Church Rater # 2

Developing Outreach and Discipleship Programs
Church Rater Survey


The Church
What Church did you visit?

Harvest Chapel

What city or town is this Church located?

Abbottstown,PA

What date and service did you attend?

Saturday, February 14,2009 at 7 PM.


Evaluating
How would you rate this church?



Please provide ratings based on your own experience. Yes, I realize this is subjective and your '1′ might be someone else's '5′. That's ok. It's your rating and I really want your opinion.

Rate the following from 1 to 5. 1 is not effective, 5 is very effective!
Overall: _____4______ Friendliness _____1________ Singing _____5_______ Preaching ____4_____


First Impressions
Outside:
Was the building easy to find?

Yes, only because I knew where it was.

Was it difficult to find parking? No

How about the interior or exterior signage- what would you do differently?

The sign along Route 30 was small to medium in size, was lower to the ground than some of the others close by it, back away from the road a little bit, but well lit. I am guessing that they had restrictions about how close to the road the sign was allowed to be. Also, if their sign was a different size or placed higher, than it would have been competing with the other signs and would have either been blocked visually or blocking one of the other signs.


What did the appearance, style, or construction of the building communicate to you?

The exterior center portion of the church was solid looking. To either side of the center portion, the building was "pole building style". I like when churches have either brick or rock in their construction. It makes me feel as though the church is solid and not planning on going anywhere. It gives the impression that it is not only solid physically, but spiritually, as well.

Before the service:
Did anyone approach you and speak to you before the service got underway?

The senior pastor walked by and recognized us from the time when the twelve churches got together at Bethel. He stopped and greeted us. Otherwise, no other human did before the service started (my brother-in-law came in after worship had just started and greeted me). Although, I do want to mention that the Presence of God came very noticeably into the sanctuary before the service started. So much so that I turned to Michael and remarked that God just came into the sanctuary. Does God count as someone that approached me before the service?

If someone did speak to you, how did you feel about that?

It was nice that the pastor remembered us from the meeting at Bethel, but I was a little disappointed that no one else bothered to approach us.


Can you share their names?

Pastor Don Wolabaugh.


Did you know them before the visit?

We had met him briefly at Bethel.


General observations:


As you observed the people "doing their church thing", what went through your mind?

That they love to worship!


Were you able to understand why they do what they do?

Yes! They love God and coming into His Presence!


Do they seem sincere? Yes.


What do you think about the overall presentation of the service? (the liturgy, program or flow of the service)

I really liked the flow of the service. It was well thought out and its flow works even better than ours. They had a few announcements; Pastor Wolabaugh prayed; they had an absolutely awesome, spirit-filled time of worship; another short prayer before the tithes and offerings were taken (worship music continued to be played while attendees took their tithes/offerings to baskets up front); Pastor Dan Mohler gave the message, and then, at the VERY end of the service, you could go up front and receive prayer. I especially liked the prayer at the end of the service because it was not a shouting match to be heard above the worship music and also because everyone got to enjoy God's Presence during worship. I love worship at our church, but often feel as though prayer at that time is in competition with being drawn into God's Presence or the worship then becomes a big distraction to those who are trying to hear prayer requests and the prayers offered up on their behalf. It creates a certain degree of strife. Prayer at the end of the service solves both dilemmas and one doesn't end up battling against the other. It creates a much more peaceful atmosphere.


Bulletin and communications:


Is there anything in the church bulletin that you find confusing or offensive?

There was no bulletin.


If this were your "business", how would you improve the communication part of it- the bulletin especially?

I am guessing that they probably have a bulletin for the Sunday service, but it would be nice to have one for the Saturday service as well...just to know something about the church, who the pastors were, what programs they offer, etc.

Were announcements clear, and interesting (did you want to sign up for anything)?

They announced a baptism was going to be held at the YMCA in Hanover that sounded like it would have been fun to attend.




Children's Ministry


Does this church appear kid-friendly?

I passed by what looked like a small nursery when I came in. I believe there was a Toddler Rooom as well, but that was all I saw. They may have had something else for older kids, but I didn't see it.


Did you bring any children with you to the service? No.


If so, ask them about their experience. What did they tell you? Not applicable.




Music and Prayer


How would you describe the music?

