Are We On the Right Track?

July 19, 2022 | Alex Feng

Earlier this month, I went on a road trip with my high school son to visit a college that we had never been to before. If you’re like me, one thing that was indispensable to that trip was GPS on the phone – to make sure that we knew where we were, so we could stay on track to where we want to go, no matter what unexpected situations exist. Of course, there’s a parallel here for Stone Hill. Just like the road trip example, as a church, we also need to know where we are, in order to know if we’re on track or not to our mission, in spite of any unexpected situations.

And the last time we did a congregational survey was in 2016 (pre-COVID), so it’s about time (arguably overdue). So today we are launching an anonymous survey of our congregants – and it’s important that we hear from you – so please do fill it out before August 2.  

You should have received a link to the survey in this week’s Happenings – use that link to fill out the short, 25 question survey (If you did not receive it, please contact the church office and we will happily send you the survey link).

We’re sure you have questions, so we’ve tried to answer the common ones below. If you still have any questions, send them to info@stonehillprinceton.org and we will answer them as soon as we can!

Thanks in advance!

– Alex Feng on behalf the Stone Hill staff and elder board

Stone Hill Survey – Frequently Asked Questions

  • When will the survey be open for completion?
    • The survey opened on July 19 and will close August 2.
  • Is this survey anonymous?
    • Yes, this is an anonymous survey. Personal information will not be collected (unless you want to provide it).
  • Will survey results be shared?
    • Yes, we commit to transparency – we plan to provide results to Stone Hill members around August 18, 2022, if not sooner.
  • Why are you doing this?
    • Just like we need a GPS on a road trip to make sure we’re on track. As a church, the purpose of this survey is to make sure that we are also on track as a church with our mission, especially as it has been some time since the last survey (e.g., new pastor and different staff and elder board), and since COVID also caused a bit of additional disruption.
    • To this end, this survey will help us assess how we’re doing – not a perfect assessment, but a snapshot. Just as importantly, we plan for this to be a first step in having further dialogue as a church to make sure we are all on the right track, and to see where we may not be.
  • What happened with the prior survey results?
    • We are committed to transparency. In the results that will be shared on or around August 18, we will provide a comparison of 2022 results with 2016 (where they can be compared).  
    • Note, however, that the prior survey was not the exact same survey. The prior survey was approximately a 100-question survey – this one is 25 questions.  
    • This is intentional for two reasons. First, there is still a significant amount of COVID fatigue, so a 100-question survey seemed too much for our current need. Second, no survey results are perfect. We believe that having a dialogue about how we’re doing is critical, so this is a first step in that important direction.
    • Please contact any elder for more information on the current survey or results from 2016.
  • Other than the survey, what happens next?
    • August 2 – Survey closes
    • August 18 – Survey results released
    • August 21 at 10:30 a.m. – Elder Town Hall, where we plan to discuss initial reactions to the survey findings and answer questions from the congregation.
    • August 21 through September 9 – Elders to discuss with parish members their reactions to survey findings
    • September 22 – Blog post summarizing key takeaways and next steps for SHC