Determining the continuing education needs of professional church leaders: a diagnostic methodology.

Abstract

The subject of continuing education/lifelong learninghas become a topic of major importance in almost every discipline within the fabric of contemporary society. In religious circles, continuing education among Professional Church Leaders (PCLs) has grown to great proportions. New and creative forms of continuing education training have emerged for those PCLs who 1) know what their continuing education needs are, 2) know where to find resources to ameliorate those needs, and 3) have the ability to discipline themselves accordingly. The purpose of this study was to assist those unable to satisfactorily answer the questions above by developing a diagnostic instrument capable of identifying those information needs. This instrument --the Information Needs Survey -comprised three components: a model describing eight styles/roles of ministry, frequently performed by PCLs; a total of thirty-three activities or functions that normally occur in the performance of these roles; and a three-colunm checklist designed to enable each individual to discover his or her preferred learning style, whether visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. The subjects in this study consisted of twelve American . Results obtained from this study indicate that the Information Needs Survey was capable of diagnosing the information/continuing ecducation needs of Professional Church Leaders serving in American Baptist clergy from the metropolitan Kansas City area, serving in paid professional church occupations Data compiled from the survey revealed that each individual acknowledged information needs necessary for the successful performance of clergy roles listed in the survey. Results obtained from this study indicate that the Information Neds Survey was capable of diagnosing the information/continuing education needs of Professional Church Leaders serving in American Baptist Churches in the Kansas City metropolitan area.