Portland Asbury UMC

CONSULTATION REPORT

May 4, 2013

Introduction

We, the Fruitful Congregation Journey (FCJ) consultation team, would like to thank Rev. Tim Dilley, staff, lay leadership and congregation of Portland Asbury 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) Asbury’s self-study document provided by its leaders, b) Asbury’s members completing the FCJ survey, c) the report from the Mystery Guest Worshippers provided by Faith Perceptions, d) interviewswith the pastor, staff and ministry team leaders, e) a focus group with members of the congregation, f) a meeting with the Administrative Council, g) a MissionInsite demographic report of the area’s population, and h) input from Saturday’s leadership workshop.

Our prayer is that God will use this assessment experience and consultation report to help Portland Asbury to more effectively make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Strengths

Asbury’s greatest strengths are as follows:

  1. STRONG PASTORAL LEADERSHIP

Pastor Tim Dilley was consistently praised by the members of Asbury as one of the greatest strengths of this church. In the congregational survey, interviews, focus group and Saturday workshop, people voiced appreciation for his great biblical teaching, vulnerability, authenticity, humor and warmth in relating to people. Many people also commented on how he was changing the perception of the community toward the church by doing things like visiting area businesses after the flood to offer his support and care. In addition to Pastor Tim, this church is blessed with many exceptionally gifted leaders with skills and abilities to contribute to the expansion of the Kingdom of God in Portland.

  1. COMPASSIONATE LOCAL OUTREACH

Asbury has made a steady transition to more community outreach and compassion ministries in recent years. The Bread of Life Monday night meal serves approximately 100 people each week. The community Thanksgiving dinner has been ministering to hundreds of people for 22 years. Ten adults are serving as mentors to children through Kids Hope USA. People from Asbury also minister to the community as they work with the homeless shelter, the food bank, and the Pregnancy Care Center.

  1. CARING AND LOVING CONGREGATION

The consult team heard that one of the best things about this church is the caring and loving nature of the people.No matter how long someone has been coming to Asbury, the feeling is the same. When someone has a need, all it takes is a phone call and people help. Many people have developed enduring friendships that make Asbury feel like a family.

  1. STRONG DISCIPLESHIP FOUNDATION

A number of years ago, the congregation made a commitment to deepen its spiritual life.Since that time, about 80 people have participated in the Walk to Emmaus. The whole congregation went through the 40 Days of Purpose program. Several people have completed DISCIPLE Bible studies, and more of these studies are currently being offered. About 60 people every week attend five adult Sunday school classes. There are classes for every adult age group. Several men of the congregation are involved in and provide leadership to the Jay County Men of Promise, who pray for and evangelize the community in a number of ways.

  1. BUILDING AND PARKING SPACES

Asbury is blessed with a large, beautiful building that can accommodate growth and development of future ministries. There are many spaces that can be reconfigured for multiple uses. It also has a sufficient number of convenient parking spaces.The Trustee Committee and custodian are to be commended for their work ensuring that the building is clean and well-maintained.

Concerns

Asbury’s greatest areas of concern are as follows:

  1. NO CLEAR VISION OR DIRECTION

Asbury has adopted the mission to “know Christ and make Christ known.” However, the consult team did not sense that the mission is the driving force behind all of its many ministries. Furthermore, those interviewed could not articulate a clear concise vision for the future. Instead the consult team heard “we need a direction we can all work toward,” and “we need younger families with kids and youth.”This lack ofvision contributes to the disunity between the three worship services and robs the congregation of the ability to be what God is calling the church to be.

  1. INSUFFICIENT LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

The lack of a clear vision most directly impacts leadership development. The current lay leaders at Asbury are dedicated and faithful, but there is no intentional process to identify, train and mentor newcomers and younger generations for leadership. Furthermore, there is an informal operating system and policies for decision making and execution. (e.g. There is no Safe Sanctuaries policy to reduce the risk of abuse for children, youth, and vulnerable adults.)Staff job descriptions have only recently been reviewed, and additional alignment, goal setting and training are needed to assist in developing both staff and lay leaders. The lack of leadership development hinders servant recruitment and the creation of new ministries.

