CHURCH & TRAUMA ASSESSMENT
Discover the truth about your church and trauma.
Is your church equipped to care?
Trauma is all around you. There are people in your community andย your church who are vulnerable and struggling.
The Church & Trauma Assessment is a one-of-a-kind tool designed to help your church evaluate how ready you are to serve those in need.ย
How the assessment process works
1. Take the assessment
Invite your entire church or a diverse cross-section to take the 16-question assessment.
2. Review Your Results With us
Meet with us to discover your score, insights, and custom next steps for your church.
3. Share with the Congregation
Communicate insights with the whole church to create a culture of shared ownership.
4. Grow as a community
Apply the action plan we create together to become more trauma-responsive as a church.
Straightforward, multiple choice questions.
We ask 16 questions about trauma, community, leadership, and other key areas of church life.
The online assessment can be done quickly during a Sunday service or whenever convenient for individuals.
We work with you to determine the best delivery system(s) for your church membership.
Get a custom report with specific, actionable next-steps.
After everyone has completed the assessment, we create a custom report that includes your score, interpretation, areas for improvement, and tangible next steps to grow in your trauma-responsiveness.
We will meet with you to discuss the results, how to communicate with your congregation, and develop an action plan.
Get a custom report with specific, actionable next-steps.
After everyone has completed the assessment, we create a custom report that includes your score, interpretation, areas for improvement, and tangible next steps to grow in your trauma-responsiveness.
We will meet with you to discuss the results, how to communicate with your congregation, and develop an action plan.
What Experts Say About the
Church & Trauma Assessment
“Church leaders are increasingly recognizing the impact of trauma on those themselves and those they serve. A crucial part of becoming a trauma-responsive ministry is initiating conversations about what that means and how it is accomplished. For most churches, this will require an honest assessment. The Church & Trauma Assessment will enable ministry leaders to determine the degree to which their congregants understand the impact of trauma and map a path toward better serving those impacted by trauma.”
Dr. Janyne McConnaughey
Author, Professor, Trauma Advocate
Board Member, Attachment & Trauma Network
“In order to better serve congregations, churches and other religious institutions need to be active and purposeful in recognizing strengths and areas for improvement especially when reflecting on providing support and spiritual guidance for members who have experienced trauma. Merging scholarship on trauma counseling and social scientific principles in developing this assessment instrument, Christian Heritage provides a timely and necessary tool for churches to identify these strengths and areas for growth.”
Dr. Jordan Soliz
Professor and Research Integrity Officer (Int.),
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Church & Trauma Assessment?
The Church & Trauma Assessment is an survey tool that measures how trauma-responsive a local church is. It is designed to evaluate how ready and equipped a congregation isย collectively to minister to people who suffer from trauma and/or are vulnerable.ย ย
Why is the Church & Trauma Assessment important?
Most churches want to help people who have experienced trauma, but too often churches and their membership lack the knowledge, training, systems, and practices to do so. The Church & Trauma Assessment helps a church get an accurate picture of how ready and equipped it is to serve and support vulnerable people.
How long is the assessment?
The assessment is just 16 questions and should only take 7-10 minutes to complete.
What does the assessment measure?
The assessment measures two dimensions of trauma-responsiveness: individual and communal. The individual dimension measures how well church members understand and apply trauma-responsive principles in their own lives, focusing on empathy, awareness, and readiness to support others. The communal dimension evaluates the respondents’ perceptions of the church’s leadership, environment, and practices related to trauma.
How will the results be shared?
Your church’s leadership will receive a custom report that details the church’s collective score and recommendations. We will meet with your church’s leadership to discuss the results. We encourage every church to share the results publicly since we believe growth can only happen when the entire congregation is a part of the solution.
Do individuals who take the assessment get a personal score?
No. This assessment is unique in the sense that it provides a score for an entire faith community. An individual score matters, but only in as much as it contributes to the whole.
Does every single person in the church need to take the assessment?
Not at all! We only ask that a diverse cross-section of the church takes the assessment to maintain statistical validity. In other words, if only elders, pastors, or staff take the assessment, it will not return valid results, and it will fail to reveal how trauma-responsive your church is.
Is the assessment anonymous?
Yes, it is anonymous. We do not collect any contact information or your name. We do ask for the age range, ethnicity, and gender of the person taking the assessment. This helps us discover any correlation between those demographic features and individual responses.
What is your ultimate goal of the Church & Trauma Assessment?
Our ultimate goal is to help local churches become trauma-responsive so that the hurting, oppressed, marginalized, and vulnerable in our midst might know and experience the healing and saving power of Jesus through a loving, life-giving community.
What does it cost to take the assessment?
There is no cost to churches to take the assessment. If you are interested in helping fund this initiative, please consider giving a gift so we can continue to offer the assessment to every local church in Nebraska and beyond for free.
Discover the truth about your church.
Your church wants to serve those who are vulnerable and hurting. But is it equipped to meet the needs of people with trauma?
You’ll never know. Unless you take the Church & Trauma Assessment.
Whether you’re ready to get started today or still have questions, submit the form and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
