Testimonials
“It was about a year ago that I stumbled across the Spiritual Transformation Inventory. It was listed on the CCCU website as a tool for assisting colleges with the answer to the question, “Is the work we are doing to encourage faith development in our students making any difference?” Admittedly skeptical but very intrigued I pursued the matter further with the author of the instrument, Dr. Todd Hall of BIOLA University. I worried at first that this was just one more “worldview test” that carried a strong political bias, but discovered that worry was unfounded. I asked Todd if he had a high school version of the instrument and then, to make a long story shorter, proceeded to discuss this with our high school Bible department. We decided to pilot the instrument and did so this past fall with our seniors. The STI is really a self-assessment tool that focuses on the relational aspects of their connection to their faith.
What I like best about the instrument is two-fold. First it helps the student reflect on not only the head side, but also the heart and hands side of their relationship to Jesus Christ. Todd has put together a very helpful individual report that discusses various areas of discipleship and is challenging on a personal level. The individual student report can be very helpful as a guide to the student and as they choose to share it with parents or teachers. Second, as an administrator I get a summary report back that indicates areas of strengths and needs with the students. This gives me some helpful data to share with my staff so that they can be aware of helping the student body as a whole by focusing their energies in their teaching, chapels, and interactions with students. In summary I think this is a tool that merits serious consideration for our work.”
“A Tool for Serious Consideration”
by Dan Beerens
DB Consulting
“I have been looking for a valid assessment instrument to implement on our campus and believe I may have finally found it in the STI. This year I have incorporated it into my class on Spiritual Formation as part of the personal self-discovery portion. Three characteristics of the STI are especially noteworthy to me: the holistic integration of spiritual, theological, and psychological dimensions that provide depth and meaning to the report, the wonderful integration of practical spiritual exercises that are specifically tailored to what students themselves have reported are current spiritual challenges, and the potential for assisting in actual personal spiritual transformation in the lives of students. It is so much more than an ‘assessment report.’”
David Higle
Dean of Discipleship
Bethany Bible College
“After attending a seminar in Dallas I realized that the STI was the perfect tool to help us facilitate Transformational Discipleship at Prison Fellowship.
After looking at literally hundreds of spiritual assessment tools it became evident that the STI was not only based in solid research but was the most practical and objective tool we investigated. The thoroughness of the STI with the specific Soul Projects allows our mentors to have useful resources at their disposal to nurture inmates and ex-inmates along their spiritual journey.
We finally have a way to assist others in their spiritual development that is not just anecdotal and subjective. We can move forward with confidence that the time, energy, and resources we spend to cultivate spiritual growth in the lives of those we serve is well spent because we now have a tool that helps us achieve our goals in a balanced, biblical, and systematic fashion.
Even though we are primarily using the STI individual report to facilitate transformational discipleship in the lives of hundreds of inmates and ex-inmates around the country, as a former Pastor I wish the STI and individual report were available when I was pastoring because I would have used it as the foundation of my discipleship programs.”
Dr. John Zimmerman, N.D.
Regional Director of Field Development
Prison Fellowship Ministries
“Our seminary has been very committed to fostering the spiritual formation of students within all dimensions of the curriculum. The STI has been a wonderful tool for providing students with a shared vocabulary and conceptual framework for discussing important issues related to their spiritual lives. The aspect of the STI that I have personally appreciated is its emphasis on relational spirituality. I have witnessed how the STI challenges students to move beyond spiritual growth that is primarily composed of doing the right things or possessing the right knowledge about God. Although both of these are critical ingredients in the mature spiritual life, the STI expands this dialogue to include one’s relational style and illuminates a vital connection between students’ beliefs about God and their actual sense of closeness with God.
It has also been a privilege to walk alongside students as some have come to recognize that although they firmly believe something about God (e.g., He will never abandon me) their expectations and responses to God reveal this belief hasn’t permeated their relationship with Him. I have seen others respond with great gratitude and validation to their STI scores as they corroborated the presence of “spiritual fruit” which had been earnestly sought through a personal investment in spiritual development. The STI has played an important role in facilitating our students’ ability to gain a snapshot of their current spiritual lives and employ this information as they chart journeys toward greater spiritual formation during their seminary training.”
Tony Donofrio, Ph.D.
Professor, Ashland Theological Seminary
“The results of the STI have been very useful as I work on preparing our self-study for initial accreditation. It’s really valuable to be able to have some quantitative assessment of how well our school is doing at achieving our spiritual formation goals.”
Gary Manning, Ph.D.
Former Associate Professor of Bible and Biblical Languages, Pacific Rim Bible College
Associate Professor of New Testament, Biola University
“Our primary goal in spiritual formation education at Toccoa Falls College is to motivate students to take personal initiative in their growth process – to pursue a love relationship with God that encompasses heart, soul and mind. Since 2009, we have used the STI with all of our entering freshmen students. This tool provides us with an institutional report that allows us to gauge the spiritual strengths and weaknesses of our students. But more importantly, our students use their STI individual profiles and soul projects to create a personalized plan for spiritual growth during their college years. We have had the privilege of seeing God reveal and transform unhealthy attachment filters while He leads students in secure relationships that will help them form healthy attachment filters. Our seniors take the STI before graduation in order to refresh their memory on these important issues and to help them chart a course for spiritual growth during their post-college years.”
Dr. Jeff Gangel
Director of Spiritual Formation
Toccoa Falls College
“Todd is a next generation up and coming voice with a relationally-based spiritual transformation message for the Church.”
Pete Richardson
Former V.P. for Promise Keepers, Strategic Planning Facilitator
“In my opinion, Todd is one of the most talented and productive Christian psychologists in the field today. He is my vote for one of the three most important present leaders in the integration of psychology and Christianity. Todd is probably the most sophisticated quantitative researcher among Evangelical clinical psychologists at the present time. His advances in spiritual measurement have been empowering to the field, and his online assessment will serve to transform spiritual development work in Christian schools around the country.”
Steven J. Sandage, Ph.D.
Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy, Bethel Seminary
Co-Author, Transforming Spirituality
“Todd’s research on spiritual transformation is frequently cited in a wide array of publications and is highly regarded by both Christian and secular colleagues. His research is so respected that the American Psychological Association (Psychology of Religion) named Todd the 2002 recipient of the Margaret Gorman Early Career Award. This is an extremely prestigious honor and one most deserving.”
Peter C. Hill, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Biola University
