8 October, 2026
Dear participating church,
Thriving in ministry
The purpose of the NCLS Leader Survey is to support the development of effective and sustainable leadership in Christian ministry. Results from 2021 painted a positive picture about the effectiveness and energy of leaders, but what will 2026 reveal? In this edition, you will find tips for running the Leader Survey in your church.
As around 2500 churches around Australia complete their surveys, EV Church from NSW share how they did this in person and online at the same time. See their story below.
INVITE YOUR LEADERS TO COMPLETE THE LEADER SURVEY
The online Leader Survey is now available and can be started at any time: leadersurvey.ncls.au
Please invite people aged 18+ in ministry or pastoral leadership roles and anyone in a significant position of ministry to complete the Leader Survey. Examples include senior ministers, pastors, priests, and people who lead ministry areas e.g. children, youth, small groups, or worship (lay or ordained, staff or non-staff), and people who serve on your church’s council or board etc.
We'd like to see as many leaders as possible take part, to capture the views and experiences of leaders around the country.
Paper survey kits are in the mail, and contain a few paper Leader Surveys, alongside Attender Surveys, to be completed in October or November. Below we provide some resources to invite your leaders to complete the online Leader Survey, including an invitation flyer, QR Code and email invitation template.
Insights on thriving in ministry
In the Leader Survey we ask leaders about their sense of effectiveness and their emotional exhaustion. Thriving in ministry happens when these two factors combine in a positive way with a high sense of effectiveness and low emotional exhaustion.
MOST LEADERS FEEL EFFECTIVE
Most senior local church leaders in 2021 score well in the ministry effectiveness scale, with 97% scoring above the midpoint (5) on the scale and 67% scoring 8-10.
MOST LEADERS FEEL ENERGISED RATHER THAN EXHAUSTED
Emotional exhaustion scores are more spread out, but a strong majority of leaders in 2021 (72%) are below the scale midpoint, indicating lower emotional exhaustion. Some 17% are above it, indicating they are more exhausted.
For more details, read the article or watch the webinar for insights into effective and sustainable church leadership in Australia.
And remember to encourage all your leaders to complete the 2026 Leader Survey, to update national research insights like these!
TO DO
- When your Survey Kit arrives, find your Church Code, to share with leaders to enter when they begin their survey.
- Circulate invitational flyers along with your Church Code for leaders to go to the online survey. Share paper surveys if needed.
TIPS AND RESOURCES
Invitation Template: Use our email template to invite leaders to do the survey.
EV CHURCH, NSW: A LOCAL CHURCH STORY
We thank EV Church for sharing their experience of running the survey in person and online.
"We gave people 10 minutes in the service to complete it and if needed they could finish after church. We gave paper surveys to everyone and had a completion rate of over 95%. People were very happy to participate. This has been a very valuable piece to take the pulse of church over the years. It really does give vital information about the spiritual health of our people and how this is tracking over time and has helped us see things to celebrate and gaps to address. We encouraged people to also see it as a bit of a self audit of how they are tracking as individuals."
Andrew Mitchell, Executive Pastor
Want more details on each of the surveys you will receive? Click below to get ready! Or, for an overview of surveys, go to survey options.
From July on, all participating are receiving regular email updates with tips, encouragements and resources for the surveys.
Need to see all the updates? You can find them all in one place online. Click here
About our Sponsors
This update has been supported by sponsorship from Whole In One and IDMC College. We invite you to review their material to evaluate its suitability for your context.
The inclusion of advertising does not constitute an endorsement or approval by NCLS Research of any products, services, or opinions.
We are glad your church is joining in the 2026 NCLS! Our hope and prayer is that this reflective experience provides an effective way to strengthen your own church's health, as well as to shape future ministry in Australia. Watch out for our next update!
Yours faithfully,
Prof Ruth Powell
Executive Director, NCLS Research on behalf of the Board and team.