First United Methodist Church, Winamac CONSULTATION REPORT September 16, 2012 INTRODUCTION We, the consultation team, would like to thank Pastor Matt Landry, Staff, lay leadership and congregation of First United Methodist Church for the invitation to consult with this Body of Christ. The following observations and prescriptions are the result of this team studying the following information: a) First UMC s self-study document provided by its leaders, b) Mystery Guest Worshipper s Report, c) interviews with Pastors, staff and ministry team leaders, d) a focus group with members of the congregation, e) a meeting with the Church council, f) a Mission Insite demographic report of the area s population, and g) input from Saturday s leadership workshop. Our prayer is that God will use this assessment experience and consultation report, to help First United Methodist Church to more effectively make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the community and the world. STRENGTHS First United Methodist Church s greatest strengths are as follows: 1. Welcoming and Caring Congregation This is a compassionate and caring church, with a strong social fabric. The sense of family connection is clearly evident. Members provide loving care for one another through acts of hospitality, service, prayer and fellowship. This is represented by the activities of the Family Council, the DVD ministry for shut-ins, and the Friendship Class, a spirited group of sixty-plus year relationships. 2. Exceptional Facility Utilization First UMC has a beautiful and well-maintained facility in downtown Winamac, IN. The addition of new electronic signage adds to its ease of recognition. Recent renovations have been well thought out, and have adapted the structure for greater utilization and accessibility. The building is open to numerous outside groups, including, but not limited to, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, AA, NA, Kiwanis, and YMCA. The weekend consultation team heard again and again, The building doesn t just sit empty from Sunday to Sunday. 3. Family Night Fellowship This Wednesday evening time of food, fellowship and faith development has become a mid-week anchor for the people of First UMC, as well as a connecting point for those outside the church body. Additionally, as no school activities are scheduled community-wide for Wednesday evening, this ministry has organically provided a catalyst for the revitalization of youth programing. 4. Pastor Matt and Candace Landry Beginning their third year of appointment at First UMC, Pastor Matt and Candace have become active in the Winamac Community. Pastor Matt is a caring shepherd, gifted speaker and stable leader. He is often referred to as wise beyond his years. Candace
has played an important role in the growing energy of the youth program. These two are capable of providing a much desired stability as leaders of this church. 5. Desire for Community Presence The members of First UMC desire to make an impact in Winamac. Their benevolent activities include; the collection and allocation of food through the food bank, the distribution of Christmas gifts to needy families, and providing Easter and Christmas services at the jail. By taking part in community events such as the 4H fair and parade, and through their Facebook presence, they are steadily increasing their awareness within the community. CONCERNS First United Methodist Church s greatest areas of concern are as follows: 1. Lack of Shared Vision While First UMC has adopted the mission of the United Methodist Church (To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of our community and the world) there is no clear, shared vision that defines how the church will accomplish this mission. Without a clear vision, the church is currently unable to effectively mobilize its resources (finances, paid and unpaid personnel, facilities, etc.) to accomplish its mission. This lack of clear vision often results in confusion and conflict. 2. No Discernible Discipleship Pathway There is no clear system to grow disciples of Jesus Christ at First UMC. While attempts have been made to connect newcomers, there are no steps and pathways to move people of all ages from seekers to fully devoted and authentic followers of Jesus Christ. There must be an established (and known) process of how a person: 1. begins and grows in a relationship with Jesus Christ and the church, 2. grows in their knowledge of the Christian faith, 3. becomes connected to other believers for support and accountability, and 4. becomes active in service to others for the purpose of sharing the gospel. 3. Limited Outward Focus There is little purposeful or intentional corporate outreach that identifies and responds to the physical and spiritual needs of people outside the church. While we celebrate the current benevolent activities of First UMC - i.e. mission trips, providing community meeting space, participation in the food bank, etc. - we found little evidence of those activities connecting people to the church. 4. Leadership Structure The current church leadership environment is ineffective because it is not tied to a clear vision for the church. There is little intentional expectation of leaders, no goal setting, and an unclear and inconsistent decision making process. The planning process and accountability systems are also unclear. 5. No Leadership Development There is no intentional system to develop the skills of current lay leaders. The church
