When individuals join an organization -- be it a workplace, a service club, or a health club -- they want to know what is expected of them. People who join religious congregations are no different. Most members in American congregations think they know the expectations of membership -- in a recent Gallup study*, 65% "strongly agreed" with the statement, "As a member of my congregation, I know what is expected of me." But that also means about one in three congregation members may have doubts about this question.
In order for a congregation to effectively carry out its mission, the leader must make expectations clear to each member. Some of the reasons for this are obvious: clear expectations result in fewer misunderstandings about the meaning of membership, less confusion about mission and purpose, and a better-defined sense of role and job responsibilities. The importance of setting clear expectations is also evident in three important outcomes that are indicators of a congregation's spiritual health: inviting others, community service, and financial giving. Those who say they regularly engage in each of those activities are significantly more likely than other congregation members to say they clearly understand what is expected of them.
Inviting others. One of the outcomes that reflects the engagement level of congregation members is their willingness to invite others to participate in their congregations (see "Congregational Engagement Outcomes: Serving and Inviting" in Related Items). Engaged members are far more likely than those who are not engaged to invite others to their congregations. Drilling deeper into the data, we find that 86% of members who strongly agree that they have invited someone to participate in the last six months also strongly agree that they know what is expected of them in their congregations.
Community Service. Engaged members spend more time volunteering to serve and help others in their communities. Again, there appears to be a link between the amount of time that members spend volunteering and whether they know the expectations of membership. Of those who spend two or more hours per week in community service, 70% strongly agree that they know what is expected of them.
Financial Giving. Jesus said, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Making financial contributions to one's religious organization is a key indicator of spiritual health, and a relevant outcome of being engaged in a congregation (see "Congregational Engagement Index: Life Satisfaction and Giving" in Related Items). Seventy-nine percent of those who give $2,000 or more annually to their congregations also strongly agree that they know what is expected of them in their congregations.
Bottom Line
Astute congregation leaders will make expectations clear not just once, but on an ongoing basis. Members need to be periodically reminded of those expectations so that they don't lose sight of them and substitute their own, leading to confusion, inconsistency, and disappointment. Effective leaders avoid these pitfalls by continually making sure everyone is on the same page.
*Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,000 adult members of a church, synagogue, or other religious faith community, aged 18 and older, and 500 non-members, conducted in November and December 2002. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±2.6%.
