1. Purpose-Centered Church . There is a vital and integral relationship between our mission (our purpose, our reason for being) and our identity (who we are, our core values, our “DNA”). Doing ministry well is not about focusing on just one or the other of these two key components of the church's core ideology. It is about doing both consistently well – living out our mission in a way that honors who we are. So let's start with a focus on the nature and significance of the purpose.

Our Mission: The significance of a church being purpose-centered can be expressed in several ways. To be purpose-centered means that you have a clear statement of purpose. Such a Mission Statement needs to be clear, concise, comprehensive, and comprehensible. This Mission Statement needs to be Biblically centered and also focused on the needs of the people (inside and outside the church) and the strengths of the congregation. The Mission Statement centers around core purpose (which is the following Mission Statement):

“First United Methodist Church exists to

welcome people in love;

equip people with a faith the works; and

send us in service

as Disciples of Jesus Christ.”

This way of understanding the Mission Statement is from the article by James Collins and Jerry Porras, “Building Your Company's Vision” ( Harvard Business Review , September/October, 1996). This statement can give a sense of direction that can convert the church's sense of random energy into power that accomplishes work so that the church is not involved simply in activity but action - so you are consistently and dynamically in mission “to the least, the last, and the lost”.

The mission of First United Methodist Church is about transformed lives, enabling Jesus Christ to make a difference in people's lives, reaching people for Christ so they become disciples. The mission of the church is not getting bigger or growing the church. Church growth is a lousy goal but a wonderful result ! Church growth is a lousy goal because focusing on getting bigger usually means trying to get new members in order to have their money and their labor so continue to survive as a church. That makes it easier for us, as long as we don't have to change to accommodate them. But very few people are interested in coming to save our church. If instead we reach out to new people for their sake, to help them connect with Jesus Christ so their lives will be transformed – and they do connect with Christ, something else wonderful happens. Often they choose to continue to live out their faith journey and discipleship as a part of our church – and as a result, our church grows. And that is a wonderful result! We just make room at the table for them when they come and decide to be a part of our church family

Our Identity: The identity of First United Methodist Church is found in your core values . These 3 – 5 core values comprise the “DNA” of the congregation that makes it who it is. The 5 core values discerned by the church are the following:

•  We believe that God is a life-giving, life changing, life-affirming presence in the world and in our lives. We honor God with our worship and our praise, in many styles and many modes.

•  We believe that all people are God's people. To God there are no outsiders, so when we say that everyone is welcome, we mean everyone.

•  We believe that we can't truly love God without loving each other. As members of First United Methodist Church, we worship, pray and work together in fellowship. We share our lives and together we grow in faith and faithfulness.

•  We believe in discipleship and that each of us was ordained for ministry by our baptism, and that we all have gifts to share in the name of Jesus Christ.

•  We believe that God's creation is on-going, and that we are called to be co-creators with God. Like Jesus we seek to break barriers and build bridges, to heal those things in our world that are broken and to turn hurtfulness into love. “ On earth as it is in heaven” is our goal.

As I noted before, these 5 core values that are indeed central to the identity of First United Methodist Church are not surprisingly at the center of the list of “what we do well ”. We do these things well and are drawn to do them because they reflect the identity of the church through the core values. Discerning and claiming these 5 core values is imperative to living out our mission in a way that honors who we are. Why that is so is the focus of the next section of this report.

Doing Our Mission and Honoring Who We Are: The best way I have to describe what occurs when we not only do our mission but when we do our mission in a way that honors who we are is using a physics analogy. In physics, there is a difference between energy and power. You need to do two things to energy in order for it to be power. You need to give direction to the energy and you need to enable it therefore to accomplish work for the energy to become power. Energy may be occur in a church that is busy but does not have a sense of direction or live out its mission – no power. God intends for the church to have power, not just energy.

It is our identity that gives us energy. We are invigorated when we live out how we are – when we serve, when we are relating, when we minister with children and youth, when we seek to grow spiritually. Our mission gives us direction and work. We need to do them together. It is our identity and mission that gives us power. When we try to do our mission without connection to our identity, we lack energy to do it and can even become conflicted and resistant. When we live out our identity apart from our mission, we are busy but not much happens or results from our efforts. We need to do our mission in a way that honors who we are (our identity).

To be a purpose-centered church also means that this Mission Statement is widely owned and widely known. First United Methodist Church's Mission Statement must then be owned by the Administrative Council (which is significant) and be regularly quoted so that the entire congregation has a way of being continually reminded of its existence and importance. This sense of ownership and communication are also important to a purpose-centered church.

The key piece of being a purpose-centered church that I want to challenge First United Methodist Church to fulfill so that its purpose can become increasingly central to its mission and ministry is that of using the Mission Statement as the primary criteria in decision-making throughout the life of the church. The alternative criteria that otherwise creates difficulty in fulfilling the Mission Statement is that of being preference-driven. I know that this is not the intent of the church. But if the church does not make the purpose the primary criteria, then preferences will become the primary criteria by default!

Let me describe more concretely how you can better function as a purpose-centered church. You can do this by consistently and continually asking yourselves throughout the church this question as you make a decision: "Among these options before us, which one will best accomplish our Mission Statement?" rather than evaluate the appropriate course of action by asking preference questions like "which choice do I personally prefer?" or "which choice will make the most people happy?" or "which will make the least people upset?"

Being purpose-centered is a whole different way of assessing what we ought to do. So instead of deciding what kind of music we should use for worship by taking a survey of preferences (which implies that the majority preference wins - or the preference of the most vocal - or most powerful or . . . ?), we instead look at our Mission Statement and then our vision of who we are trying to reach - and develop music appropriate to our purpose and our vision.

In practical terms, this means that the pastors, staff, and leaders will evaluate their ministries and recommendations for ministry in light of the Ministry Focus. This means that the Administrative Council and every decision-making group in the church uses the Mission Statement as the criteria for decision-making. The issue consistently becomes: How can we best accomplish our mission? What will make us most effective, within the constraints of what we can do and what is the best fit for us as a church?

Granted, preferences are important as we evaluate how to develop appropriate ministry for the various kinds of people both who are already a part of First United Methodist Church - and those that we hope to attract through appropriate ministry. But preferences are seen in the context of purpose, not as a substitute for purpose.

The role of a clearly written, widely understood, consistently used Mission Statement for decision-making, program development and evaluation of effective ministry is invaluable. The church can dramatically increase its ministry effectiveness by being purpose-centered. This also brings the church into unity, not uniformity - allowing diversity to be channeled in a common direction for a common purpose.

2. Ministry Focus . The Ministry Focus flows out of the Mission Statement. The Ministry Focus is a statement of who we believe God is calling us to reach next by a well-developed, comprehensive, intentional, consistent ministry strategy. Given limited financial and personnel resources, we cannot develop every needed ministry for every potential group of unchurched people. So we make a choice of who we will develop ministry for next in order to make them disciples for Jesus Christ. It is important to understand that in the church, everyone is always invited, welcomed, and responded to. This is not an issue of exclusion but of focus for effectiveness. When the ministry to the target group of the vision is established, then the church has the exciting possibility of developing new ministries and strategy for a new target group.

Several questions may facilitate this process of focusing your ministry: Are there folks out there to be reached whom we feel led and called by God to reach? Do we have the resources (money, leadership, persons, facility) available that we could develop the ministry that is compatible with those we are called to reach? Is there another church out there already doing this ministry and attracting those folks in such dramatic and effective ways that there is not need for us to do the same thing? Do we have an inspired passion to reach those folks so that we are willing to change, to develop ministry, to give generously of our resources to accomplish this vision? These questions are not exhaustive, but suggestive, as a church looks to discern its focus for ministry.

In our time together, the groups gathered confirmed that there is a group of people that would be excellent, initial candidates as a focus for ministry. This group is adults and their children under age 18 that are not already a part of a church. This would include young adults, younger adults, youth, children, college students, married, singles. This includes folks who have not been part of a church before. It is around this ministry focus that I will explore in my recommendations the implications for programs, ministries, volunteerism, small groups, worship, music, and organization. You are already doing much effective ministry in these areas as you reach out intentionally to this group of people - as well as doing effective ministry for adults who are older. I trust that these recommendations will be most helpful as you continue to respond to God's leading you in effective ministry for Jesus Christ in your ministry area.

So the Mission Statement can under gird the ministry of First United Methodist Church with "why"? The Ministry Focus answers the question "who"? The remaining recommendations are premised on Mission Statement and Ministry Focus and they provide exciting responses to the questions "what"? and "how"? So as you see, together your comprehensive ministry strategy can be developed, built solidly on the foundation of your Mission Statement and Ministry Focus

LEVERAGE POINTS RECOMMENDATIONS: The remainder of my report is a list of promised recommendations for your consideration for implementation. Although I believe that each of these recommendations have significant positive impact on the future growth of First United Methodist Church, these are recommendations that have such widespread and immediate impact that I have singled them first as leverage points recommendations.

