Richmond Central UMC

Introduction

We, the consultation team, would like to thank Rev. Phil Dorrell, the lay leadership and the congregation of the Richmond Central United Methodist Church for the invitation to consult with your church as part of the Fruitful Congregation Journey. The following observations and prescriptions are the result of this team studying the following information: a) Central United Methodist’s self-study document provided by its leaders, b) interviews with pastors, staff and lay leadership, c) a focus group with members of the congregation, d) a meeting with the administrative board, e) a Mission Insite demographic report of the area’s population, f) input from the Faith Perceptions Mystery Guest Worshipper report, and g) input from Saturday’s leadership workshop. Furthermore, it was a great joy to work with a congregation that openly cooperated with us and provided all the information we requested. Our prayer is that God will use this process to enhance the ministry of the Gospel in this part of the world.

Strengths

  1. Worship Experience: The traditional style Central UMC embraces, meets felt needs and is a source of identity to many in the congregation.
  2. Heart to Serve the Community:Central UMC is clearly a community focused congregation who is aware of the diversity and needs within the surrounding neighborhoods. This is demonstrated through CUMC Preschool, Boy’s & Girl’s Club, Siloam Clinic, Bread Basket, Interfaith Food Pantry, Community Soup Kitchen, AA, and many others.
  3. Well Maintained and Attractive Facilities: Central UMC has a storied history, in a prime location with more than adequate space for growing ministries and increased attendance. The building is and can be a real asset for reaching people for Jesus Christ.
  4. Resources:The people of this congregation are financially stable and giving. When a need arises within or outside the church, the congregation rises to the occasion to meet the need.
  5. A Desire to Revitalize Central UMC to be Effective for the Mission: A desire to listen to God, discover God’s vision for Central UMC, and to make a difference for Jesus is apparent among the congregation.

Concerns:

  1. Mission and Vision: The congregation is lacking a cohesive compelling vision for making disciples for Jesus Christ.
  1. Limited Accountability and Development for Staff and Lay Leadership:
  • The current staff structure (clergy and lay) and lay leadership structure is ineffective because it is not tied to a clear Vision for the church. There is little intentional expectation and limited goal setting. Additionally, there is no process to develop new leaders.
  • The administrative structure is ineffective and inefficient to facilitate the mission and vision of the church. The structure divides responsibility from authority and demands little if any accountability.
  1. There is No Intentional Discipleship Pathway: While there are many opportunities for biblical study and discipleship growth, it is the finding of the consult team that no one articulated a clear discipleship pathway at Central UMC.
  1. Radical Hospitality: Although the congregation of Central UMC is friendly to and with one another while on site, they are weak in practicing Jesus’ admonition regarding strangers;“I was a stranger you welcomed me, just as you did this to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
  1. Culturally Relevant Passionate Worship and Ministries: The consult team affirms the continuation of the present worship style,which meets the tastes of many of the Central UMC congregation. Experiments in alternative styles of worship experiences have taken place in the past. However they failed to reacha crucial segment of the Richmond Community that is not being reached with the present worship style.

In order to address the above concerns, Central UMC will do the following:

A Day of Prayer and Forgiveness:The congregation will have a day of prayer and forgiveness, during Sunday worship, to embrace God breaking open the hearts of the congregation for the local unchurched. Theservice will allow the membership to be fully prepared for God’s vision for the future. This will be led by someone designated by the Church Development Team in consultation with the coach and Pastor Phil Dorrell on or before January 15, 2012.

Implementation of Prescriptions:

  1. Mission and Vision: If this consultation report is accepted, Central UMC will adopt as the mission of the Church, “The making of new disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

The consultation team continually heard and affirms the desire of the clergy, staff and congregation to develop a clear vision (a roadmap) to fulfill the mission. Special attention should be given to intergenerational ministries as the church moves forward.
The coach and pastor will conduct a Day of Visioning Workshop to start the process of the pastor casting a new vision for Central UMC that will be confirmed by its leadership. The Workshop will be conducted by February 15, 2012.

The days between the Day of Prayer and the Day of Visioning will be utilized by the people of the congregation as days of prayer and fasting for the new vision for the congregation. The vision will be presented to the leadership of Central UMC for approval by April 1, 2012.

  1. Limited Accountability and Development for Staff and Lay Leadership:

Upon adopting the mission and new vision, every ministry in the congregation must demonstrate how it will accomplish the mission and new vision. To that end, the leaders will conduct a ministry audit. This audit must be completed by April 30, 2012. Any ministries not focused on the mission and vision will be given a year to rectify or be dissolved.

The purpose and role of the Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) is misunderstood and underutilized, which adds to the lack of accountability. To build an understanding of the function and responsibilities of the SPRC, a workshop will be conducted by Ann Handschu. The SPRC chairperson and coach will ensure this is completed by March 30, 2012.

