Overview of Surveys:
Complete the Church Activities Survey in August (one leader or administrator)
Complete the Attender Surveys and Leader Surveys from September to October 2026
Please refer to the Survey Coordinator's Guide, provided in your Survey Kit for the person coordinating the survey at your church. Also provided in your Kit are Site Instructions for Survey Day, displaying your NCLS Church Code, along with Instructions for other optional surveys including Child and Community Surveys.
Churches can complete the Church Activities Survey (one leader or administrator) in August.
Churches can choose anytime from September to October 2026 to complete the Attender Surveys and Leader Surveys. For the Attender Survey, churches normally select a 'survey week' free from special events e.g. baptisms, and survey all attenders at worship services, mass, small groups and activities that week.
To begin...
The timeline allows churches to select the best date(s) to complete surveys.
Church Activities Survey: to be completed by one leader or administrator in August.
Church Life Survey: Attender Surveys to be completed by Adult Attenders and Child Attenders (if ordered) to be completed from September to October.
Leader Survey: to be completed by leaders, ordained and lay, from September to October.
How is your church gathering? Face to face or online?
Depending on your church's circumstances, suggestions are offered in the Guide on how to best run the survey at your church.
Survey options include paper and online surveys that can be adapted to various modes of gathering.
A Survey Kit will be sent to your church:
A full list of survey materials contained in your Survey Kit, including types of surveys and online survey options will be available soon.
Read the Church Survey Coordinator's Guide for guidance on how to complete the 2026 NCLS surveys at your church. The Guide included in your Survey Kit is labelled with the NCLS Church Code(s) for your church.
Survey Coordinator's Guide
The Survey Coordinator's Guide will have all you need to know to complete the 2026 NCLS Attender Surveys at your church.
This webpage will be updated with Survey Kit items and further resources in coming months. Watch this space!
Once a church signs up, they will also receive regular emails throughout the survey period, with relevant instructions and resources for each phase of the project.
Checklist of key tasks in your chosen Survey period
Attender Survey and Leader Survey (from September to October 2026):
Before the Survey:
1. Each church may nominate a person to coordinate the survey. When you receive your Survey Kit, check over the contents, reading the Guide for Church Survey Coordinators.
2. Remind your church of the date(s) that the survey will be held. Invite them to bring along their smart device if they would like to complete the Attender Survey or Child Survey online during church.
3. If your church ordered Child Surveys (optional), provide Parent Information Sheets to parents and carers before the survey.
Completing the Survey: from September to October 2026
3. Circulate Site Instructions for the Attender Survey showing your NCLS Church Code, along with Attender Survey forms, Collection Envelopes and Survey Returns Coversheet to leaders of each worship service, Mass and/or activity where you are completing the Attender Survey. (Multi site churches need to distribute materials to each church location or site.)
4. If your church ordered Child Surveys, circulate Child Survey Instructions showing your NCLS Church Code, Child Surveys and Collection Envelopes to leaders of each worship service, Mass or activity where you are completing the Child Survey. Ensure parents and carers have received the Parent Information Sheet prior to completion. (Multi site churches need to distribute materials to each church location or site.)
6. Complete Leader Surveys (senior leader plus leadership team, elders etc.).
7. Collect completed Attender Surveys and Child Surveys in Collection Envelopes and completed Reply Slips back from each worship service and group. The Survey Returns Coversheet should be completed for each location and included with their completed surveys.
8. Collect all other completed paper surveys (e.g. Leader Surveys).
9. If your church completed any surveys online, track completion rates of surveys using your Admin Key online. Remind participants to complete their survey.
After the Survey: 2 weeks after completion of surveys
10. As you gather all completed survey items, ensure that the Survey Returns Coversheet has been completed to ensure all items are included. (Multi site churches will need to complete a Coversheet for every location or site returning surveys).
11. Place all completed survey items and the Coversheets in the post pack or box.
12. Post back to NCLS Research. Thank you for covering return postage.