Let me explain what I mean by a leverage point. If you think in terms of moving a large object by use of a lever, you are aware that by placing the lever at the most appropriate place (where the fulcrum can be maximum benefit) the heavy obstacle can be moved with the least effort and the greatest effect. The same principle applies with any system, including a church. By putting your effort at the leverage points for growth, I believe that you will see maximum results for growth (spiritual, communal, and numerical) from the invested time, effort, planning, leadership and prayer.

My perception is that the 4 identifiable leverage points that present the greatest opportunity for growth are as follows: centering on purpose instead of preference or comfort; development of spiritual life through small groups; moving from an informing culture to an inviting culture to involve persons in ministry; and expanding ministry with children and youth. By focusing consistent and major attention and energy on these 3 leverage points, I believe that you will move beyond an average worship attendance of 500 and continue to grow significantly in new disciples for Jesus Christ. Let's now look together at each leverage point and the ministry opportunities that each one presents for an exciting future for First United Methodist Church.

1. Centering in God's Purpose . I spent some time with those gathered with me in the evening to explore the difference between being purpose centered or preference driven as a congregation . Those churches that are preference driven will have leadership that make personal preferences and comfort more important than the purpose God had given to the church when it comes to decision making, program planning, or new ministry initiatives. The leaders will then only go so far for the mission and not farther – and the place they will stop is the border of their preferences and comfort zone. When a church is more preference driven, there is typically a predictable pattern of conflict as groups contend to get their preference. The folks gathered with me then recognized that there is a great deal of preference driven behavior and decision making at First United Methodist Church .

In churches that are more purpose centered, the leaders collaborate to discern the best way to accomplish what God intends . In other words, it is not about what I want or what we want – but what God intends to best accomplish the mission God has given us. To do this means developing leaders who are intentionally growing in their spiritual lives to be willing to make God's way more important than their own. And that means significant spiritual development of the leaders and congregation – which is the next part of this report.

2. Development of Spiritual Life . The congregational gathering in the evening then received a two-fold challenge to move toward deeper and more consistent spiritual growth: participate regularly in a small group for your spiritual growth and consider helping to lead such a small group. Persons were then able to write their small group commitment on a card, sign it, and turn it in at the end of the second evening. There was an amazing initial response – 59 persons said they would consistently participate in a small group that met once or twice a month and 23 persons said they would help lead such a group! I am confident that even more have made such a commitment as they we made aware of this possibility. This is an exciting opportunity for developing the leaders necessary to continue to make the mission of God central in the life of First United Methodist Church. The expectation is that all leaders would be a consistent part of a small group for their own spiritual health and vitality – and that of the congregation as well. All persons would also be encouraged and expected to participate..

I want to affirm the intention to develop these various small groups. These have had a significant impact on those who have participated in the past - and helped them to deepen and broaden their Christian faith. I also affirm that additional, lay led small groups be started regularly that meet once (90 minutes each session) or twice (75 minutes each session) a month in homes (which requires no space at the church to meet) or at the church for support, care, and spiritual nurture. (Strategies for developing such groups will be discussed in the section of the report on small groups .) Key components of these small groups will be Bible study (especially around what God calls the people of God to do and to be ); prayer and share around joys and concerns for support and care ; faith sharing (“How have you experienced God's presence in your life in the last month or so?” – a 21 st century version of the question asked at each Methodist class meeting of every participant “How goes it with your soul?”); and prayer for the empty chair (prayer for the person in your network of relationships that could join this group and benefit from the experience if you invite them). I applaud the renewed emphasis on spiritual growth in the life of the church and encourage efforts to expand the spiritual lives of your congregation.

I also encourage a growing ministry of prayer throughout the church. I urge you to continue to look for and implement ways to expand this significant ministry of prayer as you discern the best way to live out the mission God has given you in your groups, MAGs, MATs, committees, and Administrative Council.. The use of an e-mail prayer chain and prayer concerns on a church web site might be two additional ways this might be accomplished.

3. Moving from an Informing to an Inviting Congregational Culture . Several persons at the consultation emphasized a desire for more volunteers, more participation. This is a key ingredient for assimilation and for the human resources to expand the ministries that God is leading First United Methodist Church to accomplish. Several persons shared with me concern that there is a core of people who help out with ministry however, whenever, and whatever they can . But this base of participation must expand dramatically if ministry is to expand and persons are to become growing disciples by using their spiritual gifts in ministry.

There is a key transition in thinking and behavior that needs to occur to expand participation within the life and ministry of First United Methodist Church. Simply informing people about opportunities to participate is not adequate to guide and inspire most of them into participation and involvement - whether through bulletins, newsletters, pulpit announcements, sign up sheets, or general “invitations” to come and help. The church must focus on inviting people (rather than simply informing people) to participate, especially around their gifts, passions, skills, talents, and abilities. 80% of the American population describes themselves as more shy than outgoing – and shy people don't tend to go or participate where they are not specifically invited. And these invitations are personal, specific, and relational (“come do this with me”). This change in style will be especially helpful and immediately relevant in several ministry areas within the life of the church (but by no means limited to these areas). These areas of ministry that can benefit by increased participation by inviting instead of just informing are newcomer assimilation, starting new Sunday School classes, teacher mentoring, volunteer system, and Trustees work days. The process of how to better use invitation in these specific areas are further described in greater detail in the respective sections of the recommendations that is coming later in this report as we talk about the intentional volunteer system. Let me simply say that this change can make a significant difference in the involvement and morale of the congregation if it is done, widely, consistently, continually, and enthusiastically.

4a. Expand Children's Ministry . To reach younger adults with children means having dynamic children's programs and connecting those programs with folks not yet part of a church as an outreach venture –as well as spiritual development. I recommend First United Methodist Church hold a Super Saturday monthly. This would be an excellent way of attracting unchurched children especially to the church. This would be 2 - 2 and 1/2 hours of ministry with elementary aged children. Included would be games, crafts, snacks, stories, activities, recreation, and above all - fun! Often this might have a them of a nearby holiday, such as Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, Mother's and Father's Day, All Saints Day, etc. This could be widely publicized with door hanger flyers with kids helping adults with the distribution; publicity in the newspaper; and lots of invitation of guests and friends. Having it 6 - 10 times a year (including missing the month of the Vacation Bible School) means that you can do it well and not burn out your volunteers. You might also have the children sing what new song they learned in worship the next day and invite all of the parents and family to come - complete with a reception afterwards. This could significantly increase your outreach to young families in the area, which you could then begin to invite and assimilate with the implementation of the previous recommendations.

I also affirm the use of the rotation model of Sunday School as a great way to connect children with God through experiential learning that is enjoyable, fun, and effective. It also is a good way to involve adults with children in spiritual development using their interests, gifts, and talents in the educational process.

4b. Expanding Youth Ministry . It is not enough to just do dynamic ministry with children; there must also be a strong youth ministry as well to attract and spiritually develop those who are not connected to Jesus Christ through a church. .The present strategy includes Sunday School and youth meetings. The goal is to develop within the youth ministry a good balance of experience for social, emotional, and spiritual growth , including Bible studies, spiritual discussions, fun events, fund raisers, trips, retreat, youth worship service, service projects, evangelism; and mission trips. The youth groups meet on Sunday evenings. Currently there are 2 youth groups – Junior High (7th & 8th grades) and Senior High (9th - 12th grades). The youth group is combined with the youth from New Horizons United Methodist Church, with Pastor Karen from New Horizons hired as the quarter time Director of the Youth Ministries. This has been an effective way to do youth ministry through this partnership – and I affirm its continuation and possible expansion to include other United Methodist Churches that might benefit from this ministry.

I affirm adding additional counselors (by the youth's recommendation) to those already greatly helping the ministry to assist with the growing ministry that is guided by Pastor Karen - at least 6-8 counselors who will serve each twice a month. These counselors will play a vital role in relating their Christian faith to the youth and helping decide and implement the programs and activities of the youth ministry, along with the youth themselves (especially Senior High, who need ownership in the ministry if you expect commitment and involvement). The counselors will be a part of a youth council with Pastor Karen and the youth representatives and officers to give direction and leadership to the youth ministry, making sure it is well directed and organized. I also affirm expanding the visibility of the youth within the congregations through participation within the worship service (especially the new contemporary worship service) and other ministries as the youth choose to volunteer. A key issue will be to focus on developing cohesion in each group so supportive community for each youth can be experienced and expanded.

In addition, I affirm the development of MATs for the youth ministry, with several already in place. I recommend the development of a Logistics Team for the youth group. This team can be made up of parents and other adults who will organize the details of events and trips as their contribution to the ministry. Developing this team to help lead the groups and coordinate details will be key for each group to continue to grow and reach new youth for Jesus Christ.

