Fortville United Methodist Church

CONSULTATION REPORT March 19, 2013

Introduction

We, the Fruitful Congregation Journey (FCJ) consultation team would like to thank Rev. Karen Altergott, staff, lay leadership and congregation of FortvilleUMC 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) FortvilleUMC’s self-study document provided by its leaders, b) FortvilleUMC’s members completing the FCJ survey, c) The report from the Mystery Guest Worshippers provided by Faith Perceptions, d) Interviews with the pastor, staff and ministry team leaders, e) a focus group with members of the congregation, f) a meeting with the Administrative Board, g) a MissionInsite demographic report of the area’s population, and h) input from Monday’s workshop.

Our prayer is that God will use this assessment experience and consultation report to help Fortville UMCto more effectively make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the community and the world.

Strengths

Fortville United Methodist Church’s greatest strengths are as follows:

  1. STRONG SENSE OF CHURCH FAMILY

The people of Fortville UMC are very friendly with one another and seek to make guests feel like family. The team heard the words camaraderie, loving, caring, loyal, sincere and trusting to exemplify the warmth of relationships and an overwhelming sense of care within the congregation. Mystery Guest comments suggested that a strong sense of family is evident in the way the congregation welcomeseveryone before and after services and that they felt loved. Prayer plays a vital part inthe relationships among the congregation and the community through things like the prayer line, prayer blankets and the prayer room.

  1. LOCATION

The town of Fortville is in a highly strategic location in Hancock County, bordering on growing areas of Hamilton and Madison Counties. A new I-69 overpass, a large over-55 planned community, and various middle-to upper-middle-class housing additions will be completed in the next three years within three miles of Fortville UMC. Currently, the closestUnited Methodist Church is more than six miles away.

  1. NO OUTSIDE DEBT WITHOPTIONS

Fortville UMC is blessed to have no outside debt service for its properties. Additionally, it has a desirable seven acre building site as well as the Annex, providing space for a food pantry and considerable unused space. Put together, these factors could be leveraged to secure capital for expanded ministries or growth.

Concerns

Fortville United Methodist Church’s greatest areas of concern are as follows:

  1. LACK OF CLEAR VISION BASED ON THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

Fortville UMC is a church with much activity within the walls of the church and throughout the community. However, these activities lack a clear mission and unifying vision. A lack of clarity and alignment around the mission and vision of the church prevents effective support, accountability and evaluation of the laity, leadership, ministries, programs, and pastor. In essence, the congregation has no clear understanding or direction to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

  1. NO CLEAR DISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY

While some attempts have been made to help people grow in their faith, there is no intentional pathway to move people of all ages from seekers to fully devoted and authentic followers of Jesus Christ. The team repeatedly heard the desire to increase the number of youth and young families in attendance, but did not hear any intentional plan to attract and retain them. The current worship music is an impediment to building a bridge for discipleship and the evangelism of younger generations.

No one could clearly articulate how a person:

  • selects a church to attend or their preferred worship experience
  • first connects to Jesus Christ and the church
  • grows in their knowledge of the faith
  • becomes a leader to guide the church in mission and vision
  • becomes connected to other believers for support and accountability
  • becomes active in service to others for the purpose of sharing the gospel
  1. LACK OF OUTWARD FOCUS

The Consultation Team observed that “a heart for community” is important to the congregation but saw no intentional process to achieve greater impact through their outreach. The Pre-school, Jazzercise, meals and the food pantry are positive outreach activities but lack intentional relationship-building, invitation and follow-up to connect people to the life of the community of faith. This results in lostdisciple-making opportunities.

Prescriptions

In order to address the above concerns, Fortville United Methodist Church must implement the following prescriptions:

  1. DEVELOP A CLEAR, FOCUSED, AND SHARED VISION

The date these prescriptions are adopted, Fortville UMC will embrace the mission of every United Methodist Church stated in the UM Book of Discipline: “To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

The congregation will have a day of prayer, repentance and healing during a Sunday worship service. The purpose of this day is to embrace God breaking open the hearts of the congregation for the local un-churched, and prepare them for the Lord’s vision for the future. To accommodate this, the pastor will contact a conference recommendedperson to lead the service. The day of prayer will be held no later than May 30, 2013.

