Danville United Methodist Church
CONSULTATION REPORT
November 17, 2013
Introduction
We, the Fruitful Congregation Journey (FCJ) consultation team, would like to thank Rev. Jeanne Winter, staff, lay leadership and congregation of Danville United Methodist Church for the invitation to consult with this Body of Christ. The following observations and prescriptions are the result of this team studying the following information: a) Danville UMC’s self-study document provided by its leaders, b) Danville UMC’s members completing the FCJ survey, c) The report from the Mystery Guest Worshippers provided by Faith Perceptions, d) Interviewswith the pastor, staff and ministry team leaders, e) a focus group with members of the congregation, f) a meeting with the Administrative Council, g) a MissionInsite demographic report of the area’s population, and h) input from Saturday’s leadership workshop.
Our prayer is that God will use this assessment experience and consultation report to help Danville UMCmore effectively make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the community and the world.
Strengths
1. THE PEOPLE
When the consult team asked what was the "best thing" about Danville UMC, we most often heard these words: "the people." This affirmation was very strong across the board. You all described each other in very strong terms, revealing yourselves as a community of faith where relationships matter and friendship and support is a high value. One member described the congregation as "tremendous people of faith and they are prayerful." Another said, "The people here are very friendly." And, a relatively new person said the members were "Nice, welcoming people. Willing to help and work. With a strong missions focus." Vital peopleand affirming relationships are at the heart of what it means to be a member here.
2. AFRIENDLY CONGREGATION
Overall, the Mystery Guests who visited Danville UMC were pleasantly pleased with the positive expressions of welcome they experienced on Sunday mornings. While a few guests were disappointed by the inconsistency in the structured hospitality, the overall welcome was warm, friendly, and genuine. One guest said: "We were greeted by the loveliest of people." Another said she was, "enthusiastically" greeted. And yet another, "I felt the welcome was very sincere." If taking an interest in others and expressing authentic welcome is the first step to disciple-making, the congregation is well on its way.
3. SERVING MINISTRIES
Many people here appear to be involved in hands-on missions. Danville UMC invests in community ministries in powerful ways that express God's love and concern for all people, especially those who are burdened with the challenges of life. The Shared Blessings Food Pantry feeds over 60 families weekly; the Community Thanksgiving Dinner reaches over 200 people each year; the Danville UMC Preschool ministers to 63 children each week. In addition to these expressions of love for people, the church launches mission trips to Red Bird Mission and Haiti, and sponsors a Faith in Action Day, a Live Nativity, a tailgate party, a Vacation Bible School, and the Back to School Day, each year. Each mission expresses God's generous love for people in need.
4. MISSION FIELD/GROWTH IS ON THE WAY
Danville UMC is located in what appears to be a very exciting part of Hendricks County. The MissionInsite demographic study points out that in the 5-mile radius around the church there will likely be explosive growth over the next 10 years. Some areas will grow in population 4-7%, some 10-14%, while others in that same radius by more than 20% by 2023. This growth will be accompanied by increasing financial strength as well, with the average annual household income rising from $78,000 today to $83,000 by 2018.Currently, the average age of the population of this ministry area is 37.85. This is fertile territory for a congregation to make disciples for Jesus Christ and Danville UMC is already in the midst of it.
5. THE PASTOR'S PASSION TO REACH OTHERS
Even though Pastor Jeanne Winter has only been here for a short time, members of the congregation have reported confidence in her leadership and a sincere appreciation for her ministry gifts and passions. The team heard from many, and experienced firsthand, that Pastor Jeanne has an authentic love for Jesus Christ and for all people. She has passion to reach those who do not yet know Christ and a strong desire to see all believers grow in their relationship with Christ. This passion and authenticity are necessary leadership qualities to build ministry to a growing young community in a time where people are cautious of inauthentic church leaders.
Concerns
- CONFUSION ABOUT A GUIDING VISION AND MISSION
While Danville UMC is strategically located in a growing area, members and leaders consistently spoke to us about a lack of a congregational vision and direction. One leader said, “I think we’re drifting. There’s no focus. No target.” A second leader observed, “We have great people and groups doing great things, but are we using our resources wisely…do our efforts have the impact we were hoping for?” When asked what is ahead, what the plan is, no one had a clear answer. Without being able to answer questions such as “Who are we?” and, “What are we about?” and, “Where are we going?’ and, “What are the priorities for this chapter in our ministry?”the church will risk ministry drift, confusion over use of resources, and a reduced impact on the community and world for Christ.