  1. LACK OF INTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY

Asbury has been intentional about offering multiple opportunities to deepen people’s spiritual lives.Yet, there is no clear discipleship pathway to transform people from new believers into mature disciples who are discipling others and transforming the world for the sake of the Gospel.

  1. OUTREACH WITH NO PLAN TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO JESUS AND THE CHURCH

As previously noted, Asbury is reaching out to the community in multiple ways. However, there is no strategic plan to connect those served to Jesus Christ and the church.

  1. BUILDING

Although the building has been well maintained with space for future growth, the consult team heard repeatedly “our facility is tired and dated.” The main concern is upon present repair cost, future upkeep, and utility expense. This leads to little or no brainstorming regarding how the facilities can be realigned and modernized to reach and minister to a twenty-first century culture.

Prescriptions

In order to address the above concerns, Asbury must implement the following prescriptions:

  1. DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT THE MISSION AND VISION
  1. The congregation will have a Sunday worship service of prayer and forgiveness to embrace God’s mandate for making disciples. In preparation for this service, the congregation will be encouraged to participate in a fast as determined by the pastor. 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 the pastor by June 15, 2013.
  1. Asbury’s mission,“to know Christ and make Christ known,” has been the guide for its purpose. It is understood that upon acceptance of this report the mission of the United Methodist Church,“to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,”will be adopted as the purpose of Asbury.

The consult team heard repeatedly from the sources listed above the desire to reach the demographic of children, youth, and younger adults. It is understood that upon acceptance of this report, the vision of Asbury will be, “We will be a church who reaches and disciples children, youth and young adults under the age of 40.”

  1. In order to determine what will bring the vision into fruition, the pastor, in consultation with the coach, will establish aDiscovery Task Team composed of the pastor and 4-6 people to formulate goals and objectives to reach this age group. At least half of this team will be adults in the congregation under the age of 40, with at least one person with marketing experience. The team will be formed by July 31, 2013.

This team will do due diligence to discover the goals and objectives to fulfill the vision by:

  • studying the Mystery Guest Worshippers report
  • studying the MissionInsite demographic report for the Portland community
  • evaluating the current ministries reaching and discipling children, youth and young adults
  • assessing the unique communication needs of the Praise Cafe congregation (e.g.

language, dress, presentation style, etc.)

  • aligning children’s staffing to support the ministries and three worship services
  • sending teams composed of church attendees into the community to:
  • prayerwalk
  • hold prayer vigils in the church for those who cannot prayerwalk
  • conduct windshield surveys
  • conduct community leader surveys
  • conduct surveys of those who represent the demographic in the vision to

discover their tastes and needs

Upon completion of the above, the Discovery Task Team, in conjunction with the coach, will:

  • convene a town hall meeting to hear and record the above results
  • formulate the goals and objectives to fulfill the mission and vision

This will be completed and submitted to the Ad Council for approval by October 1, 2013.Upon approval, the report will be presented to the congregation byOctober 31, 2013.

  1. CREATE AN INTENTIONAL PLAN TO DEVELOP, TRAIN, AND DEPLOY STAFF & LEADERS

The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will appoint a staff and leadership development team,by October31, 2013. This team will develop a comprehensive and intentional plan to develop and deploy staff and leaders for the mission and vision of the church. This plan, which will be implemented by May 31, 2014, will include the following:

  • Leadership development and training:
  • shared learning through guided study of leadership materials,
  • regular training and leadership opportunities for lay ministry leaders
  • participating in the Accountability Leadership workshop led by the coach beforeDecember 1, 2013
  • the practice of mentoring others through the use of apprentice leaders or co-chairs
  • Alignment with the vision (resulting from prescription one above):
  • Aligning all staff and ministry leaders with and for the mission and vision
  • Ministry audit for alignment with the mission/vision
  • Leadership and staff practices:
  • the regular practice of spiritual disciplines—for example, prayer, retreats, tithing,regular worship attendance, service, and mission
  • the use of goal-setting, as well as accountability for the goals
  • developing a leadership covenant
  • regular staff meetings
  • policies, procedures and values that guide how decisions are made (The coach will conduct a values workshop.)
  • job descriptions for all ministry leaders (The consult team applaudsthe Staff Parish Relations Committee for the process they are in to establish staff job descriptions.)
  • Schedule the Safe Sanctuaries: Reducing the Risk of Abuse for Children, Youth and Vulnerable Adults Seminar with Rev. Heather Olson-Bunnell by June 30, 2013. All persons working with children, youth and/or vulnerable adults, all paid staff, all Ad Council members, and representatives of all groups meeting in the church (volunteer or paying rent) will be required to attend. A church-wide policy will be written within two months of the seminar and presented to the Ad Council for approval by September 1, 2013.
  1. DEVELOP A DISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY

In order to help church leadership create a process so that persons of all levels of spiritual maturity will have the opportunity to connect, move, and grow along a discipleship pathway, the pastor, in consultation with the coach, will schedule and present a Discipleship Pathway workshop by April 15, 2014.

Following the workshop, the pastor, in consultation with the coach, will develop three task teams by May 15, 2014. Each task team will be made up of 3-5 persons represented by at least two members under the age of 40. They will represent the following areas: 1.) Invitational/Hospitality, 2.) Instructional/Spiritual Development, and 3.) Relational/Serving. Each of these task teams will evaluate current practices and offerings in each of their respective areas, consider possibilities and a time-table for the ministry areas they represent; and collectively, design a pathway that illustrates how a person continually moves on a life-long process of discipleship. This pathway will be designed for all ages with multiple entry points for new believers as well as disciples maturing in faith.

The discipleship path will align with the mission and vision and provide opportunities for all persons to:

  • connect and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ
  • be transformed through passionate worship, the study of biblical truths, and the principles of the Christian faith
  • connect with other believers for prayer, support, and accountability
  • be involved in service to others for the purpose of the mission

The work of these three task teams will be completed on or before September 15, 2014.

4. DEVELOP AN INTENTIONAL PLAN TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO JESUS AND THE CHURCH

The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will establish a task team byJanuary 1, 2014. This team will develop an outward-focused strategy for the church to reach and connect with the community. This task team will do the following:

  • take an inventory of all the points of contact that the church already has with its community, through both programs (such as Praise Café, Bread of Life, Strawberry Festival, Thanksgiving Dinner, etc.) and members’ relationships (neighbors, work/school and social acquaintances, etc.);
  • encourage members to intentionally learn the names of those identified above, and develop next-step actions to develop deeper relationships with them, such as offering to pray for them, inviting them into their homes for a meal and spending time with them;
  • develop bridge events to which these individuals can be invited into the life of the church;
  • conduct a communications audit to evaluate all existing communication methods, including the website, as well as other effective ways to communicate to the community.

This strategy will be presented to the AdCouncil for adoption and implementation by April 30, 2014.

5.FIVE-YEAR BUILDING USE PLAN

The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will establish a building study committee by October 1, 2013 through charge conference action according to the Book of Discipline ¶2543. The team will report to a charge conference with specific plans of implementation by May 1, 2014.

This team will be tasked with:

  • utilizing the Mystery Guest Worshippers Report
  • conducting an assessment of the entire building and grounds to align with the new vision
  • visiting 3-5 churches which have dynamic ministries in alignment with the new vision (e.g. Delphi UMC, Selma UMC, Sonrise UMC)
  • consulting with the Discovery Task Team

Move the 8:00 AM Sunday service to a larger space immediately as this service has filled the room.

Conclusion

We, the consult 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.

Ed Fenstermacher – Lead ConsultantHeather Olson-Bunnell – Consultant

Dave Neckers – CoachSheila Wilmitis – Consultant

Town Hall Meetings

Tuesday May 7, 2013 7:00 p.m. Asbury Fellowship Hall

Saturday May 11, 2013 10:00 a.m. Chapel

Wednesday May 15, 20132:00 p.m.Chapel

Church Conference

Sunday May 19, 201310:15 a.m.Sanctuary