Frequently Asked Questions
On this page you will find links to additional information which we hope will answer your questions about completing the MR Consultation survey - including documents with the survey questions for churches and the survey questions for ministers, to aid your reflection before completing the survey.
We have also recorded two 'walkthrough' videos which take you step-by-step through the two surveys. Please click on these links to access them:
Please be aware that the survey has now closed. |
Please click on the relevant links to find answers to questions in the following categories:
Email Communication - questions about the invitation to participate in the survey
Accessing the survey - what you'll need to complete the survey
Survey recipients - who has been invited to participate?
Questions in the survey - what am I being asked to answer?
Privacy - how will the answers I give be used?
Email Communication
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I didn’t receive an email and I think I should have done
The email has been sent to all nationally accredited ministers, unaccredited ministers who are the minister (or associate) minister of a church in membership of the Baptist Union, ministers-in-training, regional ministers, church secretaries, Association moderators, College moderators, Council members and personal members.
Please check your ‘junk/spam’ folder, and if you cannot find the email
get in touch with us via this contact form.
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I received the email but I’ve lost/deleted it by mistake
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I don’t think I should have received the email/the email should have gone to someone else in my church
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I received the email sent to Church Secretaries but I have now finished in this role. Can the new Church Secretary have an access code?
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Accessing the survey
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I’ve lost/deleted the email with my Reference number
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I can’t find the link to the survey
The link was included in the email you were sent – please scroll to the end of the email and click on the link.
If you’ve lost the email,
get in touch with us via this contact form so that we can re-send it to you.
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I don’t have a Reference number
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Where do I enter the Reference number?
When you click on the link to access the survey, you will need to read through the introduction and then answer a few questions about yourself. One of these questions asks you to enter your Reference number.
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My minister does not have access to the internet – is there a paper survey?
We do not have the resources to accept responses on paper. Please encourage your minister to speak to someone in the church who can help provide internet access.
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Survey recipients
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Who is eligible to complete the survey?
All nationally accredited ministers, unaccredited ministers who are the minister (or associate) minister of a church in membership of the Baptist Union, ministers-in-training, regional ministers, church secretaries, Association moderators, College moderators, Council members and personal members are eligible to complete the survey.
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Church secretaries, Association moderators and College moderators are being sent questions to answer on behalf of their organisation.
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Ministers, Council members and personal members will be sharing their own views.
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Why is the survey limited to certain people?
Council has invited those people who are ‘
members of the Assembly’ as defined in our Constitution, to take part in this survey.
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I am a minister. Do I complete this in my own capacity or on behalf of my church? Or both?
All ministers have been sent the link to the ministers’ survey and are asked to complete it by sharing their own views. Your church secretary will have been sent a link to a version of the survey which asks them to share the views of the church. If you are a minister who is also designated as the church secretary for your church, you should have received two emails so that you have links to the two surveys.
Similarly, if you have been sent two emails because you are a minister and an Association or College moderator, please complete both surveys sharing your personal view and that of the organisation you represent.
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Where can I express my views?
If you are eligible to complete the survey we welcome your thoughts and views which should be expressed through this survey.
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Questions in the survey
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Where can I see a list of the questions in the survey?
To enable you to reflect on the questions in the survey before answering them, and share them with your Church Meeting, you can access the questions through the links below:
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Can I share the survey with my congregation?
The questions you are being asked to consider are available on the website so that you can share them with your congregation, but only the one person who has been sent a Reference Number (usually the church secretary) should fill the actual survey in on behalf of your church.
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I have a concern around the wording of one of the areas, that it might be interpreted the wrong way
If you have concerns about any of the questions, you are welcome to express these by completing the question on the survey which asks
‘If you have anything else you would like us to hear about…’. This will ensure that the Consultation Research Team is aware of your concerns.
Alternatively, you may like to
contact your regional team before completing the survey so that they can clarify the wording for you.
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Roughly how long will it take me to complete the survey?
If you have already reflected on the questions in the survey and considered how you might respond, we anticipate that it will take you around 15-20 minutes to complete the survey.
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Is there any other information I’ll need before I start completing the survey?
If you are completing the survey on behalf of your church, you might find it helpful to have your most recent Annual Returns details to hand to help you complete the questions about your church. But the Consultation Research Team is just looking for a rough idea of the make-up of your church, so don’t worry if you can only provide an estimation.
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When is the deadline for completing this?
The survey will be available for you to complete until the end of November 2023.
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What if some of the questions are not relevant to my/our situation?
The Consultation Research Team is aware that some of the questions will not be relevant to your situation, and so very few of them are ‘mandatory’ questions. Please fill in as many as you can as this will help the Consultation Research Team to get as full a picture as possible – but feel free to ignore anything which isn’t relevant.
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I don’t want to engage with this topic – should I ignore the survey?
The Consultation Research Team is hoping to get the views of individuals and churches across the whole range of views, so even if you do not want to engage with this topic it would be helpful to know that. This will help them to know how widespread the different views are across our Union.
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I don’t know the answers to some of the questions
Please complete as many questions as you are able to, and don’t worry if you need to leave some blank.
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Do I have to answer all the questions in one go, or can I come back to complete it?
Please try to get all your information ready before starting to complete the survey. But if you need to pause part way through, you can leave the survey tab open on your computer and come back to it later. You cannot 'save' the survey, but your answers can be edited until you click ‘done’ at the end of the survey. You may find it helpful to check back through your responses before submitting the survey.
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Can I edit my answers once I have submitted the survey?
Once you have submitted your survey by clicking ‘done’ on the final screen, your answers will have been submitted and cannot be edited. However, if you have overlooked a section or want to provide a different response, please return to the survey, use your Reference Number again and provide the correct responses (you don’t need to complete the whole survey again). If you do this, it would be helpful to the Research Team if you could mention in one of the ‘free text’ boxes if these responses are in addition to, or to replace those submitted in your earlier answers.
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Where can I access resources to help me/my church think about this issue?
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Privacy
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I’m worried that you will be able to tell who has completed a survey from my answers
At the beginning of the survey you will be asked to give some information about yourself. The Consultation Research Team is asking for this so that they can ensure that the overall survey feedback is representative of Baptists Together. This data will not be linked to your opinions in the report/analysis so you can be assured of confidentiality.
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I’m worried that you will be able to tell who has completed a survey from the Reference number used
The Reference number is only being used to validate that the responses you give are from someone eligible to complete the survey. This data will not be linked to your opinions in the report/analysis so you can be assured of confidentiality.
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What will my response to the survey be used for?
This consultation has been commissioned to help Baptist Union Council to respond to a request to change Appendix 3 of the Ministerial Recognition Rules. All the responses given through the survey will be analysed by the Consultation Research Team (Sandra Cobbin and Associates) who have been tasked with overseeing the Consultation. They will fully anonymise all the personal data you provide as you complete the survey, and no personal data will be shared with the Baptist Union, Baptist Union Council, any Regional Association or other third party.
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What will happen to the survey answers once the survey has ended?
At the end of the survey, the Consultation Research Team will validate the responses given by checking that the Reference Numbers provided are valid, and then will analyse the responses from all ministers, churches, associations, colleges, Council members and personal members. They will provide a report of their findings to Baptist Union Council.
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I’m worried that our Home Mission grant will be affected by our answers to the survey questions
Please be assured that the responses you give will be anonymised by the Consultation Research Team and will not be used to influence decisions about Home Mission grants.
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I’m worried that other people will know my answers to the survey
Please be assured that the responses you give will be anonymised by the Consultation Research Team. Members of your association team, the specialist teams and Council will not be given access to your individual responses.
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