I also highly support that the group remain divided into 2 groups. The primary reason for this is because it is difficult to develop a cohesive group with both 12th grade girls and 7th grade boys (where there is a maturity difference far greater than 6 years!). The primary reason for continuing to have 2 groups is to expand the number of youth participating in the youth group(s). It is difficult to sustain the interest of all youth across such a large age spectrum so usually the group loses especially the older and sometimes even the younger youth and the group tends to be made up predominantly of those in the middle. The group will not eventually grow beyond 20 unless it divides or it begins to function like a large group, rather than a small group. Then as the groups grow you will need to make the transition to large group principles (developing small groups for discussion and sharing within the larger group that meets for recreation and fellowship). And as this ministry grows, I recommend adding another quarter time person to the team that Pastor Karen can supervise (perhaps with each staff primarily responsible for each group).

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Building Assessment and Potential Expansion. Let me begin by congratulating the church on developing a Building Use Team. That said, let me also remind you (as I know you are already aware) that First United Methodist Church needs a long range plan for facilities beyond the next few years to continue to make disciples for Jesus Christ. The mission to continue to make disciples requires additional expanded facilities in addition to current facilities and site. But the exact plan of facilities expansion is what the church needs to decide and be ready to implement within 2-4 years.

I offer the Building Use Team a process for their task that can help the church put in place a vision and a plan for the future, including facilities (that will be then handed off to a Building Committee elected by a Charge Conference). That process starts with affirming the Purpose (or Mission) of the church; determining the needs of the congregation and the community that need to be met as consistent with the Purpose; working with the program areas to determine the programs and ministries needed for the living out of the Purpose into the future; and then put in place a building and facilities plan to accomplish those ministries; and then communicate this with the congregation as it is being developed (which will be described below) .

So, I recommend that the starting place for discerning the best option for fulfilling your mission - not only in the present but also well into the future - is to decide first what criteria you will use to evaluate the various options for property and facility. If you do not intentionally and purposefully determine the criteria, many people will tend to use there own criteria, which will tend to be that of convenience (what is easiest), continuity (little or no change), and cost (keep as low as possible currently, without considering future costs). I want to offer the following criteria - which I think is a far better criteria for evaluating your options for your future property and facility needs, based on accomplishing your mission:

- the potential to attract and reach unchurched people

- adequate space for worship, fellowship, education, programs and ministries, welcoming, parking, and storage

- visibility (to attract new people)

- accessibility

- long term stewardship (what each option will cost over the next 40+ years)

Further exploration of the long term stewardship implications of the current facility can be more accurately and fully determined by a building engineer to estimate the cost of upkeep and maintenance of the current facility over the next 40 years so you can determine the best long term stewardship. This homework will be extremely helpful in discerning the long range plan for the church and how long the current facility will last until the maintenance costs become prohibitive. As with all 40+ year old facilities, the long term stewardship is an issue that will need to be professionally assessed and then addressed. Then you can better discern what kind the facilities expansion is needed to accomplish your mission for God is on your current site (which will also require an aggressive plan for adjacent property acquisition) .

I support a process of discernment that includes some congregational meetings for input, questions, concerns, and suggestions. The process that the Building Committee (which is to be named at a Charge Conference to develop a building and finance plan for building expansion and refurbishing) can use for such congregation meetings can be a this one – share input and progress in presentation of the Building Committee, break into smaller groups for discussion , get feedback from smaller groups, share results of this discussion with the congregation through newsletter and summary report . I describe this process in greater detail later in this section below. Using this process will tend to create an environment for discernment, promote unity around discerning the best option to fulfill God's mission, and garner the greatest support for the conclusion.

The next key piece to clarify is an assessment of space needs based on ministries and programs and usage . I will share now my observations around space needs in several important categories . I believe that whatever the final shape of the facility plan you discern, it will best serve your mission if it provides ample space in each of these areas of need.

The sanctuary space is beautiful and a source of considerable pride - and offers the possibility for a quality traditional worship experience commensurate with a large church like First United Methodist Church. The back of the sanctuary could be expanded gathering space by removing pews and putting in a removable wall that can be removed on large worship Sundays (like Easter).

I urge that the office space be gathered together in whatever form the final plan takes. Communication is essential to developing community and effective ministry. Both of these key components are greatly enhanced when the office space makes communication easy and natural. Getting the staff together physically (as well as spiritually) is an important space consideration.

Another important ministry to be considered in the expansion of the facility will be the children's ministry area , which would not only be available for Christian education and children's ministry programs, but also day care and after school care program . To continue to develop this area and especially the Sunday School will require a designated children's area that is flexible and spacious and conducive to rotation model of Sunday School. You will also need to include permanent and adequate youth space for this exciting and growing ministry.

Adult classes and programs need additional space. This space can be shared between Sunday School, Bible Study, adult fellowships, small groups, and other adult ministries. It will be important to remember that the more multiple uses you have for a given space, the more storage is required so each class or ministry can store what it needs and easily get it out as needed. This is a key principal to consider as you build with all of your multiple use space, not just adult ministries.

The fellowship space is tight as well. Future plans would be well served to consider expanding this space to be able to seat a large number of the congregation for fellowship dinners . Obviously, this space will also be used for other programs as well and available for fellowship.

If you are serious about attracting and discipling younger adults, one important ministry to be considered is recreational ministries (for children, youth, and younger adults). 52% of unchurched younger adults indicate that if they were to be part of a church, they would want to include recreation in that church experience. Some churches provide for this recreational ministry by building a multi-purpose area that can also serve as a gymnasium . Developing this ministry will be a key component in your strategy to reach and disciple younger adults and their children.

Parking space is a key to your future. In fact, exploring the cost of adequate parking by adjacent land acquisition is part of seeing which option offers the best stewardship to fulfill your mission. This may well be done in partnership with downtown governmental agencies, local businesses, and other nearby churches (which is a type of partnership often utilized by downtown churches) . It is recommended to have a parking space for every 1.8 persons in the building (up from 4-5 people per space 40 years ago). This will be particularly critical as you develop your midweek programs.. I also affirm the need to expand your property in general. I also recommend that a comprehensive plan for adjacent property acquisition be developed in order to fulfill your mission to be a downtown church into the foreseeable future. You will need parking and additional facilities to grow as a downtown church - so plan for it and make the purchases of the property as you can.

And last, but not least, storage space needs to be considered . It is the most overlooked space need when church facilities are assessed as to needs. And as I mentioned previously, the more the space has multiple uses, the more storage is required to use the space well and easily – storage that is convenient, adequate, and secure for each usage. Current storage is inadequate and any facility expansion needs to significantly expand the storage areas so effective ministry can occur without undo frustration for the volunteers involved.

I affirm the discussion to potentially expand and refurbish in the following potential ways:

•  Partner with Wesley Foundation to use the current land to develop ministry space for First United Methodist Church and the Wesley Foundation together

•  New Community Life Center for gymnasium, alternative worship, large programs, recreation, and fellowship

•  Develop office and program space for Wesley Foundation and education space for First United Methodist Church

•  Expand gathering space by utilizing the back of the sanctuary

•  Expand parking beneath the Community Life Center

Now listing these is risky – because you may come up with an even more effective plan through the discernment process listed below but I particularly affirm developing areas of the building for different age level ministries and developing a Community Life Center. And if partnering with Wesley Foundation doesn't happen, then a second site for the Community Life Center may be the next best alternative.

This facility and property expansion and enhancement would then be supported by a major capital fund drive, led by a professional in the field so that the financial capacity of the congregation can be appropriately challenged and the result be a facility that can do the ministry you want for Jesus Christ well into this century. You should be able to raise at least twice (and perhaps 3 times) your operational giving of $750,000+ toward a capital project in a 3 year pledge drive. This would be between $1,500,000 and $2,250,000. A follow up drive, including those who come new over that 3 year period and those that continue their pledges for additional 3 years, should net 2/3 of the lower estimate of the first capital fund drive - or $1,00,000. You could then get a 15 year mortgage in an amount whose annual payment is equal to 20% of your annual budget – or $150,000 (so you don't have a mortgage that will hurt your ability to expand ministry and pay apportionments) or $12,000 per month - which could secure a loan principal of approximately $1,200,000.

The project then could conservatively be at a cost of between $3.7 and $4.4 million - adding together the totals from the first capital drive, from the second capital drive, and the principle of the 15 year mortgage. If you first establish your Building Committee at a Charge Conference and give them the responsibility to come to a Church Conference with a building plan an a funding plan, then central to the funding plan would be the fund drive to determine how much of a project you can afford before you vote on it at the Church Conference. Then the final Charge Conference can approve the final building plan and contractor and financing.

