RenewalWorks Program Findings/Recommendations Based upon the outcome of Nativity s RenewalWorks Program Team s meetings during September, October & November 2014 Prepared & respectfully presented by: Christine Starnes, Virginia Caruso & Ches Chesney January 24, 2015 1
Objective Workshop Process Action Items Selected Key Findings Recommendations Appendix RenewalWorks Program Team members Survey data pack (emailed to you) 2
To provide a snapshot of our spiritual health (compared to other surveyed congregations) To evaluate the survey data and identify opportunities to more effectively support the individual spiritual growth of Nativity s members 3
Workshop 1 (Sept. 24) The Team started with a general orientation to the RenewalWorks process The key piece in that process is the Spiritual Growth Framework, details of which are found in the Footsteps document. See next slide for general concept 4
5
Workshop 2 (Oct. 29) The Team reviewed the survey data (including some parish demographics), discussed it extensively, and shared ideas about what it meant for Nativity s parishioners. 6
7
Workshop 3 (Nov. 5) We reviewed the Best Practice Principles of churches at the top 5% of the RenewalWorks database who were successful in their delivery of spiritual growth. They all share common ground in that all of them follow the same five principles. 8
9
Workshop 4 (Nov. 19) During the last workshop, the Team was challenged to discuss & plan out the top action items, defining what, who is responsible, when, resources needed and measurement of success. Through various exercises to stimulate conversation, your RenewalWorks Workshop Team developed three (3) action items they believed would be a good beginning to address some of the key needs expressed in the survey results. 10
Gather More Data ( Holy Conversations ) Discipleship conversations one-to-one as well as small group conversations Core team of 5-6 people & facilitator Bonnie has training in this area and will share what she knows to help others get trained Pilot after January 1 and run through Easter, then review data Resources needed core team of volunteers to be trained; facilitator; time Measure of success people feel heard & the data provides direction Who is responsible: Ches Chesney 11
Bible Program Chose The Story as the book for the whole church to engage with. Breaks the Bible down into 31 stories. Offer multi-format participation options: At home Blog about it & include a weekly reflection; include a study guide and have guest bloggers Room with a facilitator casual conversation; spontaneous small groups (keep it simple) Multi-generational: Work with it in all ages (WoRM, EYC, Club 56, adults, etc.) Use technology as needed When to run it in discussion likely start Fall 2015 Measure of success - participation in all formats and with all ages Who is responsible: Eleanor Loring 12
Discipleship 101 Series Offer church wide education series, like: Book of Common Prayer 101 Devotionals 101 Forms of Prayer 101 Forward Day by Day Bible 101 Short, 6-week or less, courses Offer at various times and have various folks or groups teach, based on interest & knowledge of topic Develop Spiritual Gifts Workshop that can be offered once or twice a year Who Spiritual Development Committee Resources SDC funds; time for research & development; volunteers When varies Measure of success needs to be determined Who is responsible: Wimberly Watts 13
Survey participant characteristics: 233 parishioners took the survey, which represents 58% of our average adult Sunday worship attendance 81% of our respondents were age 50+ 18% were age 30-49 1% were age 19-29 72% of the respondents have greater than 10 year church tenure, yet are mostly still in early stages of spiritual growth Nativity parishioners who participated are engaged in a broad variety of service, study groups and outreach and are not as focused on Sundays only 14
Explanation of exceptional survey response results The single largest gap between what individuals say they need from Nativity vs. how well they feel Nativity provides it, relative to the Episcopal comparative survey data: The survey indicated the most significant gap between need and satisfaction with the prioritization of individual spiritual growth over church membership. People responded that church membership has a higher priority than individual spiritual growth. Moderate gaps: Church leadership (clergy, vestry, lay) reinforces spiritual growth, is authentic about its struggles, maintains harmony, provides thought provoking worship, and helps individuals feel like they belong. 15
Explanation of exceptional survey response results A few with least gap: Church leadership helps individuals develop relationships with Jesus Christ, maintains scriptural engagement as part of every church experience, helps individuals develop accountability relationships, and empowers individuals to impact the lives of others. Workshop Team s conclusions: The actions we developed were as much as we could address, partly because authenticity, sharing, or leadership styles cannot be dictated. Our thought, however, is that the recommended action items will provide opportunities for those things to naturally occur through the process of spiritual growth as a result of the RenewalWorks initiatives. 16
Adopt the three action items, with any funding that might be necessary (i.e. materials for research or implementation) Endorse a RenewalWorks Forward Team to help with accountability, follow up, support the continued efforts of spiritual growth of our members and maintain the conversations for further development opportunities Appoint a Vestry liason for the RenewalWorks Forward Team Put all the data on Nativity s website (maybe a separate tab) to include survey results & background information from RenewalWorks to help with interpretation & understanding. Encourage parishioners to engage with that material. Endorse a couple of open forum sessions to allow RenewalWorks Program Team members & parishioners to have conversations about the process and ask questions about the survey & the process followed to get to the initial action items (after the results are shared with the whole parish) 17
Virginia Caruso Ches Chesney Brenda Chynoweth Lou Durnya Will Elliott Holly Ellis Elizabeth Foster Margaret Gleason Lee Hicklen Ron Hogan Mary Johnson Marilyn Lands Frederick Lanier Eleanor Loring Foster McDonald Scott Miller Peggy Serio Christine Starnes Lane Tutt Wimberly Watts Greg Whitehead Father Andy Anderson Father Rusty McCown Mother Bonnie McCrickard 18