The senior pastor in consultation with the coach and SPRC chair will convene a task force of 3-5 people. The task force will audit and realign the current staff positions for the sake of fulfilling the church’s mission and vision. This will include an assessment of the roles of the staff, the configuration of staff positions, and planning for future staff positions to be done by September 1, 2012. Staff members need to understand their positions could be modified, repositioned or terminated. Existing staff will be given first opportunity to reapply for any new positions that are created. Job descriptions will be created or rewritten to include goals for their ministry areas, aligned with the congregation’s mission.

The senior pastor and coach will see that all paid and unpaid church staff will develop an intentional system to multiply new leaders and team members, including benchmarks to assist in evaluating progress. This will be completed by September 30, 2012.

The coach will hold an Accountability Leadership workshop for all staff and leaders for the purpose of exploring simplified organizational structures. A task force of 3-5 leaders, with at least one person with human resource experience, will bring recommendationsto the Administrative Board by October 15, 2012 for approval.

  1. Create a Discipleship Pathway:

Churches that are vibrant fruitful and growing are intentional in faith development. Congregational leaders who practice intentional faith development carefully consider the full life cycle of members and look for ways the church forms faith at every stage.

The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will create a task force of 3-5 lay leaders and appropriate staff members. A discipleship pathway workshop will be presented to this team by a Church Development team member by February 1, 2012.

A clear discipleship path for moving people from where they are on their spiritual journey to becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ will be developed. The discipleship path will be designed for everyone, whether a non-believer or one who is maturing in their faith. This discipleship path will represent a lifelong process. The Team will discern a faith development plan within a Wesleyan model that encourages all persons:

  • to connect and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ;
  • to be transformed by studying the Bible and the principles of the Christian faith;
  • to connect with other believers for support and accountability; and
  • to be in service to others for the purpose of the mission.

This will be completed by April 30, 2012.

  1. Radical Hospitality:

The Sr. Pastorin conjunction with the coach will assign a ministry staff person to lead, recruit and train a Hospitality committeethat includes currentInreach committee members. The Hospitality committee will serve as a connector for guests attending services on Sunday as well as other special events. The recruitment and training will be completed by March 31, 2012. The Hospitality Committee will review the Mystery Worshiper Report to develop ideas on improving the process of meeting and greeting new guests. The committee will meet quarterly to evaluate their progress. This evaluation will include feedback from guests.

The Sr. Pastor, in conjunction with the coach will recruit a task force of 3-4 people to analyze interior and exterior signage, including visitor parking, from a guest’s perspective. Signage should make it easy for a guest to find restrooms, children’s area and sanctuary without assistance. Recommendation needs to occur on or before February 29, 2012, to ensure implementation prior to Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012.

  1. Culturally Relevant Passionate Worship and Ministry:

The consult team affirms the congregations desire to hire an Associate Pastor under the age of 35 to enhance the opportunity to reach young families. A pastor with leadership skills and gifts is paramount for the success of God’s vision for this targeted ministry. A search committee will be formed, in consultation with the Sr. Pastor and coach, by January 31, 2012, to do a nationwide search for a pastor with unique leadership skills. The target date for hiring this Associate Pastor will be July 1, 2012.

A member of the Church Development team will provide a person to facilitate a workshop to assist Central UMC in launching a successful worship service, after the hiring of the Associate Pastor.

Additionally, the Sr. Pastor in consultation with the coachand the new Associate Pastor, will appoint a New Worship task force of 7 people, including one person 26 to 35 in age, two people 19-25 in age and one person under the age of 18. The task force will be recruited within 6 weeks of the hiring of the new Associate Pastor. This task force will:

  • Visit five growing congregations to observe how their passionate worship helps them engage a target audience through worship.
  • Set a target date for launching an additional worship experience at Central United Methodist.
  • Evaluate the Richmond community to determine the best time for an additional worship experience.
  • Evaluate the Central UMC facilities to determine the best space for an additional worship experience.
  • Create a budget to support a successful launch and sustain this additional worship experience.

The New Worship task force will complete their work within 4 months of its appointment.

Conclusion

We, the consultation team, want to thank you for the opportunity to serve your congregation in this manner. Our prayers and hope for your congregation is that God will use this process to help implement your mission effectively, utilize your compelling vision through a developed plan and thereby make an eternal difference in the Richmond communityfor the Glory of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Steve Clouse, Lead Consultant

Ann Handschu, Consultant

Dave Neckers, Coach

Scott Green, Consultant

Town Hall Meeting Dates:

Monday, November 14, 2011 at 6:30p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Sunday, November 20, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Church Conference Date:

Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 2:30 p.m.

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