While we are doing our mission in a way that honors who we are, it is important that we communicate well, especially amidst changes. Communication is a key amidst change and transition in order to keep us together as a congregation. The analogy I use is that of the hay wagon (shared with me by a lay woman in South Dakota). Some persons believe that getting the hay to the barn as quickly as possible is the goal. Those persons accelerate the hay wagon as they enter the curve (change), do not signal ahead, turn the wheel abruptly without warning, and as a result find a third of the bales thrown off into the ditch at the curve. When they get to the barn with two-thirds of the load, they remark that that's just what happens when you take a curve (change). Other persons, anticipating a curve (change) ahead, signal (communicate) far in advance of the curve. They slow down as they approach the curve. They turn the wheel gradually in the curve and take it smoothly with very few bales ending up in the ditch. Then they accelerate slowly after the curve has been taken. This is a different philosophy of change and communication. This latter model of communication amidst change is the model I used with you on our final night together and the model I recommend you emulate (and modify to fit your situation) as you communicate future significant change with the congregation.

The model for continuing to communicate important decisions that impact the whole church (like a building project) is to begin by sharing current progress of the group with the congregation (including particularly where previous congregational input has helped shape the progress of the group). Then the congregation gets into conversation groups for about half an hour to discuss the following questions: 1) what excites you about the presentation as we do our mission in a way that honors who we are? 2) what concern or questions do you have about this presentation we do our mission in a way that honors who we are? 3) what better ideas do you have as we do our mission in a way that honors who we are? 4) what additional information do you have as we do our mission in a way that honors who we are? (Notice that all of the presentation and subsequent discussion centers around doing our mission through our identity.) Then the groups have an opportunity to get feedback from their discussion to the larger group, recorded on newsprint. This is also a time of open discussion , reflecting non-defensively on what has been shared so it can be understood and enhanced. Finally, this open feedback and discussion is summarized in the church's newsletter and a copy of the information on the newsprint is made available to all who request it .

Being consistent and intentional about communication, especially amidst change and transition, is important so the congregation can move together to live out the mission in a way that honors who we are. There may be some who choose not to go with us on this journey with God centered in our mission and identity; they are welcome to come but cannot be coerced to do so. Neither will we abandon the mission we have from God in order to stay with them in a place of their comfort. We are called by God live out our mission in a way that honors who we are – and so we will. But we will discern what that means and live that out as a community that communicates and cares.

2. Team Based Ministry. The key principle around which this structure is based is “healthy organizations consistently match authority with responsibility” . The organizations that do this consistently and broadly throughout the organization tend to have greater involvement, enthusiasm, passion, and commitment. This is particularly important in the life of the church. To match authority with responsibility means that the persons that have the responsibility to do the ministry are also given the authority to make the necessary decisions to accomplish that ministry – within appropriate boundaries. These boundaries include the purpose or mission of the church, the area of responsibility they have been given, the budget they have (with option to ask for more), and the policies of the church – both local (as the process for reserving dates and space) and denominational (as the Book of Discipline ). In other words, within boundaries the doers decide.

Another important factor in recommending the structure that I have discussed with many persons during my time at First United Methodist Church is that the younger and less churched the volunteer, the more the volunteering needs to be short term, hands on, and purpose driven (especially those under age 45). Short term may mean as little as once for a couple of hours initially. Hands on means that we don't spend a lot of time in meetings talking about what we are to do; we do it (it's the Nike generation!). Purpose centered means that what we do clearly help us accomplish the important purpose of the church and make a real and visible difference in the life of someone. Older members over age 55 who have been churched for a long time tend to volunteer out of duty, loyalty, and responsibility (“it is my church and I will help however I can and as I am needed”). So committees often work well as a way of involvement for older members who participate out of duty, loyalty, and responsibility. But younger and less church members look at 3 year terms, lots of meetings, and fuzziness about how this helps others or accomplishes our purpose - and they back away. There must be an attractive structure to enable these younger, less churched persons to participate.

There is! That is why I affirmed consistently with many of the church leadership using ministry teams as the basis of doing ministry and involving volunteers. The term may be new to some but the concept is not. Choir, “muggers”, and the shut in visitors are just a few examples of teams. Teams do . They meet only as needed in order to accomplish their ministry. As Herb Miller puts it, “ministry team members give time and energy to a particular ministry about which they feel a sense of God's call and to which they bring a special skill, passion, or spiritual giftedness.” Ministry teams give persons an opportunity to use their gifts in ministry, and to work together as a source of fellowship. Ministry teams don't primarily talk and meet; they do! Teams end when the ministry is finished. Some ongoing teams encourage participants to sign up for a few months or up to a year and then decide whether or not they wish to continue or pursue a different ministry. And as persons grow in their participation, they also grow in their commitment as the ministry is connected our faith in Jesus Christ.

Let me hasten to say that MAGs (Ministry Action Groups) are still an important part of the organizational life and structure of First United Methodist Church. I am recommending that the role of the MAGs be focused to helping MATs (Ministry Action Teams) better do their ministry. One of the primary things MAGs now do is support the ministry teams connected to it in their mutual area of ministry. This support does not mean directing the actions of the MATs or controlling their decisions. This support is communicating regularly with their ministry teams (not primarily by coming to meetings but in phone calls and conversations with the leaders of the MATs) to see how they can help – resources, funds, information, and potential personnel for the team. The MAG also supports by coordinating the teams – seeing that the MATs are doing their ministry and helping coordinate all of the scheduling (seeing that dates and space are reserved for the ministry and not just assumed to be available). MAGs will also develop new MATs to further expand its effectiveness in its area of ministry (like the Welcoming MAG developing the Muggers MAT to make a brief welcoming visit to all resident visitors after they visit worship the first time). And you do not have to be a member of the MAG to be a member of the MAT. My expectation is that all members of the MAG will be a part of at least one MAT. The new purpose of MAGs means that they will need to meet less often (4 times per year) and require fewer persons.

This will require the Administrative Council to continue to function as a reporting and permission giving body so that the ministry teams are free to do their ministries. As long as the MAT stays within the ministry area for which it is responsible, stays within its budget, adheres to church policies, and coordinates calendar with the rest of the ministries - the MAT is free to decide how to do the ministry it is to do. In other words, the principle involved is to match authority (the power to make the decision) with responsibility (those that are to do the ministry). Accountability then is in coordinating ministry (seeing that it is occurring and it see what help, if any, is needed to be effective) , not controlling it by having to approve every other decision in the life of the church. MAGs then function like councils to deploy, coordinate, hold accountable, and support the MATs so that people can be in ministry with a minimum of meetings. Ministry may need a meeting now and then to coordinate and facilitate ministry - but going to a meeting is not doing ministry. A "flattened" organizational structure like you are already moving toward is a vital key to vital ministry by many volunteers.

The Administrative Council will continue not need to meet more than quarterly to accomplish its purpose and function. The Administrative Council sets the boundaries (budget, policies, mission, and area of responsibility for the MAGs) that the MAGs and MATs need to function within as they make decision and develop ministries to accomplish the mission. To meet more frequently is to either do the work of the committees and ministry teams (and thereby over function) or spend undue time in reporting and not use time productively. The style of reporting will be to focus on results for the sake of the mission rather than simply reporting activity. Each ministry area will then report in response to the following kinds of questions:

•  What results have you achieved to help us accomplish our Purpose?

•  What did you try for the sake of the purpose that didn't work as expected? What did you learn from this? What will you then do differently next time?

•  What next steps are you planning to live out our Purpose in your area of responsibility?

So instead of controlling things, leaders lead and continue to accept authority with responsibility and thereby keep morale high. The Administrative Council could continue to designate a key issue for exploration each meeting so there is another significant reason to come and meet for the expansion of ministry and vision of the church. I believe this might well increase Administrative Council participation and enthusiasm.

A key to increasing the participation of the congregation in ministry is the development of leadership - leadership that will involve others in ministry by implementing the effective volunteer system described earlier in this report. There are already many good leaders at First United Methodist Church, but more participants and more ministry means a need for more effective leaders. One of the most effective methods of leadership development is mentoring - having a potential leader work as an apprentice co-leader with an established, effective leader. This is a key strategy for small groups (as detailed previously) but can also work for leaders of various MAGs, boards, and especially MATs. Use a team of leaders for each MAT so that leaders are constantly being trained, equipped, and supported for ministry. It also will enable continuity of ministry if the leader is suddenly gone from their position. Continue to develop leaders so that you can continue people in ministry.

The role of leaders in this system of volunteerism is different . It is not so much to simply do ministry but to involve others in ministry with the leader through effective leadership . Delegation takes precedence over doing (especially with the staff, which is a key transition for the staff to expand ministry effectively). Participation is the key to growing ministry, and leaders that enable an effective volunteer system understand that they are the key to participation. Leadership is not about control but about enabling ministry to occur with the gifts and talents of others together, using ministry teams.

