Most churches have learned to invite. Few have learned to send.
EMBR Institute helps churches see whether they're only inviting people to church, or also equipping their people to share Jesus. Then it helps them close the gap.
See
Is witness part of following Jesus?
Befriend
Are believers close to people outside the faith?
Belong
Can someone be known before believing?
Invite
How strong is the pathway into church?
Converse
Can ordinary believers talk about Jesus?
Multiply
Do new believers come to faith and share it?
An ember is small. Fanned into flame, it spreads.2 Timothy 1:6
We believe every follower of Jesus is a witness, and that the Holy Spirit gives the growth. No tool can manufacture fruit. But churches can cultivate the conditions where sharing Jesus becomes normal for ordinary believers, not just the pastor's job.
EMBR exists to help pastors see those conditions clearly, so they can lead toward a church where people are not only invited, but equipped and sent.
Inviting isn't the same as equipping
Healthy evangelistic churches need two cultures working together. Most have built only the first, and almost no one measures the second.
Come and see
Members bring friends to services, events and groups. The pastor or staff do the actual evangelism.
Common, and essentialGo and tell
Ordinary believers are trained, confident and expected to talk about Jesus where they live, work and play.
Rare, and it multipliesof 1,000 Southern Baptist churches studied were growing through conversions. Most growing churches grew by transfer.Thom S. Rainer, Lifeway Research, 2017
A clear mirror for your church's evangelistic culture
The EMBR Diagnostic is a 10-minute survey taken on a phone. It shows where your church is stuck and the one move most likely to help.
Four voices, one picture
Pastors usually see evangelism from the stage. That view is real but partial, so the Diagnostic asks four groups the same questions and reports them separately.
- Lead pastorThe reference point, never averaged in.
- Paid staffClosest to the ministry machinery.
- Elders and leadersUnpaid leaders who carry the culture.
- CongregationThe people the culture is meant to form.
What the pastor receives
- A report across all six stages, showing where each group sees things differently.
- One 90-day move, aimed at the earliest stuck point and starting with something the pastor does personally.
- A debrief conversation with your lead team to shape the plan.
- A 90-day pulse, so you can see what actually moved.
Responses are anonymous, groups under five are never shown, and your church's results stay private to your leadership.
Overall, on a 1–5 scale
“A strong come-and-see church that hasn't yet built go-and-tell.”
78% invited someone in the last six months. 42% talked with someone about Jesus.
Help build something the church doesn't have yet
Churches track attendance, giving and baptisms, but not whether their people are equipped and sent. Beta churches get a clear picture of their own culture and help create a shared one for every pastor.
See your church clearly
An honest reading of how your people think, pray and act around evangelism, and where your culture is strong or stuck.
Shape the tool
Beta churches help decide what the Diagnostic measures and how results are reported to pastors.
Start a national benchmark
Every church that takes the Diagnostic adds to the EMBR Index, so pastors can learn from churches that are equipping well.
Who's behind EMBR
EMBR was founded by Billy McMahan. After serving as a missionary in Indonesia, Billy built a student ministry intentional about reaching, discipling and sending the next generation. Researching the fastest-growing churches with his father, Dr. Alan McMahan, convinced him that most churches have learned to invite, but few have learned to equip.
President of the Great Commission Research Network. Mobilizer with Africa Inland Mission. MA in Evangelism and Leadership, Wheaton College; DMin in progress, Asbury. Published in Outreach Magazine, Lausanne Movement, Exponential and Missio Nexus.
The Diagnostic is being reviewed by experienced church-growth researchers, and the beta includes reliability testing before any comparisons are published.
Apply for the beta
We're inviting 5–8 churches to take the Diagnostic this fall through February. Tell us about your church, and Billy will follow up personally.
What it asks of your church
- 15 minutesfor the pastor to complete a church profile
- 10 minutesfor each person who takes the survey on their phone
- 2–3 weeksto gather responses from your four groups
- 1 conversationwith your lead team to walk through the results
Not ready for this fall? Apply anyway and choose the 2027 founding cohort. You'll be first in line when it opens. Questions first? Email Billy.
Follow the research
EMBR stands for Evangelism, Multiplication, Benchmarking and Research. Get occasional updates on what we're learning from churches.