Creating Remarkable Experiences through Consistent Evaluation - Gabe Norris, Vice President of Connect Ministries
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It’s vitally important for your church to meet new people and effectively plug them into the life of your church. One of the best ways to do so is by consistently providing remarkable experiences. Whether big or small, people crave remarkable - especially when engaging with the church.
It’s one thing to create a single remarkable experience, but an entirely different challenge to do so over time across every area of your church. One major barrier preventing churches from consistently creating remarkable experiences is a lack of attentiveness to the evaluation process. This blog will explore how pastors and church leaders can evaluate the experiences they offer, ensuring they consistently achieve remarkable outcomes. Evaluation is the key to continuous improvement in the mission of reaching and discipling new people.
Remarkable experiences don’t happen by accident. They are the result of thoughtful planning, careful execution, and regular evaluation. Here are five essential questions every church must answer to ensure their experiences are consistently remarkable:
Question #1: What are 5 words we will use to define remarkable?
Many churches struggle with creating remarkable experiences because they haven’t clearly defined what that looks like. Without clarity, it’s impossible to aim for or evaluate success.
For example, our team builds Connect Camps, a remarkable day camp experience that helps churches meet new people. We define “remarkable” with six words: relational, relevant, Christ-centered, fun, visually appealing, and safe. These words guide our training, observation, feedback, and continuous improvements. When your church defines what “remarkable” means, it creates clarity for everyone involved and puts you on the path to consistently providing these experiences.
Next steps for Question #1:
Agree on your definition of “remarkable.”
Make that definition highly visible to your church.
Establish a standard of excellence that everyone understands.
Question #2: Who is responsible for evaluation at our church?
The answer: everyone. Creating remarkable experiences consistently means everyone must evaluate. Imagine a church culture where every team member regularly asks, “How can we improve this?” or “What if we tried this?” The creativity, innovation, and effectiveness that come from this mindset would be transformative.
However, feedback can be difficult to accept. Most people’s first reaction is defensiveness. But when evaluation becomes a regular part of your church’s culture, resistance fades as people recognize it’s about improving the mission of the church, not critiquing individuals. Evaluation creates accountability and ensures that every action is focused on improving the overall experience.
Next steps for Question #2:
Create an evaluation form based on your definition of “remarkable.”
Train your team and volunteers to evaluate through this lens.
Schedule regular meetings to review feedback and decide what success to celebrate and what changes to implement.
Question #3: When should we evaluate?
Evaluation should happen all the time. Just like sports teams constantly review film after every game to improve their performance, churches should continuously evaluate every experience (big or small) to see what went well and what can be improved.
When evaluation becomes part of your routine, you’ll find your church consistently becoming more effective over time. And who wouldn’t want to be part of a church that is always improving and becoming more effective? Evaluation creates an environment where people are excited about the future because they know that each experience leaves a mark and is worth remarking about.
Next steps for Question #3:
Normalize evaluation in your church.
Provide easy ways for people to contribute feedback on a weekly basis.
Teach your team how to observe and evaluate effectively.
Question #4: What will we do with the feedback we receive?
Feedback is only valuable when it leads to action. To close the loop on your evaluation process, there are four critical steps:
Discuss the feedback. Receiving feedback doesn’t mean you need to implement everything. Instead, create space to thoughtfully discuss it, weighing each point against your definition of “remarkable,” not just personal preferences or opinions.
Create an action plan. If your team decides that a suggestion aligns with your goals and budget, outline the exact steps needed for implementation. Document these steps so you can track progress and follow up if needed.
Assign ownership. Every action plan needs someone to take responsibility for seeing it through. Without clear ownership, even the best ideas can get lost. Make sure a person or team is clearly named to lead the charge.
Set a deadline. Accountability is key. Establish a realistic timeline for the team to execute the plan, and follow up to ensure progress is being made by the agreed-upon date.
Question #5: What stories of life change can we tell?
If evaluation feels like constant nagging, it’s missing the point. The purpose of evaluation is to help your church more effectively fulfill its mission, creating environments where life change can happen more often. Behind every remarkable experience is a person whose life can be transformed by the good news of Jesus Christ. Share those stories.
People want to be part of a winning team. Every time you celebrate a story of life change, you remind your church that the effort put into creating remarkable experiences is worth it.
Next steps:
Create ways for people to submit stories of life change.
Budget for and schedule time to share those stories consistently.
Celebrate life-change stories every chance you get to create a culture of contagious enthusiasm.
Now that you’ve explored the process of evaluating your church experiences, it’s time to take action. Start by defining what “remarkable” means for your team, and then move forward with implementing these evaluation practices. By making evaluation a consistent part of your church’s strategy, you’ll create a culture of continuous improvement, helping you meet new people and assimilate them into the life of your church.
Gabe Norris is the Co-Founder and Vice President of Connect Ministries, established in 2006 as a non-profit helping thousands of churches meet hundreds of thousands of new people. On a daily basis, he loves to encourage, equip, and inspire individuals, organizations, and teams to fulfill their God-given potential. Since 1997, God has used Gabe to multiply Christ-centered servant leaders through camps, conferences, workshops, and training events worldwide. From his early days at YMCA Camps, he has provided intentional leadership to Crosspoint Sports Camp, Centri-Kid, Student Life for Kids, WinShape Camps for Communities, and Connect Camps. A native of Spartanburg, SC, Gabe graduated from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business and Beeson Divinity School at Samford University. He and his wife, Allyson, have 3 daughters—Neely, Ansley Jane, and Audrey—along with their dog, Charcoal.