The role of the senior pastor then becomes leadership development with a team of 2 - 3 other effective, experienced lay leaders to guide these leadership development sessions. Gather your leaders, potential new leaders you wish to develop (especially younger potential leaders), and staff together at least 4 - 6 times a year for additional training, support, and accountability in these intentional leadership development sessions led by the leadership development team. An excellent resource for this kind of training is John Maxwell's book and cassette tape series 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership or the new training resource for leaders by Church of the Resurrection. The staff then effectively lead by mentoring leaders through regular, ongoing dialogue about the ministry of the church (particularly in each leader's area of responsibility) rather than attending most of the meetings that occur in the life of the church - especially since the number of MAG meetings will dramatically decrease. This role as a leaders of leaders will be enhanced as he continues to network regularly with other church leaders to hear their insights on the direction of the church and then share what they see are the key issues and how to address them, continually listening, modifying, and focusing how to do the best ministry that First United Methodist Church can do to accomplish God's purpose.

In conclusion, let me affirm this bold step to enhance participation and ministry in the life of First United Methodist Church . As with all things new, this process of developing and supporting ministry teams will be awkward. There is a learning curve for developing leaders who do not control but who instead support and offer accountability through increased communication and coordination. But the results of more persons using their gifts and passions in ministry and growing thereby in their faith and discipleship in Jesus Christ is worth the change, the adjustment, the learning, and the potential resistance.

3. Intentional Volunteer System . Expanding participation also will require becoming better at involving volunteers intentionally in ministry. Many persons at the consultation emphasized a desire for more volunteers, more participation. This is a key ingredient for assimilation and for the human resources to expand the ministries that God is leading the First United Methodist Church to accomplish. This crucial area of ministry would be the primary focus of the staff to use this process to expand the ministry of volunteers. This process is essential in helping the members of the church become more committed through their participation and thereby move from a low commitment to a high commitment church.

To live out your mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ is exciting - and requires a significant expansion of ministries. Doing this with the same pool of 20% of your worshipping congregation is not a good solution but one that will lead to being overwhelmed, frustrated, and burned out. The key to expanding ministry will be expanding the number of persons in ministry. And crucial to that is this principle - you will never, ever, ever recruit well until you first identify well!

This first means to identify the ministry well that you want to invite people to serve as a part of. To identify ministry well means to do the following: identify how the ministry will help us fulfill our mission ; what end result you hope will occur through this ministry (3-4 sentence picture of the results, which gives those serving a target and a basis for evaluation); gifts and skills needed for the ministry; time commitment needed; and resources, information, and help that is available.

Recruiting then is inviting someone to be involved in this ministry by asking them personally (phone or face-to-face). So bulletin and pulpit announcements, sign up sheets, newsletter articles do not recruit - they inform (which is good, but does not help involve many people in ministry - especially those not already involved ). But to recruit well, you must first identify well the gifts, talents, skills, abilities, and passions of the people you want to help get involved in ministry. This requires an active process of identification, connected with a database that makes it easy for those recruiting persons for ministries to have access to this information. And how can you find out the gifts, talents, skills, abilities, and passions of the people you want to help get involved in ministry? Well, there are at least four ways: spiritual gifts inventories; time and talent surveys (but make sure they are a talent survey and not a “fill our slot” survey); observation (what do persons do well and enjoy doing); and interview (ask them what they enjoy doing, what they would like to do, what they are good at). If you ask someone to do a ministry without any identification, then a “match” is unlikely and you will probably have less than 10% of persons respond positively to your invitation. But if you ask them to serve in an area for which they have interest and gifts/talents, then probably half will say “yes” to your invitation to serve. And if they can do it as part of a team so they don't have to be there all the time, the odds are even greater. And if they can serve with persons they enjoy being with or working with, then the chances of them serving are very great (well over 80-90%). But to recruit this well, you first must identify well.

I recommend that a time and talent survey be consistently used. This is a list of talents and skills that can be used, as opposed to a list of jobs in the life of the church. It is worth 10 minutes of time in worship to fill out the surveys in order to get wide involvement with the surveys (done on a Sunday when ministry/service is the theme of the service and sermon). Then make sure that these are widely circulated and used, so people are not disappointed and feel that they are unwanted and that the survey was a waste of time. For example, it will be beneficial for the office volunteers to use their talents to help with specific tasks, rather than each one sit in the office for a proscribed time period.

I also recommend that spiritual gifts inventories be offered prior to time and talent surveys. The spiritual gifts inventories can help people consider where God has gifted them for ministry. Then they can select the areas they wish to serve on the Time and Talent Survey based on their perception of their spiritual gifts. An effective volunteer system maximizes participation by making participation a rewarding experience. Most churches don't have a commitment problem; they have a participation problem that the church can solve by having an effective volunteer system. And as people participate, they become committed. So the key is participation (even for financial giving!). Here are 5 essential steps to an effective volunteer system. 

Recruitment. Newsletters, announcement sign-up sheets, etc. - never recruit; they only inform! Recruitment is done person-to-person (best is face-to-face; second best is by phone). There is not short-cut to effective recruitment. Leaders are key recruiters, inviting persons to participate in a particular ministry (and Time & Talent Surveys and Spiritual Gifts Inventories can be a tremendous asset in this process). Each ministry you recruit for will have a clear description of purpose, results desired, time required, skills needed, etc.

Educating. Volunteers need to be educated in the following areas: what results are expected, what skills are needed, what information is helpful, what resources are available (volunteers, financial, staff, information, etc.), what support and accountability is offered, and anything else that will enable them to be effective in their ministry. If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well - and that requires educating (whether it takes 15 minutes or 15 weeks). This is an area that the Coordinator of Volunteers looks to expand.

Supporting. Volunteers need adequate, ongoing support to continue to be effective. Such support includes but is not limited to attention, resources, accessibility to expertise, and accountability . Leaders provide excellent support for their volunteers. Communication is a key ingredient of support - listening to the needs of those in ministry and sharing the resources and skills needed to be effective in the ministry to which each person is called by God to fulfill.

Thanking. Everyone needs to be appreciated. And churches are often notorious for neglecting this, assuming that the job is its own reward. While true, thanking well does go a long way toward a happy volunteer, willing to volunteer again!

Evaluating. Each ministry is evaluated on the basis of whether it accomplished what it intended to or not. If so, we want to know why it worked so we can repeat that success in ministry. If not, then we will want to ascertain why it didn't so we can learn from the experience in order to be more effective next time. That way, it isn't at all a failure but a learning experience toward effective ministry .

So there is a key transition in thinking and behavior that needs to occur to expand participation within the life and ministry of First United Methodist Church. Simply informing people about opportunities to participate is not adequate to guide and inspire most of them into participation and involvement - whether through bulletins, newsletters, pulpit announcements, sign up sheets, or general “invitations” to come and help. The church must focus on inviting people (rather than simply informing people) to participate, especially around their gifts, passions, skills, talents, and abilities. This change in style will be especially helpful and immediately relevant in several ministry areas within the life of the church (but by no means limited to these areas). Some examples of those areas of ministry that can benefit by increased participation by inviting instead of just informing are newcomer assimilation, starting new Sunday School classes, teacher mentoring, volunteer system, and Trustees work days. Let me simply say that this change can make a significant difference in the involvement and morale of the congregation if it is done, widely, consistently, continually, and enthusiastically.

An effective volunteer system does all 5 of these things well: recruiting (or inviting), educating, supporting, thanking, and evaluating. And an effective volunteer system increases participation, which increases commitment. 

4. Staffing for Enhanced Participation . Let me begin by affirming the overall quality and effectiveness of the current staff. They are doing a good job of ministry and they respect each other and their gifts and abilities. Communication seems good and morale and cooperation is very strong. They are working together with SPRC to help the church be less reliant on the staff to do the ministry of the church and more able to discover and be empowered to do the ministry that God has called and gifted each person to do. The church has a strong tendency to be staff driven, rather than lay led. In other words, the staff is working at not just doing ministry but primarily developing others to be in ministry with them.

Any recommendations I make are by way of enhancing and expanding what effective ministry they are already having. In that spirit, I believe that it is important to emphasize the key principles of staffing . These principles are essential to creating a climate and a system to enhance and expand participation among the members and constituents of First United Methodist Church. These principles are further explored with potential recommendations for ministry in this report. Now I will simply list and explain what these principles are.

First, the staff needs to continue to be purpose-centered, not preference-driven . This is a key function of the staff to assist and encourage the congregation to be purpose-centered. Having the Administrative Council focus reporting on results for the sake of the Purpose is one key way of staying purpose centered.

Second, the staff needs its ministry to be results oriented, not activity oriented . It is not enough to be busy; the staff and the church needs to be productive around the purpose. This then is the basis for evaluation of staff, rather than intention or preferences.

Third, the staff needs to emphasize people, not programs by its staff and ministry. The focus will be on developing people in their ministries, not on programs that maintain the institution. Rather than fill slots for programs with people, First United Methodist Church will seek to discover the gifts and talents of people so those can be used as central in their ministries. Programs become the outgrowth of people's ministries based on their gifts.

