Knightstown United Methodist Church

Knightstown United Methodist Church

CONSULTATION REPORT

April 14, 2013

Introduction

We, the Fruitful Congregation Journey (FCJ) consultation team, would like to thank Rev. Curt Hunt, staff, lay leadership and congregation of Knightstown United Methodist Church for the invitation to consult with this body of Christ.The observations and prescriptions are the result of this team studying the following information:a) Knightstown UMC’s self-study document provided by its leaders, b) Knightstown UMC’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 Knightstown UMC effectively make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the community and the world.

Strengths

Knightstown UMC’s greatest strengths are as follows:

1. A WARM, SUPPORTIVE FAMILY

When asked,“what is the best thing about Knightstown UMC,” most simply said “the people.” The people of Knightstown UMC are viewed as “compassionate,” “friends,” “kind,” and “family.” There is a strong sense of belonging and closeness among those who are members and regular attendees. They genuinely love to be with each other and miss those who are not worshipping with them. There are many things that contribute to this understanding:

• visiting together on Sunday mornings,
• the strong sense of support received during times of crisis,
• a strong spirit of hospitality,
• one word: food,
• the spirit of working together on various projects (such as the annual clothing giveaway and the Knightstown Community Food Pantry).

Knightstown UMC has been through good times and bad, but the one constant has been this sense of sticking together as family. In a world hungry for authentic relationships, many find such a value very attractive and needed.

2. ENERGETIC PASTORAL LEADERSHIP

A new sense of hope and excitement has come to Knightstown UMC with the arrival of the current pastoral family, Curt and Cheryl Hunt. Rev. Hunt’s leadership style is exactly what Knightstown UMC needs. His background and gifts will be important assets for his leadership as Knightstown UMC carries out God’s mission. Rev. Hunt is described as “a breath of fresh air,” “easy to work with,” and “involved.” Cheryl functions as a strong support and encouragement for Curt, as well as being fully involved in the life of the church through the choir, bible study, and her radical hospitality. The congregation is blessed to have the leadership of the Hunts.

1. GROWING YOUTH MINISTRY

One of the joys of Knightstown UMC is the youth ministry. Under able leadership, the youth have reached out to the community and the world through such ministries as yearly mission trips, ministry to a nursing home, and ayouth lock-in.This ministry is developing adult and youth leadership for the Mission of God and also serves as an entry for new friends and families. The presence of youth in worship, serves as excitement and energy to the rest of the congregation.

4.STRONG MUSIC MINISTRY

Knightstown UMC has been blessed by a faithful, competent, and long-standing music ministry.Many people expressed their deep appreciation for the quality of music.Both traditional and contemporary music resonates with many in the congregation. For a church of this size, the level and quality of participation in the choir is high. The Mystery Guest Worshippers rated the music higher than other churches of a comparable size.

5.STRONG ADULT AND TEEN SUNDAY SCHOOL PROGRAM

Knightstown UMC enjoys a vital adult and teen Sunday school ministry. In fact, with four ongoing Sunday adult classes, and two youth classes, over half of those who attend worship participate in the Sunday school program. This indicates people who are taking a step to deepen their faith, developing relationships with others, and growing as disciples.

Concerns

Knightstown UMC’s greatest areas of concern are as follows:

1. LACK OF UNIFYINGVISION AND MISSION

Though there are many passionate visionary people at Knightstown UMC, the consultation team was unable to discover a clear unifying mission and vision.None of those interviewed were able to express a clear and compelling vision for thefuture of Knightstown UMC, and some even said, “We just don’t know where we are going.”The lack of vision robs the congregation of a sense of purpose. It also hinders evaluation, goal-setting, long-range planning, and the wise stewardship of financial resources and assets.

1. LACK OF A CLEAR DISCIPLESHIP PATH

While the people of Knightstown UMC desire to grow in discipleship, many of those interviewed throughout the weekend spoke of their concern regarding the lack of intentionality, planning, and follow through of the discipleship ministries.KnightstownUMC does not have a straight-forward and strategic process to help people through the stages of spiritual growth.No clear path exists to help newcomers developinto disciples of Jesus Christ who reproduce new disciples.

