Transitions are a critical time for discernment. Holy Cow! Consulting (HC!C) can assist your leadership in guiding the congregation into the next phase of your journey. By utilizing organizational intelligence through the use of our assessments, we can help determine the next steps effectively.
The objectives of this process include:
- Utilizing the Congregation Assessment Tool (CAT) results to identify best practices and critical success factors for developing a “Ready Church” during this transition. This will help outline the next steps for lay leaders, staff, and the congregation.
- Providing coaching and support to help leadership understand the needs of the surrounding community based on the insights gathered from the CAT.
- Collaborating with leadership to clarify the future needs of the church.
For information about these steps, please click the arrow to the left of each category. Outside of the CAT, all of these steps are optional and should be based on the needs and budget of the church. Once leadership has determined what is needed, a customized contract can be generated at the link on the bottom of the page.
Why we use the CAT and what your committee needs to know
The CAT is an 85-question, validated, and benchmarked survey that provides data from respondents engaged with the church. This data is analyzed to provide an applicable and actionable assessment of the congregation. The CAT order allows for leadership to select two additional modules to complement the report as well as five supplemental questions.
The CAT will be the start of this journey. This tool will provide insight and understanding of the current climate, culture, needs, and priorities of the church. The interpretation will provide insight into the areas of focus for the church based on this benchmarking and the known data trends for churches that are growing.
The CAT will require the planning committee to create two sub-committees to each tackle one of the following:
1. To determine supplemental questions and modules needed in the assessment.
2. Promote the CAT with support from HC!C on best practices to increase engagement.
During the interpretation of the data, HC!C will share with leadership the areas of internal health of the congregation and recommend necessary next steps to capitalize on areas of health and places that need attention.
Costs for the CAT is dependent on congregation size. The cost breakdown and order form is located on this website: Ordering the CAT
Example of the Vital Signs Report: https://holycowconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Sample-of-Vital-Signs-Report-from-Congregation-Assessment-Tool-.pdf
Deliverables include: Vital Signs report, Executive Summary, access to the book Owl Sight, Interpretation, and PowerPoint of interpretation.
Initial Consultation One-Hour Meeting
HC!C will meet with the leadership team online to provide support and guidance on the implementation of the CAT, team building within the committee, and fostering an understanding of the roles and timelines of the exciting work ahead.
HC!C will work with the contact person to schedule the meeting and will provide the Zoom link, and the agenda and facilitate the meeting.
| One-hour meeting with Holy Cow! Consultant | Cost $150 |
Ordering the CAT
All of our work at Holy Cow! starts with an assessment. The CAT or Congregational Assessment Tool is our assessment to understand the climate, culture, needs and spiritual calling of a congregation. There are multiple resources on this site dedicated to this process. If a leadership team requires additional support, it can be provided in accordance with our consulting fee.
| Step One | Determine which modules are needed |
| Step Two | Determine if the interpretation of the data will be done online or in person |
| Step Three | Order your CAT |
Congregational Presentation
Every CAT needs a follow-up presentation to share the results with the congregation. HC!C can offer support with this presentation by providing coaching in creating the presentation or even presenting the information to the congregation in person or on Zoom. This option can be selected with the CAT order.
| Coaching with Team on creating and presenting their Congregational Presentation | $150 |
| Zoom Congregational Presentation | $350 |
| In-person Congregational Presentation | $1,500 |
Additional Assessments
Our Focal Points assessment provides benchmarked data for the church board. This will help build understanding around the needs of the leadership during the transition and once a new pastor is in place. It will also help HC!C understand the best ways to provide coaching and assistance to the church. This option can be selected with the CAT order.
| Focal Points | $765* |
| Pulse | $765* |
Congregational Listening Sessions
These sessions will help the congregational leadership have a better understanding of the CAT results and allow people to share their thoughts and dreams about future clergy leadership. Questions will be created for these listening sessions in partnership with leadership and based on CAT assessment findings. Leadership will also be provided with training and support in being part of these sessions for both options below.
| Holy Cow! Consulting will facilitate three onsite and one online listening sessions or four online sessions. Two members from leadership will take part in each of the sessions to deepen understanding and relationships. The feedback from the listening sessions will be incorporated into a spreadsheet with common themes and responses to each topic. | $ 3,000* |
| Holy Cow! Consulting will train and support church leaders in facilitating Listening Sessions. Questions will be created for these listening sessions in partnership with leadership and based on CAT assessment findings. | Two Hour Zoom $450 |
Executive Summary
Holy Cow! Consulting will prepare an executive summary including the findings of the CAT assessment. This summary can be shared with the congregation and potential candidates for the position of Senior Pastor. This option can be ordered with the CAT.
| Executive Summary of CAT | $350 |
Transition Retreat
The purpose of the Transition Retreat is to identify the future needs of the church, which will then be incorporated into the work of the leadership. The retreat will focus on examining the church’s historical background, assessing the current health of the congregation, understanding community needs and expectations, and determining the suitability of the clergy. Additionally, time will be allocated for creating candidate questions. This retreat will be held in person over a weekend, lasting for six hours.
| Transition Retreat | $2,300 |
Search Committee Meeting
Work with the Search Committee to create candidate interview questions that best reflect the aspirations of the church along with clarity of both the strengths and growth edges of the church. Time would include a 2-hour Zoom session and review of committee work as needed but not to exceed 5 hours.
| Billed at consulting rate | $150/hr |
Community Listening Sessions and Environmental Scan
Holy Cow! Consulting will partner with congregational facilitators to help create questions and best practices for listening sessions with community partners. This will include providing coaching on pulling community demographics, identifying organizations with whom the church already has a partnership, and those organizations for whom future alignment would be mutually beneficial.
| Two Hour Zoom Meeting | $450 |
Leadership Coaching
Coaching is offered for the leadership of the church to be used at the discretion of the board and the staff, for maximum impact and outcomes throughout the transition process. Coaching will be billed at a rate of $150 per hour, in 15 minute increments. It can be used by the leadership as deemed necessary.
If you have questions or need advice about next steps, please reach out!
What happens next? Well the next step is…..