The Coach will conduct a Visioning Workshop by June 30, 2013 to assist the congregation in clarifying and providing a more focused vision to guide Fortville UMC into the future. The days between the Day of Prayer and this workshop will be utilized by the people of the congregation as a call to prayer and fasting for this vision for the congregation. The vision will be presented to the Administrative Council by July 31, 2013. Upon approval, this vision will be communicated to the congregation as the future direction of the church.

Upon adopting this vision, the Administrative Council will conduct a ministry audit to align the church’s ministries with the vision. This audit will be completed by January 31, 2014. Ministries will be evaluated by their faithfulness to the mission and vision and their fruitfulness (results). Any ministries not faithful and fruitful will be given up to one year to align with the vision. If they are still not faithful to the mission and vision they will be dissolved. All continuing ministries will set goals and objectives in alignment with the mission and vision.

2. DEVELOP A DISCIPLESHIP PROCESS

The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will put together a team of three persons on or before September 1, 2013, to create a clear discipleship path for moving people from where they are on their spiritual journey to becoming a fully-devoted follower of Jesus Christ. The discipleship path will be designed for everyone, whether a non-believer or one who is maturing in their faith. This discipleship path will represent a lifelong process. The Team will discern a faith development plan within a Wesleyan model that encourages all persons:

  • to connect and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ;
  • to help them be transformed by studying the principles of the Christian faith;
  • to provide connection opportunities with other believers for support and
  • accountability;
  • to become a leader to guide the church in mission and vision
  • to be in service to others for the purpose of the mission;
  • to invite others to a relationship with Jesus and His church; and
  • to further discern his/her call to discipleship and leadership.

This plan and a training process for the plan will be adopted by the Administrative Council and implemented in the life of Fortville UMC at all ministry levels by September 22, 2014.

The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will conduct an Accountability Leadership workshop for the pastor and lay leaders by October 15, 2013. Upon completion of the workshop the pastor and Administrative Council, in consultation with the coach, will initiate an ongoing system to insure that those who are given the responsibility and authority for ministry will be held accountable to that end. This system will be reviewed andapproved by December 15, 2013.

In order to provide better communication, the Administrative Council will develop a plan for how ministries, changes, events, and other critical information will be shared amongst themselves and the congregation. This plan will be ready for implementation by July 15, 2013.

The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will create a Worship Team of 5-7 people, including representatives from younger generations. This team will evaluateand develop ways to improve the overall worship experience. The coach and pastor will facilitate the first session to establish goals and guidelines. This team will study the Mystery Guests Worshiper report and the MissionInsite Demographic report, survey individuals composing the target audience, and use an outside worship consultant recommended by Church Development for training. The implementation plan for any necessary changes in order to improve the overall worship experience shall be presented to the Administrative Council by December 31, 2013.

Beginning July, 1, 2013 the Trustees will conduct quarterly walks throughallfacilities in order to evaluate the needs and make necessary improvements for a more attractive, safeand guest-friendly environment.

3) CONNECTION WITH THE COMMUNITY FOR RELATIONSHIP

The Pastor, in consultation with the coach, will form a Community Connection Team by January 15, 2014, to develop an outward-focused strategy for the church to reach its community that is based on the church’s vision and the MissionInsite demographic report. This team will explore the need for additional worship services, staff, children and youth ministry, and asset utilization options for reaching the surrounding community. This strategy will be completed by June 15, 2014.

In addition, the pastor, laity, and the coach will evaluate current hospitality practices by August 1, 2013.

Conclusion

We, the consultation team, want to thank you for the opportunity to serve your congregation through this Fruitful Congregation Journey assessment process. Our prayers and hope for your congregation is 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.

- Karen Powell, Lead Consultant

- David Neckers, Consultant

- Gary Eberhart, Coach

Town Hall Meeting Dates

March 24 at 3:00

March 26 at 3:00

April 2 at 6:30

Church Conference Date:

April 7 after morning worship

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