Fourth, the primary ministry of the staff is to develop ministers, not to do ministry . Staff will still do ministry, as all Christians are called to do, based on their gifts and talents. But their primary goal is to involve others in ministry with their gifts and talents so ministry can be multiplied and each participant can grow in their faith through the exercise of their gifts. This is the key principle for the staff to grasp and incorporate into the very heart of their ministry.

Fifth, more people participate their way into commitment than commit their way into participation . So the focus of the staff and the First United Methodist Church is on an effective volunteer system that will broaden and strengthen participation (as was described in the previous section).

The implications and applications of these 5 key principles will be unpacked during the rest of the report. But I believe that it is helpful to see the overall philosophy upon which the recommendations for ministry are based.

I am recommending the style of staffing that will enhance participation of laity in ministry at First United Methodist Church where staff primarily develop ministers rather than do ministry. I affirm the regular, weekly staff meetings with all available the program, support, and custodial staff there to communicate about calendar and upcoming events for preparation and publicity. Then the program and pastoral staff can meet to plan, implement, and evaluate programs and ministries, issues of care, newcomer assimilation, and other concerns of the congregation. Communication is a key to working effectively together and staff meetings is a central part of that communication. The staff works well together and relates well, which are major assets in expanding the role and function of the staff as a team. Most of the program staff are specialists who are working hard in their area of specialty to develop ministers, rather than primarily doing the ministry themselves.

I also affirm an annual review of each staff member by the Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) with a self-evaluation of the staff member themselves. This evaluation will focus around end results that have been clearly delineated and agreed upon in the ministry description that each staff member will have helped develop. These results are in harmony with the Purpose and Ministry Focus of the church, so what each staff looks to accomplish in ministry for Jesus Christ also fulfills the purpose and vision of the church as well. A key area for evaluation will be leadership of staff - how they are developing others for ministry around the principles delineated earlier in this report. Effective delegation of ministry and development of ministry teams will be essential for expanded participation in the life of First United Methodist Church. And ongoing, visible, unrelenting, consistent, verbal support by the SPRC of the staff as they delegate and develop people in ministry will be essential for them to be effective.

The ministry description for every member of the staff will begin by clarifying the area of responsibility and how it is essential in helping accomplish the purpose of the church . This clarification is what keeps what staff do as a ministry with critical meaning and not just a job to be done.

Then comes the identification of key roles (4 - 5 for full time persons, 1 - 3 key roles for part time persons) that the staff person is responsible for. For example, the key roles of a lead pastor like Pastor Paul tend to be the following : #1 – Champion of the Purpose (helping discern the Purpose with the leadership, communicating that Purpose and helping staff and leaders to the same, and helping staff and leaders align all the ministry and decisions with that Purpose ); #2 – Lead Worship and Preaching (to inspire and communicate God's Word and Purpose to the congregation, along with the other preachers and music leaders and staff – and to preach at least monthly in each worship service to stay connected and connecting with all persons in every worship service); #3 – Leadership Development of staff and other lay leadership (by helping leaders become developers and focus ministries and decisions on the Purpose); and #4 -Oversee People Care (to see that the consistent systems are in place of care for all the newcomers and congregation).

Next comes a 2 - 3 paragraph “picture” of what the ministry of each staff member will look like in 3 years is the ministry is done reasonably well . This is the basis of what results that we are looking for to live out the Purpose in the next coupe of years or so. You cannot hold accountable well or support well what you have not first clarified – and this is the section of the ministry description that brings that clarity of results.

Next might come a few duties and responsibilities with the position – always flexible to be able to accomplish the end result “picture”. Then each staff will develop 1 - 3 key goals each quarter for each role that will best help the end result picture be able to come true. Staff meetings are then a time to review what each staff has accomplished (to celebrate, affirm, learn, and plan) and the next steps they plan to accomplish each of their goals – and holding them accountable to keeping at them, as well as offering support and encouragement as they are accomplished and new learnings emerge in the process.

This process for job descriptions is already being developed and tuned, with roles and goals already being identified and utilized. This process will become even more helpful as it is consistently utilized for support and accountability among the staff and with SPRC. I affirm the SPRC continuing to support the staff in this significant effort and providing staff recognition and appreciation.

So on this basis, the staff meeting process might start with everyone together for devotions and prayer, communicating upcoming events, and sharing mutual concerns – before the administrative and custodial staff leave. Then the program and pastoral staff meet to report on goals for the sake of the Purpose and to support and hold each other accountable around those things most important (and not necessarily most urgent) to make the ministry pictures come true if we are living out the Purpose reasonable well. Then the pastoral and care staff stay to review care needs and assignments. I think it is important for the staff to eat and fellowship together at least monthly. I also believe that in order to build the staff as a team , the whole staff does need to meet for support, accountability, visioning, and strategizing at least 6-8 times a year, including all part time staff (which may mean meeting periodically on an evening or Sunday afternoon or another time that all staff can gather).

5. Consistent, Clear, Communication System and Process. Communication is so central to relationships and to the health of an organization that when it is unclear, mishandled, or disrupted, the resulting gap can damage the whole church. I further contend that if the church improves its style and system of communication, it will be better able to deal with disagreement and decisions. This includes listening especially to newcomers with new ideas and a willingness to grant permission for them to try new things in accomplishing the purpose of the church. First United Methodist Church does a fairly good job overall with communication. These suggestions are included to strengthen this important area in the life of the church.

What I am strongly advocating is a clear, consistent style and system of communication in which the church deals with issues, concerns, or decisions in an open fashion. Meet regularly with those involved (including staff) about the calendar (where everything is placed for coordination and accountability) so everyone involved in doing ministry can be aware of what is happening in the life of the church - and when and where. Making sure decisions are followed through is important for building trust and enhancing the climate of good communication. One of those is the newsletter deadline - which is important for everyone to keep so communication can happen well with the entire congregation . It will be critical to keep the congregation informed about an additional worship service, facilities enhancement and expansion, and other major decisions and programs so there is widespread information and ownership. Keep the congregation informed about the giving and the financial needs and the progress of fund drives so they can respond generously to the communicated needs, especially through the weekly newsletter. Open communication includes putting information for the whole church repeatedly in the newsletter so everyone can keep informed. Communication needs to be positive and factual. This good and open communication tends to keep conflict in the arena of problem solving, and thereby manageable.

The model for continuing to communicate important decisions that impact the whole church (like a building project) is to begin by sharing current progress of the group with the congregation (including particularly where previous congregational input has helped shape the progress of the group). Then the congregation gets into conversation groups for about half an hour to discuss the following questions: 1) what excites you about the presentation as we do our mission in a way that honors who we are? 2) what concern or questions do you have about this presentation we do our mission in a way that honors who we are? 3) what better ideas do you have as we do our mission in a way that honors who we are? 4) what additional information do you have as we do our mission in a way that honors who we are? (Notice that all of the presentation and subsequent discussion centers around doing our mission through our identity.) Then the groups have an opportunity to get feedback from their discussion to the larger group, recorded on newsprint. This is also a time of open discussion , reflecting non-defensively on what has been shared so it can be understood and enhanced. Finally, this open feedback and discussion is summarized in the church's newsletter and a copy of the information on the newsprint is made available to all who request it . Being consistent and intentional about communication, especially amidst change and transition, is important so the congregation can move together to live out the mission in a way that honors who we are. There may be some who choose not to go with us on this journey with God centered in our mission and identity; they are welcome to come but cannot be coerced to do so. Neither will we abandon the mission we have from God in order to stay with them in a place of their comfort. We are called by God live out our mission in a way that honors who we are – and so we will. But we will discern what that means and live that out as a community that communicates and cares.

Community and communication come from the same root word - it takes good communication to build good community. Good communication builds trust, which is absolutely essential for community. And that is the style of communication and community that First United Methodist Church will continue to consistently and widely practice and maintain.

6. Unifying Factors . One of the strengths of First United Methodist Church is the sense of unity among the congregation. So, naturally, there is concern about maintaining this sense of unity of the church as it grows in membership and worship attendance and diversity of worship styles. In fact, there is a temptation to believe that unity is rooted in uniformity - in other words, the more we are alike and do everything together or similarly (like worship), the more unified we will be and become. In fact, St. Paul points out to the church at Corinth just the opposite - unity is strengthened by diversity because it is out diversity that allows us to fully use our gifts and include all of the people God intends to include in the church family. So diversity of worship styles, musical styles, Sunday School classes, ministry groups, or small groups need not divide us at all if we have strong, vital, appropriate unifying factor. The key unifying factors for First United Methodist Church seem to me to be the following: being purpose centered; seeing each form of worship and spiritual development group as part of that same purpose; and developing several, large, all church fellowship events. Let me explore each one individually.

