What is the JVA?
The Judicatory Vitality Assessment (or JVA) is an online, research-based diagnostic tool designed to help dioceses, synods, conferences, and other regional judicatory bodies that provide oversite and coordination of a collection of congregations under their cure.*
What is the purpose of the JVA?
How will it benefit our Judicatory?
The Judicatory Vitality Assessment is designed to help a judicatory’s leadership:
- Diagnose judicatory Vitality and Sustainability
- Identify judicatory internal/organizational strengths and weaknesses
- Identify judicatory strengths and weaknesses in how it relates to its congregations.
- Develop and prioritize strategies to leverage strengths to effectively engage opportunities.
What does the JVA do?
The JVA measures how effectively a judicatory is carrying out 16 vital areas of judicatory functioning:
Vision, Mission, and Discernment · Congregational Engagement/Empowerment · Context Awareness and Inclusion · Change Readiness · Dealing with Differences/Conflict · Spiritual Life and Worship · Formation, Education, and Training · Outreach to Congregations · Leadership and Organization · Stewardship · Collaborative Ministry · Assessment/Evaluation · Infrastructure · Judicatory–Congregation Trust · Providing for Leadership Growth · Ministry Development and Redevelopment
What makes the JVA unique?
The JVA is the first and only of its kind.
There is no other available diagnostic tool for assessing judicatory vitality and sustainability.
How was the JVA for our judicatory?
The Judicatory Vitality Assessment was developed by FaithX President Ken Howard over a two-year period in response to judicatory client requests for a judicatory equivalent of the Congregational Vitality Assessment. Similar to the way the CVA and the CVA-Judicatory Platform was development, the development of the JVA was based on both judicatory vitality and sustainability research data, as well as input and from potential users. The steps in the process were:
- Research Review: A thorough study of the available research on judicatory vitality and sustainability from dozens of sources.
- Question Design and Review: Developing survey sections and questions, followed by a review process involving potential users.
- Scoring Design and Review: Developing scoring criteria for high, moderate, and low levels of vitality and sustainability, as well as prescriptive paragraphs to accompany the scores for each section. These were also reviewed by potential users.
- Online Development: Programming of the online version of the JVA.
- Internal Debugging: First by the programmer, then by FaithX staff.
- Beta-Testing. By seven different judicatories.
- Public Launch: September 1, 2024
How do we acquire the JVA for our judicatory?
The JVA is comes as a subscription, the cost of which varies based on the size of the judicatory
and the frequency of the subscription.
When will the JVA be available?
From April to August a select group of judicatories will be beta-testing the JVA.
Then a soft-launch in June.
Then in September the JVA will be publicly launched.
If you would like for your judicatory to be involved in beta testing, please let us know.
NOTE: Pre-release pricing will be in effect through at least the end of June.
How can we find out more?
Contact us at info@faithx.net and ask for more information about the Judicatory Vitality Assessment.
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*Development of the JVA was made possible by a generous grant from Trinity Wall Street Philanthropies and collaborative assistance from the Episcopal Church Foundation.