2. NO INTENTIONAL PLAN FOR DEVELOPING DISCIPLES
Danville UMC does not have a strategic process that engages and encourages people of all ages and stages of life towards a vital relationship with Christ and a life of disciple-making. Those interviewed felt this was notably lacking in the areas of children, youth and newcomer ministries. When asked how church members engage in faith discussions or simply invite those outside the congregation to church events, ministries or groups in the church, interviewees said “I don’t know,” or, “We don’t,” or, “I don’t think we can...or do.”
3. LACK OF GROWTH
Danville UMC is located in one of the fastest growing counties of the United States, and yet over the last several years the congregation has shown a decline in worship attendance. At the same time the congregation has multiple opportunities to reach new persons for Christ during the year when the community is invited onto the property or through events out in the community. We could not find an intentional plan to connect with persons in the community. One church leader said, “We are serving people but we aren’t reaching the people we’re serving.”
4. INEFFECTIVE STRUCTURE FOR DECISION MAKING
Danville UMC lacks an organizational environment through which decision making, goal setting, accountability and evaluation stimulates growth and allows ministry areas to flourish. It was consistently noted that it is unclear how new ministries begin or decisions are made. When asked how decisions are made at Danville UMC, one leader replied “that’s a good question!” Others felt decision making at Danville UMC takes an unnecessary amount of time. In addition, the consultation team was unable to discover a clear path for leadership recruitment and development. The lack of structure in these areas hinders new ministry possibilities and leadership development.
5.UNCLEAR COMMUNICATION PLAN
The need for an effective communication plan, both inside the church and to the community beyond the participants of the church, was mentioned repeatedly by the members and leaders interviewed by the FCJ team. One key leader said a major barrier facing the congregation was a lack of communication. Another leader offered, “We need a communication plan so people know what’s going on, know who is doing what, and we can give people a chance to get on board with our ministries and life.”
Prescriptions
1. DEVELOP A CLEAR, FOCUSED, AND GUIDING VISION
The date these prescriptions are adopted, Danville UMC embraces the mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
The congregation will have a day of prayer and forgiveness during Sunday worship to embrace God's plan for the congregation and for the local unchurched. The service will prepare the membership for God’s future vision. This will be led by CatherineTurcotte, or someone designated by her, in consultation with the coach and Pastor Jeanne Winter on or before February 15, 2014.The days between the Day of Prayer and Vision Workshop will be utilized by the people of the congregation as a call to prayer and fasting for this vision for the congregation.
Values Assessment and Discernment: The church organization must have a set of values that provides it with a common and consistent sense of direction. These core values serve as glue and a guiding force that hold a visionary ministry together in the midst of transition. A ministry’s key values or beliefs are the shaping force of the entire institution. Values are the basis for all your behavior, the bottom line for what you will or will not do. This training will be held and the church’s values statement written before May 15, 2014.
The coach will conduct a Visioning Workshop by March 15, 2014 to assist the pastor and leadership in clarifying in providing a more focused vision of reaching the community to guide Danville UMC into the future. The vision will be presented to the Administrative Council for approval by May 15, 2014. Upon approval, this vision will be communicated to the congregation.
Upon adopting the clarifying vision every ministry in the congregation will demonstrate how it will accomplish the mission and vision. To that end the leaders will conduct a ministry audit aligning the church’s ministries with the vision. This audit will be completed by October 31, 2014. Ministries will be evaluated by their faithfulness to the mission and vision and their fruitfulness (results) and intentionally aligned with the mission and vision. Any ministries not faithful and fruitful will be given a year to rectify. After one year any ministries still not faithful and fruitful to the mission and vision will be dissolved. All continuing ministries will set goals and objectives in alignment with the mission and vision.
2. DEVELOP AN INTENTIONALDISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY
The Pastor, in consultation with the coach, will create a Hospitality Teamby January 15, 2014 to develop a more comprehensive welcoming system that tracks guests from their first visit to their ongoing connection on the discipleship pathway. This team will help each ministry area develop a follow-up system for any guests in their ministries or outreach events to ensure their ongoing connection to the life of the church. This team needs to complete their plan on or before March 31, 2014.
The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will put together a team of 3-7 leaders on or beforeJanuary 31, 2015 to create a clear discipleship path for moving people from where they are on their spiritual journey to their next step in becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. The discipleship path will be designed for everyone, whether mature believer or seeker. This discipleship path is understood to be a lifelong process. The Team will discern a faith development plan within a Wesleyan model (prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness) that encourages all persons:
- to connect and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ;
- to be transformed by studying the Bible and other spiritual disciplines;
- to be shaped by the principles of the Christian faith;
- to connect with other believers for support and accountability; and
- to be in service to others for the purpose of the mission.
