Glass Cockpit FAQ

• How long does it take? Once you register, the survey is open to your members for 14 days. You will receive your report as a PDF file via e-mail within 48 hours of the survey conluding. bullet What does it cost? The full 52 page report is $499. A mini-version , priced at $99, is primarily intended for annual check-ups after completing the full version or as part of a denomination-wide or judicatory-wide project.
• How do we pay? You can use Paypal to pay securely by credit card, or you can request an invoice that will be promptly delivered via e-mail. If you choose to be billed, you can still start the survey immediately, but you won't receive your report until payment is received. You do have the option of switching from billing to Paypal after initial registration.
• We have more than one pastor, which one takes the survey? The Senior Pastor. If you have co-pastors or some other configuration of team ministry, then either flip a coin, mutually agree on answers, or choose the person with the longest tenure. In either case, the other pastor(s) should still complete a member survey.
• Why don't you list averages? We will probably publish a book in 2010 with trends and averages, but generally - averages aren't that useful. Free surveys reflect average scores indicative of the average church, which unfortunately is a declining church in the U.S. Surveys that have some cost to the congregation tend to reflect more churches that care about their health (enough to spend money on better health) and, hence, are skewed more positively. Regardless, most churches ultimately want to be healthy, not average.
• How does it compare to Reveal? Reveal is a great resource, but different in several ways. First, it was designed as an internal tool at Willow Creek and then adapted for outside sales. The Glass Cockpit was always intended to be used by a variety of churches. Second, Reveal's dominant paradigm is explicitly based on decision theology - so it's relevance for any denomination that baptizes infants is yet to be demonstrated. The Glass Cockpit uses a model of church health and growth, which is indifferent to the decision theology/infant baptism question. Third, Reveal is primarily a measure of the spiritual health of subsets of the membership. The Glass Cockpit, though offering comparisons of spiritual health by gender and generation, primarily addresses the health and growth of the whole congregation. Many congregations would benefit from using both of these fine tools! bullet How does it compare to NCD? Natural Church Development has aided many congregations by giving them their first exposure to systematic assessment. It is handy, but simply not as comprehensive as the Glass Cockpit and is primarily marketed through denominations.
• How does it compare to the CVP? The Church Vitality Profile was developed by Dr. Kent Hunter - a friend and mentor to Dr. Miller. Many churches have been blessed through using the CVP. The Glass Cockpit is, as with NCD, just more comprehensive.