relies on a limited subset of leaders who revolve from one area of responsibility to the next, without any structured effort to identify and develop new leaders. Without such a system the church will not be positioned for future growth. PRESCRIPTIONS In order to address the above concerns, First United Methodist Church must implement the following prescriptions: 1. CLEAR VISION The congregation understands when this consultation report is accepted, should that be the case, its mission, to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the community and the world, will be reaffirmed. The congregation will have a day of prayer, forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing seeking healing from the recent years of strife, reconciliation with their former Pastors and conference leadership, and forgiveness for not fully reaching the mission field. This will allow the membership to be fully prepared for the Lord s vision for the future. This will be led by Paula Gast, or someone she provides, by March 1, 2013. Additionally; a) The coach will conduct a Day of Visioning for the congregation. The purpose of this day is to dream of how God might want to work through the congregation both individually and collectively to reach the surrounding community. This will occur by November 18, 2012. Following the Day of Visioning, the Pastor, in conjunction with the coach and the leadership of the church, will create a vision statement. This statement will be presented to the congregation by March 1, 2013. b) The senior Pastor and coach will select a development tool, such as Creating a Culture of Teamwork workshop, based on Patrick Lencioni s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, to help raise the Lay Leadership s effectiveness in working together dealing with conflict in open healthy ways, and engendering trust, cooperation, and healthy communication. This will be completed by November 1, 2012. c) Every ministry in the congregation must demonstrate how it will accomplish the vision statement. To that end, the leaders will conduct a vision and ministry audit. Any ministries not focused on the vision will be given a year to adapt in order to fit the vision statement, or be dissolved. This audit must be completed by June 30, 2013. 2. DISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY The Pastor, in consultation with the coach, will put together a team of three lay leaders on or before January 15, 2013, to create a clear discipleship path for moving people from where they are on their spiritual journey to becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. The discipleship path will be designed for everyone, whether a nonbeliever or one who is maturing in their faith. This discipleship path will represent a lifelong process. The Team will discern a faith development plan within a Wesleyan model that encourages all persons:
to begin, and grow in a relationship with Jesus Christ, to grow in their knowledge of the Christian faith through Bible studying, to connect with other believers for support and accountability, and to be in service to others for the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ. Additionally, the Pastor in consultation with the coach will provide a training process to create the necessary opportunities (i.e. small groups, classes, Sunday school, mission trips, etc.) for entry onto the discipleship path. This new process will be adopted and implemented in the life of First UMC at all ministry levels (children, youth and adults) by August 1, 2013. 3. OUTWARD FOCUS By February 1, 2013, the Pastor in consultation with the coach will establish: a) Outward Focus Team, naming a person with strong leadership skills and a passion for outreach as its leader. This team will audit existing outreach efforts and determine what changes need to be made to the current programs to reach and minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the community. b) New Worship Service Task Force to explore the addition of a worship service relevant to a new target audience consistent with the vision and ministry focus. Church Development, or designee, will host the Successfully Starting a New Worship Service workshop before May 1, 2013. c) Communications Team who will establish a communication plan and develop the tools necessary to promote and communicate the events of the church (and other pertinent information) to those both inside and outside the church. Each team will present their proposed plans to the Church council for approval by October 31, 2013. 4. LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE The coach will conduct a workshop with the Pastor, staff parish relations committee, and other key leaders to introduce the Accountable Leadership Model before July 1, 2013. Model: Church Council role is governance Pastor role is leading Staff (paid and unpaid) role is managing Members role is ministering In light of this model, the Pastor and coach will ensure that key leaders (in keeping with their passions and gifts) maximize their effectiveness in ministry, in alignment
with the vision. First UMC will adopt by Church Conference, and implement the model by September 30, 2013. 5. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT In order to develop the next generation of leaders, the Pastor, in consultation with the coach, will identify at least five potential leaders who are confirmed, up to age 40 by January 1, 2013. They will be asked to commit to participating in the leadership development system. This system may include the following: Shared learning through guided study of books and teachings, Spiritual-gift and personality profile inventories, The regular practice of spiritual disciplines for example prayer, retreats, tithing, regular worship attendance, service and mission, The use of regular goal-setting and holding one another accountable to achievement of the goals, The practice of having apprentice leaders or co-chairs. This system will be adopted and instituted by the Church Council and staff by September 1, 2013. CONCLUSION We, the consulting team, want to thank you for the opportunity to serve your congregation through this Fruitful Congregation Journey assessment process. Our prayers and hope for your congregation is that God will use this process to help your church become more effective and fruitful. May God give you courage and strength as you move forward. Sharon Washington, Lead Consultant (Associate Director of Church Development IN Conference) Mark Eutsler, Coach Greg Graham, Consultant Dennis Ticen, Consultant Town Hall Meeting Dates Saturday, September 22, 2012 (9:00 AM) Sunday, September 30, 2012 (12:00 PM) Wednesday, October 3, 2012 (5:30 PM) Church Conference Date: Sunday, October 7, 2012 (11:45 AM)