3. A NEW PLAN FOR EVANGELISM
The pastor, in conjunction with the coach, will assemble a team of 5-7 people by May 31, 2014 for the purpose of reaching the target populations identified through the visioning process. Demographic resources such as MissionInsitewill be helpful in determining the population groups, including their spiritual and personal needs. This team will explore all aspects of reaching the target populations: strengthened worship services, needed staff, critical ministries, and facility development.
When target populations have been identified, the team will visit at least three other churches to learn about effective methods for reaching those populations. If helpful, the coach or Church Development Team will provide ideas or workshops to assist in the evaluation and redevelopment of worship experiences at Danville UMC. All of this to be done in order to more meaningfully connect with persons from the target populations in the identified mission field God calls Danville UMC to reach.
The resulting evangelism plan will be presented by this team to the Administrative Council for consideration, referral and action by October 31, 2015.
In addition, it is important to note that people -not just programs- reach people. To do this effectively it will be necessary for the congregation to embrace the mission of evangelism in everyday life and through personal relationships. Special attention will be given toleveraging the ongoing community outreach events (For instance, "Faith in Action Day," "Shared Blessings Food Pantry," "Community Thanksgiving Dinner") for the purposes of inviting, welcoming, and joining new friends on the discipleship path. The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will develop workshops and training events to equip members to reach new people. Some resources like, “Contagious Christian,” or “Walk Across the Room,” as well as other resources like “The Gathered AND Scattered Church,” will be considered for this training.
An ongoing Evangelism Training Team will be appointed by the pastor when the plan is approved by the Administrative Council to train, nurture, and expand this critical ministry to reach new people for Christ through all ministry areas of the church.
4. ADOPT AN ACCOUNTABLE LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE AND DEVELOP LEADERS
In order to create an environment through which decision making, goal setting, accountability and evaluation stimulates growth and allows ministry areas to flourish:
a. The coach will conduct an Accountability Leadership Workshop for church leaders by September 15, 2014.Following the workshop, a team made up of PastorJeanne, the chairs of Trustees, Finance, Ad Council, SPRC, Lay Leader and two at-large members under the age of 40 to explore a new accountable administrative structure to enable the church to accomplish its mission andvision. The new structure will be adopted by Charge Conference, 2014.
b. Pastor Jeanne, in consultation with the coach and the SPRC chairperson, will appoint a “Leadership Development Team” by December 31, 2014. This team will develop acomprehensive and intentional plan to evaluate, develop and deploy staff and leaders to accomplish the mission and vision of Danville UMC. Specific, measurable goals will beset for all staff and lay leaders by March 31, 2015. These goals will be directly related to the fulfillment of the mission and vision.Staff and ministry teamswill receive regular (quarterly or annual) evaluations based on their accomplishment of the set goals.
c. The Leadership Development Team will schedule and support ongoing training opportunities in order to develop existing and new leaders, including a Culture of Teamwork workshop led by the coach by June 15, 2015. This will include shared learning through guided study of leadership books and materials such as FCJ resources, as well as scheduling andbudgeting forregular leadership training opportunities (conferences, workshops, seminars) for staff and lay ministry leaders.
5. DEVELOP A PLAN AND POLICIES FOR HEALTHY COMMUNICATIONS
The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will create a task force of 3-7 persons byFebruary 15, 2014, to:
Evaluate the effectiveness of the current communication practices internally and externally. This will include:
a. Researching and exploring healthy communication practices of other, vital churches to learn and explore effective ways to communicate;
b.Developing a plan, process, and policies to strengthen healthy communication internally and externally. This plan will include
i.how decisions are communicated,
ii.what and how information is shared from each group, staff member, leader and leadership teams.
iii.Paying particular attention to: a) e-mail, b) websites, c) bulletins/newsletters, d) pamphlets describing church ministries and outreach, e) posters and digital information boards, f) interior and exterior signage, g) potential technologies such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and external Wi-Fi.
This team will utilize the input from the Faith Perceptions report, especially relating to signage. The team will complete its work by July 31, 2014.
Conclusion
We, the consultation team, want to thank you for the opportunity to serve your congregation through this FCJ assessment process. Our prayers and hopes for your congregation are that God will use this process to help your church become more effective and fruitful. May God give you courage and strength as you move forward.