First United Methodist Church needs to center around a common purpose in order to continue to be unified. As I discussed at length in the foundational recommendations, it is imperative that First United Methodist Church not only have a Mission Statement and know it, but also use it consistently throughout the life and decision making of the whole church. This will enable the church to remain unified within its increasing diversity (as large churches do). Everyone will be moving in a common direction and for a common cause, regardless of where they serve or when they worship. Purpose is central to unity.

Connected to this unifying factor is a common recognition that each worship service with its somewhat different style are all important, all vital to the spiritual life and growth of those who participate in that worship service and therefore valid and valuable. No one style is more important than the other in accomplishing the purpose of making disciples for Jesus Christ - either new disciples or helping continue with the growth of longer tenured disciples. Worshipping in the same way or even all together at the same time does not produce unity - if it were true every small church with a single worship service would be unified (and trust me, they are not all that way). First United Methodist Church must continue to affirm what God has already confirmed - that each style of worship is a valid way for growing spiritually and therefore valuable and essential to the common purpose of making disciples for Jesus Christ

Fellowship is another important way of staying connected and unified as a congregation. Having adequate space and time for fellowship between worship services is helpful in staying unified though overlapping relationships of members and constituents of different worship services. I also recommend that the church hold 4 - 5 large, fun, fellowship events each year. These events allow people to get to know each other and develop relationships with one another, even if they regularly attend a different worship service. And as you add another Sunday worship service, these events will become even more important as "glue" that holds the church together . These events could include a church picnic, Christmas caroling, New Year's Eve party, hayride, game night, Easter egg hunt, Valentine's banquet, etc. As important as such events are (perhaps a different class or group in the church to take an annual turn host such an event for the whole church), even more important to keep First United Methodist Church together is to stay clearly focused on your purpose and vision. But large fellowship events are a definite plus in a large growing church as First United Methodist Church. Churches who want to be like extended, growing families need to eat and play together - as all other healthy families do.

7. Service Evangelism . Service evangelism works well for First United Methodist Church because it embodies the values of inclusive and compassion . Service evangelism also enables First United Methodist Church to reach out to people for Christ and make disciples by making visible the compassionate love of Jesus Christ for all persons and thereby do its mission. That means that you can live out your mission by honoring who you are with power!

Service evangelism is a style of reaching out and creating awareness of the church as a caring, serving, organization directly meeting the immediate needs of potential newcomers through acts of kindness and service. One church that does this style of service evangelism extremely well is the Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. The pastor of that church, Rev. John Sjogren, has written a very helpful book entitled Conspiracy of Kindness that describes how their church has done service evangelism as a means of stretching beyond their comfort zone and reaching out into the community with acts of love that connect significantly with the persons they serve.

This style of creating awareness has tremendous potential for most every church. It is consistent with the gospel of God's great love in Jesus Christ that reaches out to serve others - and this is the heart of service evangelism. Service evangelism does not require special skills or even this spiritual gift of evangelism (sharing the Christian faith in a winsome way with someone we do not know) in order to participate. You simply need to be willing to help someone else in a tangible, concrete way. And for younger generations, the mode for developing awareness is especially appealing for a couple of specific reasons. First, it is short-term . The participant in service evangelism can come once on a Saturday morning to help out in a project and does not need to commit to long term involvement up front. Second, the participant in service evangelism sees immediately, up close, and personal how they make a difference in the life of someone else, which gives particular meaning to the act of service.

There are a wide range of service projects that churches have used to reach out to others with the love of God and thereby created significant and often highly attractive sense of awareness within people of the larger community. One church distributed thousands of bottles of water to persons in the crowd watching the community parade during a hot, summer day. Each bottle had a card attached simply stating that God loves you and so do we at First United Methodist Church, with web site, address, and phone number listed. Another church went throughout the neighborhood on a Saturday morning and distributed light bulbs of the choice of the recipient, again offering a card with a simple message about God's light for our lives and information to be able to contact the church. One thing that separates service evangelism from service is the note or card that extends an invitation and gives opportunity for connection and future relationship and response.

8. Assimilation of Newcomers . Again, there are a number of pieces in this assimilation process that are already in place and working effectively at First United Methodist Church. Already in place are the following parts of assimilation process: advertising (including “Open Door” ads); newcomer greeters; 3 sets of greeters for each service; ushers; welcome time in the service; greeted after the service by pastor and probably other laypersons; “muggers” who do a drop by visit; phone or e-mail follow up contact; and new member classes 4-5 times each year. All of these are helpful steps in the process of assimilating newcomers. Continuing to focus on hospitality and welcoming will be essential with newcomers.

Let me suggest some additional pieces that I believe will strengthen this process of assimilation and make it even more effective. This will involve additional lay persons in the process, which in itself is an advantage because it widens the contact with newcomers and enables more persons to participate in helping others feel a part of the church. This is analogous to running a relay race, with the "hand off" of information and caring for the newcomer essential for an effective result, which is to help newcomers belong before they join. This will require a team effort throughout, not just the involvement of the staff.

First, I would have Mugger Ministry Action Team (MAT) continue in teams of two (at least 4 teams) to do visits on newcomers after they have attended worship. This would be a 5 - 10 minute visit within 36 hours after the initial worship experience. So the teams of visitors would make their visits on Monday, rather than Wednesday to make an even greater and more effective impact on those hundreds of visits to worship. This visit would include the 3 B's - Be brief, Be bright (positive), and Be gone - and keep bringing goodies from the church. A lay visit is twice as effective at this point than a pastoral visit. A visit within 36 hours has an 80% chance of newcomer(s) returning to worship; if within 72 hours a 60% chance; and if after one week, 15% chance. Time the 3B's are keys!

Second, I recommend that faith friends be recruited again for newcomers before they join so the faith friend can play an instrumental role in assimilation. People tend to maintain the level of activity that they have when they join - so help people belong before they join, not after. The faith friend will help their newcomer(s) find their niche in the life of First United Methodist Church through a role, task, class, and/or group. This process will use information gathered by the pastor or trained team of lay persons during a listening visit with the newcomer in order to discover their gifts, talents, interests, and past experience. Multiple invitations and caring contacts are keys through the first 3 months after first attending (which is the time 75% of decide whether or not this will be their church). These invitations will be extended by a person in each ministry or class or group who is willing to invite newcomers to participate with them at the contact of the sponsor - in other words, developing and working an invitation network. The operative principle is to connect people by inviting, not simply informing. Inviting allows for personal connection to help people belong and feel more comfortable entering and participating in a group that simply informing can never do. The faith friend will also contact their new members at least every other month for the first year to see how things are going and if there are concerns that need to be addressed (since 75% of all new members in Protestant churches drop out within a year of joining, usually starting at month 5 or 6).

Third, I recommend that the Welcoming MAG keep track of the activity level of newcomers and support the visitation team, the newcomer sponsors, and help with invitations to newcomers. This system will need this group to support the staff in coordinating, monitoring, encouraging, and supporting this system. This whole process of newcomer assimilation is so critical to the life and mission of the church that it needs to be done constantly and consistently, with oversight of a specific group committed to that ministry.

Fourth, I recommend that 1 - 2 new groups be started each year so that there are new places for newcomers to belong. A group dramatically decreases its capacity to attract new persons after 12 - 24 months (because the sense of closeness that develops among the group runs counter to openness required to attract newcomers). I would especially encourage you to start new groups that will attract young adults, like the following: parents support groups/studies/training; church school classes; exercise class; recreation team(s) or opportunities; young mothers support group; Bible studies;

additional music groups; marriage enrichment group; and hands-on missions project. Alpha can be a wonderful way to launch small groups, especially as an outreach to the unchurched.

Fifth, I suggest that you host a newcomer orientation bi-monthly. This is an opportunity to meet with the pastors, to gain an understanding of the range of opportunities for participation in the life of the church; and to have answers to important questions. It also allows the pastors and program staff to continue to develop and strengthen relationships with the newcomers.

9. Comprehensive Care System . There is already a great deal of caring and health ministries that occurs at First United Methodist Church. In addition to the basic, caring environment, there are several programs and ministries that are already in place and functioning to provide care to persons of the congregation on a regular basis. The staff (including the pastors) does a variety of visitation, crisis care, and hospital calling with persons – but so does the Visitation MAT. There are care notes that are sent and hospitality baskets delivered. There are mental health compeers available and comfort shawls made. There is a prayer quilt ministry. There are heart healthy dinners and blood pressure checks offered. There are Bible Studies and Sunday School classes to provide opportunity for fellowship and care. The choirs and musical groups are certainly a relational, supportive communities. Each of these sources was identified and affirmed during my consultation for their caring nurture . The church already does a lot of caring. There are many MATs for care in place and others being developed. It will be important to develop co-leaders for every MAT and each MAT with a clear process of support and accountability (to follow up on each ministry and help as needed).

