The 2011 NCLS is the largest survey of its type in the world. It draws together the voices and aspirations of all Australian church attenders as they speak not only to themselves and to each other but to  Australian society as a whole.

So,it is important that as many voices as possible be part of this moment covering most denominations and many cultural groupings in churches large and small, near and far.

What's in it for me?

• Local church leaders will gain a clearer picture of their people - not just their demographics, but their faith life, their commitment to the mission, their Christian living, their hopes for their church.
• Local church leaders will gain insights into the leadership qualities churches need to draw on, their own leadership strengths, as well as those of their leadership team.
• Leaders will see precisely the areas of church life that the congregation most values and the areas they would most like to see further developed.
• All of this will help leaders not only discern directions but the strategies necessary to move surely into those directions

What’s in it for my church?

• The congregations will gain a clearer understanding of their strengths as a Christian community, on mission and caring for each other.
• The ministry groups will gain precise feedback on their own area of ministry.
• The church as a whole will be better equipped to hold meaningful discussions and set goals to strive for based on reality rather than surmise.
• The church will come to understand itself more clearly and be drawn to be a stronger Christian community.

What’s in it for the Region? For the Denomination?

• Regional and denominational leadership will gain a clear oversight of the strengths and focus of its churches and the region as a whole.
• Regional and denominational leadership will be able to work much more effectively with local churches.
• The Survey results will help regional and denominational leadership to effectively allocate resources and resource particular development programs.
• Denominational leaders can compare their denomination’s results against others to clearly see the differences and the similarities, and to build on them.

What’s in it for the mission? For the nation?

• National church leaders, conferences and so on will once again be informed by the results as will their announcements and comments to the Australian public.
• The voice of Australian church attenders will be clearly heard through press releases, academic analysis of the findings, and the like.
• The myth of a dying and irrelevant church will be tested and challenged by the results, and the vibrancy of the mission of Jesus Christ through these ordinary churches will be once more affirmed to the wider community.

The results will also show churches how they are changing over time in various areas of church life and allow comparisons with other participating churches in the nation.

The overriding purpose of all this is to empower churches to be more vital and effective. The guiding vision of the National Church Life Survey is Jesus’ statement “I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). The Survey seeks to be a means of promoting the abundant life of Jesus Christ in churches, especially in these times of change and uncertainty.