A SWOT analysis is conducted by a church or ministry to study the details of each parish and revamp its strategies. It can be a helpful tool that can help in identifying problem areas and therefore plan effectively to overcome them. A SWOT analysis can go a long way in helping a church and it’s parishioners work towards their vision and goals.
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5 Steps to Do a Church SWOT Analysis
Step 1: Determine the Objective of Your Analysis
The first thing that you need to do is determine the objective of your analysis, i.e. what you are likely to achieve by conducting the SWOT analysis and how it will be helpful to your overall strategic planning. Once you’ve decided your objective, place it as a heading at the top center of the page.
Step 2: List Your Strengths
Under this heading, list all the characteristics that are an advantage to the church and which are favorable to its growth. Some of these characteristics may include having experienced preachers, and volunteers, mature believers who believe in the doctrine, self-sufficiency of the parish, etc.
Step 3: List Your Weaknesses
Think about the factors are creating barriers in the implementation of the strategic plan and adversely affecting progress. These are the major weaknesses, which need to be identified and tackled. Some of these can be a lack of proper vision, less participation of youth, lack of finance and exodus of members due to relocation.
Step 4: Identify Your Opportunities
Opportunities are mostly favorable conditions that are available at your disposal. They are mostly external factors that you can modify and use to your advantage. For example, social media can be used to attract young people towards parish activities, slight adjustments in mass timings can increase the number of attendees.
Step 5: Be Aware of Your Threats
The threats are those elements that can directly cause trouble to the activities of the church. These are the major problems that will need to be addressed, some of which include too busy schedules, negative attitude of parishioners, too many churches in the area, shortage of priests and lack of funds for development.
10 + Church SWOT Analysis Templates
1. Standard Church SWOT Analysis Template
This is a detailed SWOT analysis template consisting of 23 pages that are used to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a church. The analysis concludes that the strengths of the church lies in its strategic location, learned staff and faith of the people, whereas insufficient space and inadequate staffing are some of the main weaknesses that need to be addressed.
2. Church SWOT Analysis Sample
This template is used to record the results of the SWOT analysis church conducted by the participants of a church.While self-sufficiency, the maturity of it’s believers and sound doctrine are the strengths of the church, some of the major weaknesses are lack of finance, vision, and lack of cooperation from youth.
3. Professional SWOT Analysis of a Catholic Church
Here is a professional analysis template giving you details of the SWOT analysis that was conducted by a Catholic church with the help of 60 individuals from different backgrounds. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are listed under different headings and subheadings covering 12 informative pages in PDF format.
4. Printable Church SWOT Analysis Template
This template gives a brief result of the SWOT analysis chart that was conducted by the elders, deacons, and parishioners of the church. Since the list of weaknesses greatly outnumbers the strengths and opportunities there is a need to concentrate on the proper implementation of the strategic plan to increase member participation in church duties and responsibilities.
5. SWOT Analysis of a Church Example
This free analysis sample template can be used to report the findings of the SWOT analysis that was conducted by the parishioners to review the strengths and opportunities that need to be comprehended to tide over the weaknesses and threats that can threaten the smooth working of the church.
6. Church SWOT Analysis Download
This SWOT analysis template gives you the complete structure of a sample SWOT analysis for a church. Each of the four headings has five to six points listed under them. While the weaknesses can be easily dealt with, the opportunities and threats are more difficult to recognize and alter. This template can be easily modified in Microsoft Word.
7. Catholic Parish SWOT Analysis Download
This SWOT analysis template example is part of a detailed pastoral plan that has been developed to support the mission of the church. According to the analysis, the strength of the parish lies in talented parishioners and strong work ethics, while major to be weaknesses to be tackled lie in the negative reactions and fear of change among the people.
8. Simple Parish SWOT Analysis
This SWOT analysis template is created in the form of a grid consisting of 2 columns and 2 rows. The strengths and opportunities are listed under the column titled ‘Helpful to achieve the objective’ whereas the weaknesses and threats listed in the next column under the heading ‘Harmful to achieve the objective’.
9. Parish SWOT Analysis Layout
This SWOT analysis has been conducted as part of a five-year plan that has been chalked out for the development of the parish and benefit of its parishioners. Some of the main strengths include having talented members and core attendees while the weaknesses consist of lack of personnel, poor communication and low participation of men in the church activities.
10. Church SWOT Analysis Example
This SWOT analysis has been conducted as part of a self-assessment plan conducted by a parish and it’s members to identify the internal and external factors influencing its performance. The strengths of the parish lie in the efficiency of the clergy and continuity of traditions while its weaknesses and threats are mainly insufficient outreach, growing secularism, and cultural changes.
11. Church SWOT Analysis Template Download
This SWOT analysis template sample has been conducted to identify the main roadblocks in realizing its objectives and mission statement. While the strengths greatly outnumber the weaknesses, the major threats that the church is likely to face due to the ever-changing social scene is a lack of religious value and increasing secularism in modern society.