Emmanuel United Methodist Church, Noblesville
CONSULTATION REPORT: October 23, 2011
Introduction
We, the consultation team, would like to thank Rev. Buck, staff, lay leadership and congregation of Emmanuel 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) Emmanuel UMC’s self-study document provided by its leaders, b) interviews with the pastor, staff and ministry team leaders, c) a focus group with members of the congregation, d) a meeting with the Church Council, e) a MissionInsite demographic report of the area’s population, f) Faith Perception (mystery worshipper) report, and g) input from Saturday’s leadership workshop.
Our prayer is that God will use this assessment experience and consultation report to facilitate Emmanuel United Methodist Church to more effectively make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the community and the world.
Emmanuel United Methodist Church is one of the Indiana Conference’s largest churches. It has a track record of consist growth, faithful outreach, and a growing influence in the Noblesville area through its preschool, Upward program, and other ministries.
Strengths
Emmanuel United Methodist Church’s greatest strengths are as follows:
1. BIBLICALLY-CENTERED PREACHING AND TEACHING.
Parishioners and the mystery guests stated Emmanuel UMC is a Bible-based church. Pastor Jeff Buck preaches with excellence with solid, biblical teaching.
2. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.
Emmanuel UMC is strategically located in one of the fastest growing communities in the United States. It is located on Cumberland Avenue that connects State Road 37 to Interstate 69, which is planned to become a four-lane street within five years. The five-mile area surrounding the church is expected to experience a 17.6 percent population growth from 95,600 to 112,500 by 2016.
3. LOCAL MISSION ACTIVITIES.
Emmanuel UMC exhibits excellence in local mission activities like Preschool, Faith Promise, Upward, A Night in Bethlehem, VBS, Popcorn Invitation, and shared copies of The Story with friends and neighbors, which provide opportunities for community non-members to visit Emmanuel’s facility and engage with parishioners.
4. LOVING SPIRIT.
Parishioners exhibit a Christ-centered loving spirit. People are “loved into” the church.
5. MINISTRY READINESS.
Parishioners exhibit a desire to be challenged to be more intentional disciple makers building onto the intentional investment of time and energy already made in ministry opportunities.
Concerns
Emmanuel United Methodist Church’s greatest areas of concern are as follows:
1. LACK OF CLEAR VISION, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, AND EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
The consulting team was unable to discover a clear mission or vision for the ministry of the church. We affirm with the Church Council and staff there is no intentional expectation or process to develop new leaders at all levels of the church. The church is staffed for maintenance rather than growth, even though 58% of its budget is allocated to staff. The senior pastor has too many direct staff reporting to him and attends to too many operational issues, which minimizes his effectiveness and limits his time to focus on his primary responsibilities—preaching, visioning, and leadership development.
There is a lot of confusion in the organizational environment that stems from lack of clarity in the decision-making and planning process, along with uncertainty about lines of authority and who is responsible for what.
2. WORSHIP EXPERIENCE.
The Faith Perception report indicated the music was good but not great. Critical mass (at least 50 percent of sanctuary seating capacity) is lacking at the 9:30am service resulting in low energy worship at a prime worshipping time.
3. UNINTENTIONAL OUTREACH AND DISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY.
The congregation lacks a comprehensive plan for intentional faith development and integration of people of all ages and at different points in their spiritual journey. This includes members of the church and members of the community who are not church members. For example, there is no intentional plan to follow-up and connect with the 40 percent of unchurched families participating in Upward. Unless one has a churched background or family connection in the congregation, joining with the faith community is unlikely.
4. INADEQUATE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO MAKE DISCIPLES.
The church struggles with having enough financial resources to fulfill the ministries of the church. There is inadequate discussion of giving as a spiritual discipline and percentage giving. This is reflected in inadequate funding for staffing needs and outreach.
Financial giving is a reflection of the congregation’s faith. The average Emmanuel UMC contributor gives $2,400, which indicates that the majority of the church is not tithing based on median household incomes of this area.
