First United Methodist Church of Attica
CONSULTATION REPORT
May 21, 2013
Introduction
We, the Fruitful Congregation Journey (FCJ) consultation team, would like to thank Pastor Janet Luchs, staff, lay leadership and congregation of Attica First UMC 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) Attica First’s self-study document provided by its leaders, b) Attica First’s members completing the FCJ survey, c) The report from the Mystery Guest Worshippers provided by Faith Perceptions, d) Interviews with the pastor, staff and ministry team leaders, e) a focus group with members of the congregation, f) a meeting with the Administrative Board, g) a Mission Insite demographic report of the area’s population, and h) input from the leadership workshop.
Our prayer is that God will use this assessment experience and consultation report to help Attica First UMC become more effective in the mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the community and the world.
Strengths
Attica First UMC’s greatest strengths are as follows:
1. MISSION MINISTRIES
Attica First UMC is involved in several ministries that impact people locally and beyond:
The Methodist Thrift Shop, the Food Pantry, and the Bi-County Pre-School are just three of the many activities aimed at helping the least, the last, and the lost. A number of people the consultation team spoke with indicated a heart for serving the community through missions and outreach. It is clear that this is one area that Attica First UMC takes very seriously.
2. FRIENDLY CONGREGATION
The mystery worshippers have indicated that Attica First UMC is truly a friendly church by so noting this in their evaluation of the pre-service greeting, friendliness, and in-service greeting time. One mystery worshipper noted that not only were the people friendly but, “the building is beautiful and appears well maintained, which makes it more welcoming.”
3. GENEROUS SPIRIT
Several persons testified to the fact that whenever a need is lifted up, people of the congregation respond quickly and selflessly by giving of their time, talents, and resources. Whether it is helping those within the congregation or those in the community, Attica First UMC is committed to helping those who may need the love of Jesus Christ through generosity.
Concerns
Attica First UMC’s greatest areas of concern are as follows:
1. LACK OF CLEAR, SHARED MISSION AND VISION
Although the congregation has many mission and outreach opportunities that they are known for in the community, the consultation team was unable to discover a clear, shared mission or vision for the ministry of the church. None of the leaders interviewed were able to recite a shared mission and vision. The lack of a mission and vision robs the congregation of a sense of purpose, hinders evaluation, goal setting, long range plans and the financial resources to fulfill the mission.
2. DECLINING ATTENDANCE
The highest worship attendance in the past thirty years was reached during 2001 and 2002 when the average reached 177 and 178 respectively. Since then, the worship attendance figures have dropped steadily until last year when the average worship attendance was only 58 . . . 120 less than just a decade ago. This represents a loss of 67% of the worshipping congregation in 2002.
3. UNINTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP AND FAITH DEVELOPMENT
The lack of intentional leadership development and faith development is, perhaps, best represented by the statement made by one of the participants interviewed: “We tried so hard to please everyone that we failed to please anyone.” There seems to be no clearly defined guidelines that help leadership to make the hard decisions. Throughout the New Testament there are indications as to how to deal with difficult situations with tact and love . . . and with firmness.
Prescriptions
In order to address the above concerns, Attica First UMC must implement the following prescriptions:
1. MISSION AND VISION
The congregation understands that the day this consultation report is accepted (should that be the case), this congregation will adopt, “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” as its mission statement.
The congregation will have a day of prayer and forgiveness, to embrace God’s mandate for making disciples. This will allow the membership to be fully prepared for the Lord’s vision for the future. This will be led by Catherine Turcotte or someone she provides, in consultation with Pastor Janet, by August 25, 2013.
Also, the coach will conduct a Vision workshop for the congregation. The purpose of this workshop is to dream of how God might want to work through the congregation both individually and collectively to reach the surrounding community. This workshop will occur on or before October 1, 2013. Following the Vision workshop, the pastor, in conjunction with the coach and the leadership of the church, will create a vision, which will guide the ministries of the church. This Vision will be presented to the congregation by November 15, 2013.
Upon adopting the new vision, every ministry in the congregation must demonstrate how it will accomplish the mission. To that end, the leaders will conduct a mission and ministry audit of all existing ministries. Any ministries not focused on the mission will be given a year to adapt in order to fit the mission statement or be dissolved. This audit must be completed by September 1, 2014. All new future ministries must demonstrate how they will be aligned to the mission and vision.
2. REBUILDING ATTENDANCE
The Pastor, in consultation with the coach, will create an Outreach Task Force of 4-5 people responsible for studying and evaluating the opportunities that exist for Attica First UMC to make new disciples for Jesus Christ. This task force will consist of at least one young adult (between 25-40). The Outreach Task Force will be created by October 15, 2013 and be responsible for:
· Studying the Mission Insite demographic report to determine who the best target audience is for Attica First United Methodist Church (who are those most likely to be attracted to the congregation).
· Creating one or more focus groups made up of people who belong to the target audience and do not attend the church in order to determine felt needs (this will give the church some ideas of programs, events, activities to offer that might attract persons in the target audience).
· Recommending three bridge events based on the findings of the focus group and the Mission Insite report that the church could hold that would reach the target audience.
· Evaluating the worship service to determine if the current worship opportunities are meeting the needs of the target audience.
· Explore the possibility of any additional worship services needed to reach the target audience.
A final report by the Task Force should be completed and presented to the church leadership by April 1, 2014.
3. INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP AND FAITH DEVELOPMENT
The Pastor, in consultation with the Coach, will assemble a team of three persons on or before November 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 non-believer or one who is maturing in his/her faith. This discipleship path will represent a lifelong process. The team will discern a faith development plan within a Wesleyan model that encourages all persons:
· to connect and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ
· to help them be transformed by studying the principles of the Christian faith
· to provide connection opportunities with other believers for support and accountability
· to become a leader to guide the church in mission and vision
· to be in service to others for the purpose of the mission
· to invite others to a relationship with Jesus and His church
· to further discern his/her call to discipleship and leadership
This plan and a training process for the plan will be adopted by the Ad Board and implemented in the life of Attica First UMC at all ministry levels by November 15, 2014.
The Pastor, in consultation with the Coach, will develop a leadership system that may include the following:
· Creating a Culture of Teamwork Workshop by January 15, 2014.
· Developing a leadership covenant in consultation with the Coach
· 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
· Accountable Leadership workshop by February 15, 2014.
This system will be adopted and instituted by the Ad Board and staff by May 1, 2014.
Conclusion
We, the consultation team, want to thank you for the opportunity to serve your congregation through this Fruitful Congregation Journey assessment process. Our prayers and hope for your congregation is that God will use this process to help your church become more effective and fruitful. May God give you courage and strength as you move forward.
- Tony Johnson, Lead Consultant
- Sharon Washington, Consultant
- Steve Clouse, Coach
-Dean Fager, Consultant
-David Harrold, Consultant
Town Hall Meeting Dates
Sunday, July 21, 2013 at 8:30 am
Sunday July 28, 2013 at 8:30 am
Church Conference Date:
TBA
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