So being involved in caring is not the issue . The issue around care is developing a system where all the members are regularly, consistently, and adequately cared for - including those who are not yet touched by the excellent network of care just previously listed. They key is a comprehensive care system that covers all the membership. Let me offer a 4 step process to enable First United Methodist Church to develop its caring ministry because a church can only grow as large as its capacity to care for its members. So as you expand your capacity to care, you also expand your capacity to grow. Care and growth are vitally, integrally, and dynamically interrelated. This ministry will be coordinated by a lay coordinator of care.

The first step is to focus on the existing groups. Work to identify and/or develop a process by which each member in the existing group is cared for - that is, appropriately supported in a time of crisis or transition (birth, illness, death, change of job or residence, loss, divorce, graduation, etc.). If a group meets at least monthly and is willing to make sure the members of its group are cared for, then it is a caring group. Identify the care leader(s) of each group so the coordinator of care ministries can meet with them at least bi-monthly for ongoing support, training, encouragement, and accountability. This list of existing groups can include men's and women's groups, Bible Studies, choirs, circles, committees, ministry teams, Sunday School classes, and work groups - as long as they meet at least monthly and provide care for their members.

The second step is to follow-up those who do not sign in for worship at least 3 weeks in a row. It takes only 21 days to develop a habit, including church absenteeism. Recruit 4 teams of 2 callers each (one for each week of the month and rotate 5th Sundays) as a MAT who simply phone those who have not signed in for worship 3 consecutive weeks (but who are not infrequent or inactive in worship). This means that worship attendance will need to be tracked. The conversation simply states that you are phoning because it was noticed that the person/family had not registered their attendance, and you are wondering how things are. The key is then to listen. Then ask if there are any prayer requests to be shared with pastors, staff, or prayer chain. The simple caring contact will tend to enable over half of those phoned to return to worship within a couple of weeks. Otherwise if left unnoticed, they could easily become inactive and entrenched in that behavior within 2 months. Again, the staff coordinator needs to meet with the phoners every 3 months for ongoing support, training, encouragement, and accountability.

The third step is to start a small groups of potential small group leaders (10 - 12 persons). Serendipity provides good material for this purpose but so do many other publishers and formats - simply choose something that enables group support, care, study, and prayer . Again, meet twice a month so that pattern will continue to be replicated. This schedule leaves time for small group leaders to also meet once monthly and mentoring and care once a month individually for member(s) of the group as needed. That means a small group leader commitment of one night per week for the small group ministry and a small group participant can be in a small group and still give 2 nights a month for ministry while keeping a commitment of one night per week for both small group and ministry. After 6 months of the small group, encourage the participants to team up in 2s and start a small group. I suggest Carl George's book Prepare Your Church for the Future as your potential handbook for this process. Again, a lay coordinator will meet quarterly with the small group leaders for support, training, encouragement, and accountability.

The fourth step is telecare. All persons not included in one of the above would be called every 4-6 weeks by a telecare giver. Each telecare giver would have up to 7 households, with the purpose of a friendly contact to see if there are care needs for the household. Again, the offer to receive prayer requests and to share them appropriately can be a helpful, supportive act of caring. Follow up teams for support can be developed, utilizing existing care process (support groups, Sunday School classes, care groups, prayer chain, etc.). Every 3 months, a lay coordinator will meet with the telecare givers ongoing support, training, encouragement, and accountability.

These 4 steps together with the current wide scope of caring can provide a comprehensive care system that includes all of your members and constituents at First United Methodist Church. It will take several months to put each step in place (and 12 - 24 months or more to put all the pieces in place) but such a consistent and deliberate process will make a significant impact on the current congregation and its future growth capacity over the next few years. The keys will be consistency and constancy - do this caring process all the time with everybody. When gaps of care occur (and they will!), you are aware because of the support and accountability built into the system and are ready and able to refocus your caring efforts.

10. Foundation . The expansion of the Foundation to continue to develop and expand ministry and help with the future expansion and upkeep of the facility is essential for the future health and strength of First United Methodist Church. The current balance is a little over $1 million in 3 funds: building ($600,000), designated $300,000), and scholarship ($100,000). This is a great start in a church as large as First United Methodist Church - and a critical need for this church with many members over 60 years of age. This Foundation can serve both purposes - mission/ministry and facilities. It will be important to also develop undesignated program fund to expand your ministries as well. An example might be that undesignated monies will be placed in the following categories: 50% facilities, 40% mission/ministry (for new ministry or program initiatives like new music or instruments, mission trips, advertising to attract newcomers to the specific programs and ministries designed for them, and educational/recreational equipment for children, youth, and young adults), and 10% put back into principle as a hedge to inflation and difficult investment years. You might also consider matching funds for request of the endowment fund (raise $1 for every $1 or $2 that the endowment fund gives). This Foundation is a significant vehicle for persons to be able to use in order to support their church that they love in perpetuity but for it to continue to function effectively, the principle must be protected.

I shared with the Foundation Board members the 4 key roles of that board: establishing the foundation, developing a solid investment policy, developing a strong spending policy, and publicizing the Foundation in order to expand the size. I recommend that the Endowment Fund be regularly and widely publicized, with a goal for every member to remember the church in their will (increasing the number of $15,000 and more gifts) . A possibility is to begin by encouraging all leaders to remember the church in their estate planning - no gift is too small and I would trust the congregation to continue to be generous in this regard. You might then publish annually a “thank you” list of people (not amounts) who have remembered the church in their will. As members and constituents of First United Methodist Church see others (and especially leaders) include the church in their financial planning, others in the congregation will be encouraged to do so as well.

11. Hands-on ministries . I recommend a significant increase in hands-on ministry opportunities in the next 2 years. This is especially important and significant aspect of the ministry of a downtown church like First United Methodist Church. Possible hands-on ministries that are particularly attractive to young adults, youth and those who primary gifts are in doing as opposed to discussion include the following: food pantry; soup kitchen; tutoring students; home repair for those who need such help (older and/or limited income) ; and building a Habitat for Humanity House (with as a church or with other churches). First United Methodist Church needs many more of these opportunities so that people can use their gifts to serve in ministry as a vital part of their Christian discipleship. Pick a few to emphasize and as they are developed and expanded with appropriate leaders and active participants, then you can choose to start more hands-on ministry.

CLOSING THOUGHTS: It is a joy to share with you again in looking at your ministry for Jesus Christ. So what's in store for First United Methodist Church in the next 5 years? I believe great things with God! You are indeed a church on the move.

I anticipate that over the next 5 years that all members will be included in a redundant, consistent care system ; newcomers attracted by servant evangelism will be effectively assimilated and discipled in Jesus Christ ; participation will dramatically increase as will the ministries of the church that are all center on the mission; the number of small groups has risen dramatically and all leaders are in a small group and over 40% of the worshipping congregation is as well as the congregation is growing continuing to intentionally grow spiritually; worship services will be thriving and attracting young adults and youth; worship groups and opportunities have grown so each worship service has at least 2 participating musical groups each Sunday; stewardship will dramatically increase ; the young adult fellowship will have 60-80 new growing Christians that are also participating in Sunday School classes, small groups, and the various ministries of the church; the youth ministry has a middle high and a senior high group that each regularly have 40-60 participants with 6-8 adults leaders in each ; new leaders have emerged to develop new ministries; hands-on opportunities for ministry are expanding ; a new population group for intentional ministry has been identified and those vital ministries begun; the facility plan has been completed and a new expanded program, fellowship, and recreation area has been added ; the congregational culture is rapidly moving toward one of inviting; staff continues to expand to coordinate and support the growing ministries of the church; and you have decided that it is time plan for your future in an intentional way by having another consultation with Doug Anderson - again!

Is this indeed possible? Let me answer that with a story. There was a wise old man in a small village who was confronted one day by a young man. The young man approached the old man with his hands closed together and asked the old man this question to challenge his reputation of wisdom: “Old man, I have a bird in my hands. Tell me - is it alive or is it dead?” The old man immediately saw the trap. If he said the bird was dead, the young man would open his hands and let the bird fly away, proving his answer wrong. If he said the bird was alive, a slight, undetected movement by the young man would crush the bird's tiny throat and the young man would open his hands and let the bird fall dead at the old man's feet - again proving him in error and thus lacking wisdom. So after a thoughtful pause, the old man responded wisely, “You ask me if the bird in your hands is alive or dead. My answer is this - it is as you will, my son; as you will.” Will First United Methodist Church experience growth; clear vision and purpose as a downtown, regional church; and a renewed sense of unity and community? Will First United Methodist Church fulfill its mission, expressing God's love winsomely and widely to the Iowa City community through worship, care, service, outreach, and increased participation? Will the church grow in spirit, worshippers, disciples, servants, and members? I answer you this way: it is as you will, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ; it is as you will. My prayers are with you. God bless you all always.

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