Back in early March, I began synthesizing all of the information gleaned from the congregational conversations. My summarizations utilize the core values identified by the 2015 strategic planning process, as the congregational conversations reaffirmed those values.
Hospitality – all are welcomed
Priorities
- Love one another well so that we can be ready to welcome others
- Create new ways to bring people into church
- Let newcomers know we are glad to see them via signage and personal touch
- Prepare ourselves to love our next pastor (and family, if applicable)
Guiding questions in planning ministries
- Whose needs might this ministry meet?
- How might a newcomer find a way into this ministry?
- What might we tweak the ministry and/or the space where it takes place to make it accessible to other demographics?
- What would allow our new pastor to get off to the best possible start?
Community – all are valued
Priorities
- Increase opportunities for interaction across groups and generations
- Open the channels of communication between committees/leadership groups and congregation
- Prepare ourselves to welcome the leadership of our new pastor
- Make it possible for new groups to launch and stick
- Notice who is falling through the cracks
Guiding questions in planning ministries
- How might we get the whole church involved in – or at least informed about – this ministry?
- What might God be up to through our new pastor?
- Who might this ministry provide care to?
- Who might not feeling cared for? What work needs to be done so that those people do have a source for care?
Service – all are served and given a chance to serve
Priorities
- Get to know people we share space with – from landlord/tenant to ministry partners
- Consider best use of building in service to our church, partners, and community
- Get in touch with our denominational identity
- Offer cross-generational mission opportunities
Guiding questions for planning ministries
• How might we involve our ministry partners in what we’re planning?
• How might we show God’s love through what we are planning?
• How is our campus serving our community well? How might it serve the community even better?
• How is what we’re doing good news to CBF? How is what CBF doing good news to us?
• What could it look like for our whole congregation serve the community together?
Dialogue – all are heard
Priorities
- Continue rebuilding the culture of trust across the congregation as a whole
- Involve more people in leadership
Guiding questions for planning ministries
- How might we ratchet up the safety of this ministry so that all people feel they can fully be themselves?
- How might we bring others along in this process?
- Whose gifts are being underutilized?
- Whose gifts are being stretched too thin?
- Who might our group mentor for future leadership?
You will hear recommendations related to each of these areas at the November 8 congregational conversation and read about them in the December edition of Together.
If you have any questions about the transition facilitation process, you can contact team members Shawn Hawkins (chair), David Weatherspoon, April Blankenship, Cherish Mathis, Mike Ward, Robin Miller, Gloria Hodges, and Sally Smith.