragement
Three Steps
The church planter completes a self-assessment online
A trained Assessment team conducts an extensive interview with them
The Assessment team writes a summary report and presents it to the church planter (and other authorized people, as agreed beforehand)
The Assessment Team
Lead assessor
A trained and experienced assessor who leads the church planter and other assessors throughout the process
Assistant assessor
A trained assessor who helps the lead assessor throughout the process
Observer
A person who has basic understanding of the process, is being trained as an assessor and can contribute upon the leader assessor’s request
The Categories
Call
Learn more
Having a clear sense of God’s calling into church planting
Character
Learn more
Godly character & strong marriage and spousal support (if applicable)
Chemistry
Learn more
“Right” fit within one’s denomination/ network and church planting context
Competence
Learn more
10 competencies which are essential to effective church planting:
Visionary leadership
Starting – gathering
Communication
Evangelism
Discipling
Equipping
Team building
Group & leader multiplication
Knowledge of church planting
Emotional intelligence
Our Approach
The main presupposition is that past experience is the best predictor of future behavior:
Focus is kept on the church planter’s past behavior and ministry asking for specific actions, stories and repeated patterns
Most of the questions are open-ended to explore the church planter’s past experience in the best possible way
Any evaluation is delayed until after the interview
The process is not a counseling session, typical job interview or going through a checklist
Next Steps
If you want to take the self-assessment online, please, click here:
If you want to be trained as an assessor, please, go to your national page.