Values Change Index - Manifestation of the Fruit of the Spirit

​​Engaging the local church is an integral part of an ‘Empowered community’. After an initial assessment is conducted of the entire community, one starts working with the local church to help them determine their own spiritual health and ultimately the role they play in the community. Through being in relationship with the church, the strategy is to seek to build up and encourage the church to take hold of its inheritance as Christ’s bride. 

​Much like during the community needs assessment, the church conducts an initial spiritual assessment using the same participatory tool called the Ten Seed Technique. Each small circle represents one of the nine fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians 5:22. The black dots within each of the small circles represent the ten seeds used in the actual exercise. The seeds placed within the larger, colored circle represent to what extent each fruit of the spirit is perceived to be manifested in the lives of church members. The remaining seeds are placed outside of the larger circle and represent the difference between how much that particular fruit of the spirit is thought to be manifest, and to what extent it could be. In other words, the latter represents the gap between perceived reality and full potential. 

​The top bar graph on the right shows the perceived manifestation of each fruit of the spirit in the lives of church members in 2011 and then again in 2013. The bar graph on the bottom right depicts the change within the Value Change Index (VCI). The VCI uses the information presented in the first bar graph to determine an average  of to what extent that the fruit of the spirit is represented in the lives of church members. The equation is as follows: number of seeds overlapping in the large circle divided by total number of seeds. The VCI provides a quantitative way to track the spiritual growth of the churches and also the community per se. 

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