5. PHYSICAL FACILITIES THAT DO NOT REFLECT RADICAL HOSPITALITY.
· Inadequate exterior signage—church name, worship times, entrance, parking, sanctuary entrance.
· Functional obsolescence—the building is difficult to navigate for newcomers.
· Interior issues—uninviting parking lot entrance, non-relational sanctuary lobby due to limited space, inadequate space in nursery and toddler rooms on Sunday mornings.
Prescriptions
In order to address the above concerns, Emmanuel United Methodist Church 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 (purpose) statement.
The congregation will have a day of prayer and forgiveness to embrace God breaking open the hearts of the congregation for the local unchurched. 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 designates) in consultation with Pastor Jeff Buck, as soon as possible.
Also, the coach will conduct a Day of Visioning for the congregation, building on all the work done by the leadership and the Fruitful Congregation Team. The purpose of this day is to set clear God-sized goals as we discern how God wants to work through the congregation both individually and collectively to reach the growing number of unchurched people in the surrounding community. This day will occur on or before December 10. This visioning process will support and reinforce the church’s commitment to reach out by establishing a percentage of the mission field that Emmanuel United Methodist Church will target. Following the Day of Visioning, the pastor, in conjunction with the coach and the leadership of the church, will refine and expand the vision statement and God-sized goals. This statement will be presented to the congregation by March 13, 2012.
a) 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 March 13, 2012. Any ministries not focused on the mission and vision will be given a year to rectify or be dissolved.
b) The senior pastor and coach will meet with the Staff-Parish Relations Committee to 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. The senior pastor and coach will see that all the church’s paid and unpaid staff develop an intentional system to multiply new leaders and team members. This will be completed by September 1, 2012.
c) The senior pastor and the coach will see that the church holds an Accountability Leadership workshop for all staff and leaders for the purpose of exploring simplified organizational structures with recommendation to the Nominations and Leadership Development Team for the year 2013. This will be completed by May 1, 2012.
2. WORSHIP EXPERIENCES.
The senior pastor and coach will establish a worship planning design team. An outside worship consultant will assist this team in developing worship experiences to best reach the target audiences. This team will study the Faith Perceptions report and implement any necessary changes. This will be completed by June 1, 2012.
3. UNINTENTIONAL OUTREACH AND DISCPLESHIP PATHWAY
The Discipleship Team and the Director of Program Ministries, in consultation with the coach, will 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 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.
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, missions etc.) for entry onto the discipleship path. This new process will be adopted and implemented in the life of Emmanuel UMC at all ministry levels (children, youth and adults) by January 15, 2013.
4. INADEQUATE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO MAKE DISCIPLES.
The Finance Committee, in consultation with the coach, will put a plan together for a fall program to help the church practice extravagant generosity by July 1, 2012. It will use the New Consecration Model to help people understand the joy and privilege of giving our financial resources for the glorious work of God. This plan will conclude with a Consecration Sunday experience on or before October 20, 2012, when the congregation will be invited to indicate what they plan to give to God through Emmanuel UMC in 2013.
5. PHYSICAL FACILITIES THAT DO NOT REFLECT RADICAL HOSPITALITY.
The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will establish a task force to develop a plan to address the concerns by June 1, 2012. This group will refer to the Faith Perceptions report as one reference.
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 as it lives out its mission. May God give you courage and strength as you move forward.
- Mr. Ed Fenstermacher, Lead Consultant, Assoc. Director of Church Development IN Conference
- Rev. Dave Neckers, Coach, Assoc. Director of Church Development IN Conference
- Mr. Mark Eutsler, Assistant Consultant, President of Metro Ministries, Inc.
- Rev. Karen Powell, Team Member, Pastor, Marion God’s Grace UMC
Town Hall Meeting Dates: October 30, November 8, November 13, 2011
Church Conference Date: November 20, 2011
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