Very spirit-filled!! They played/sang some songs I hadn't heard before, but they also played some new Kim Walker releases and did some Misty Edwards-style worship.


Did you enjoy any of it?

I loved it!!!


Did you feel like you connected with God during any part of it?

I was connecting with God before the service even started (or was He connecting with me??).

How was it different from what you are used to?

They had five members that evening in their worship band so their style of worship was not as loud and crazy as ours, but they did use more current and up-to-date songs than we have been. Ours is still good, but new songs are always nice.


Would you enjoy worshiping like that often? Yes.


What did you think of the prayers that were offered in the service?

I don't so much remember what was prayed, but remember that the prayer was rapid-fire.


As you listened to the prayers, what did you learn about how that church might think of people, or of God?

They prayed in agreement (out loud), which tells me that they were were not afraid of what people thought and that they wanted God to hear their prayer and answer.



The Speaker's Presentation




Did the Pastor or speaker seem likable?

Dan Mohler was the speaker. And, yes, he's very likeable. Even though he's my brother-in-law, I've never heard him preach before and was amazed at how God uses him when he stands up to preach. He's kind of like Johannes, in that he tells a good story and is able to draw people into the story, but in a different way. He is also totally unlike anyone else I have ever heard preach before. The quiet, unassuming, nature-loving Danny that I knew before I heard him preach became this powerful, knowledgable, on-fire, man-of-God, that seems to have the Word of God engraved into every cell of his being. I'm still blown away by the experience over a month afterwards. I felt like I was hit by rapid-fire bullets that left me laying there wondering what the heck just hit me and feeling the need to just lay there and think about it until it sank in and I was strong enough to stand again.

Is he/she a person you might enjoy having coffee with? Why?

Yes! I want to find out HOW, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, and WHEN God did all this to him and I want some of it to rub off on ME!!! I knew some of his testimony already, but I had no idea that God uses Dan like this! Holy Cow!

Did he/she seem engaged/sincere/condescending?

Danny was most definitely engaged and sincere. Condescending? Never!

Were you motivated to do or think anything differently because of the talk?

I'm still laying on the ground (in the spirit) trying to figure out what hit me...knowing God's Word will not return void; but what I took away is that if my belief in God is strong enough, I should be doing the same things (and more) that Jesus did. Leaving me to consider why that isn't always so...yet.


What could they have done to make it more enjoyable or useful?

The Word of God and His principles are so deeply engraved in Dan (it feels as though God took His finger and wrote them upon his heart Himself), that when he spits out the Word, rapid fire as he does, it's almost difficult to keep up with what he's saying. Just as I was wrapping my brain around one thing, he seemed to be on to twenty other things. To Danny, what he was saying was simple and plain, and it was, but he spit it out so quickly, that I didn't have as much time to savor God's Word as I would have liked. So slowing down a bit would have been more effectual...at least for me. I think a new believer may have been totally lost.


Please erase any of the following descriptors that did not apply to the talk: Enjoyable, Thought-provoking, Relevant, Energetic, Credible, Upbeat, Humorous, Useful, Life-changing, funny,




The Message


What was the main idea of the message?

Healing.


What action did the speaker want you to take or consider taking?

To come with expectation of healing and act upon it (either receiving or offering healing) in Jesus' name. Dan covered much more than this, but that was the main gist.

Did the talk itself (the subject matter) hold your attention?

Yes. i didn't dare divert my attention or I would have missed too much.


Did any part of the talk stand out to you in a positive or negative way?

Yes. One thing that stuck out to me, which wasn't even directly related to the main topic, was when Dan said that Jesus died for something that was worth it--ME! I love God!


What is the one thing the speaker could do that would improve his/her presentation?

Keep his subject matter more focused.


Do you think that you particularly will remember anything that was taught?

Yes. That we should come to God in expectation of His wanting to bless those who believe!


Do you understand God or people better because of it?

I don't know that I understand God any better, but my measure of faith that all things are possible with God has increased. I also feel as though I have gained some valuable insight into my own measure of trust/belief in God over the last several weeks, with a particularly BIG breakthrough, last evening.


Did it make you feel like you wanted to preach someday yourself ?

My head is spinning too much right now to even think about that.