In 1991, on Sundays across the country, 312,000 Australians were handed a paper survey along with the order of service. Pens went around the pews. Everyone aged fifteen and up. 6,700 congregations across 19 denominations, all answering the same questions in the same year. It was planned as a one-off.

Part of the reason it existed at all: Australian church leaders were tired of guessing. Most of the advice on church growth came from an American context, built on large, fast-growing urban churches, then sold as universal principles. We could only guess what was actually happening on the ground here down under. So a small Sydney research team led by Peter Kaldor counted everyone in the room instead, and called their first report First Look in the Mirror.

Thirty-five years later, that one-off is the National Church Life Survey, the largest longitudinal study of church life in the world. One of the researchers on that first team, Dr Ruth Powell, now directs it. The eighth count runs late this year, the same year Australia runs its Census.

After our last issue, one of you wrote back asking for more about the research I had mentioned. Fair question, so here it is properly.

The 2021 NCLS Leader Survey asked senior local church leaders to mark the main roles they actually carry out, and the roles they believe they should carry. 42% named administering the work of the local church as a main role they actually carry. But almost a third, 30%, carry that admin while saying it should not be their priority, one of the two largest gaps the survey found between the work leaders do and the work they feel called to.

And NCLS connects that gap to something else it tracks: leaders' reported stress has climbed since 2016, with researcher Sam Sterland describing leaders who feel "more effective, but more tired than ever."

A few weeks ago we ran a little survey to get to know you better. A good handful of you answered, thank you! The largest group reading this is paid part-time administrators, and for nearly half of you the hardest part of the role is legal and compliance. Nothing else came close.

What I did not expect was who came second. The next largest group reading a newsletter for church administrators is senior pastors. About a third of you are the minister and the person doing the admin. As a newcomer to the scene I did not see that coming on our own newsletter, but the national data already had it for years.

The numbers show you are not alone. Here is one practical thing you can do about it.

That inaugural report, First Look in the Mirror, was named well. A survey is a mirror, and a mirror can only show the churches that stand in front of it. Back in 1991, 6,700 congregations stood in front of that mirror.

NCLS data says Australia is a nation of small churches: the median congregation is about 50 people. Every church that skips the count leaves the national picture to be painted by the bigger ones. That is the exact problem the 1991 survey was created to fix.

So when a 2026 survey invitation reaches your church, and it may already have, it isn't junk and it isn't a sales call. The part that adds your church to the national picture is free and quick: a survey for your leaders, and a short one mapping your church's activities.

So here is the ask. If you are able to, please take part because this is one of the few times your size counts for more.

Sign-ups are open now, and we are right behind this one. The sign-up link is below.

The resource is the research itself: NCLS Research's plain-language article on what leaders actually do versus what they believe they should be doing, including the chart behind the 42% and 30%. Link: https://www.ncls.org.au/articles/ministry-roles-ideal-versus-reality/

And the 2026 survey I keep mentioning: you can sign up, or find your denomination's coordinator, at 2026ncls.org.au