1. INSUFFICIENT LEADERSHIP AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT

There are great leaders at Knightstown UMC. While there seems to be an informal mentoring process, the leaders whom we interviewed, and also the Friday night focus group, expressed the lack of a clear and effective formal leadership development process.They could not identify an intentional plan to recruit, train, and empower additional leaders within the church toproduce fruitful ministry.The lack of such plan creates difficulty in helping newcomers become involved,and new leaders from fully gaining theauthority and training to fulfill their area of responsibility; thus, leaving involved members feeling as though they are left to do the work.

1. LACK OF PERSONAL FAITH SHARING IN COMMUNITY

Knightstown UMC is known as a church whose members are involved in serving its community, but this involvement is not intentionally leading others into a relationship with Jesus Christ and/or connecting others to the church.While the congregation is actively serving in community service agencies, the consultation team found lack of the church participants intentionally connecting or sharing their faith withothers through their outreach ministries such as the clothing giveaway or the Knightstown Community Food Pantry ministry.

1. FACILITIES TO SUPPORT FUTURE MINISTRIES

While the historic facilities have been well maintained and additional property has been acquired, the consultation team heard concernssurrounding how to best use its propertiesto better fulfill its current and potential ministries.Furthermore, concerns were expressedregarding the lack of handicap accessibility. Mystery Guest Worshippers, along with church attendees, indicated a lack of signage and parking. The lack of a clear entranceto the church’s building isalso problematic.

Prescriptions

In order to address the above concerns, Knightstown 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 Paula Gast or someone she provides, in consultation with Pastor Curt, bySeptember 30, 2013.

Also, the coach will conduct a Visioning 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 day will occur on or before October 31,2013.Following the Visioning Workshop, the pastor, in consultation 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 Ad. Council for discussion and adoption by January 31, 2014.

Upon adopting the new vision, every ministry in the congregation must demonstrate how it will accomplish the mission and vision. To that end, the leaders will conduct a ministry audit of all existing ministries. Ministries will be evaluated by their effectiveness to fulfill the church’s mission and vision.Any ministries that are not effective will be given up to one year to rectify.Any ministries that are not faithful to the mission and vision will be dissolved. All continuing ministries will set goals and objectives in alignment with the mission and vision.Thisaudit must be completed by May 31, 2014.

1. DISCIPLESHIP PATH

a)The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will establish a task force to create a clear discipleship path to move people toward becoming fully-devoted followers of Jesus Christ.The discipleship path will be a lifelong process designed for everyone, including new believers as well as disciples maturing intheir faith.The discipleship path will align with the mission and vision and encourage all persons to:

• connect and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ through the practice of spiritual disciplines,
• connect with other believers for prayer, support, and accountability, and
• be in service to others for the purpose of the mission to make disciples totransform the world.

Additionally, the pastor, in consultation with the coach, will provide a Discipleship Pathway workshop by April 30, 2014,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 cultivated into the life of KnightstownUMC at all ministry levels (children, youth and adults) by July 31, 2014.

b)The pastor, beginning in December 31, 2013, will lead an annual service of membership renewal where members will rededicate their commitment to Christ and His church.

c)The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will establish a task force to create an intentional system for welcoming and including newcomers by August 31, 2013.

1. LEADERSHIP AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT

a)The pastor and Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC), in consultation with the coach, will ensure that paid and unpaid leaders are appropriately aligned to support the vision given their passions and gifts.The SPRC will develop job descriptions that are aligned with the vision.The pastor and staff will practice ongoing goal setting that includes accountability.Knightstown UMC will implement this by July 31, 2014.

b)By September 30, 2013, the Ad. Council will develop a leadership covenant that each council member will be expected to sign and practice.It may include regular worship attendance, tithing, participation in the discipleship pathway, and prayer.

c)The Lay Leadership Committee and pastor, in consultation with the coach, will develop an intentional system to multiply and develop leaders and teams. Each Ad. Council member, by September 30, 2014, will develop an apprentice or co-chair using this intentional system. This system will include the following:

• Shared learning through guided study of books and teachings
• Recruitment based on gifts, talents, strengths, skills, and interests
• Growth in leadership skills through study and practice of spiritual disciplines

d)Furthermore, the Lay Leadership Committee (Nominations) will ensure the rotation of leadership by establishing a maximum of 3-year terms of service. Exceptions must be approved by the pastor in consultation with the Ad. Council.

1. INTENTIONAL CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY

The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will establish a task force by September 30, 2013. This team of 5-7 people will develop an outward-focused strategy for the church to reach and connect with the community.

This task force will do the following:

• assess the community assets and needs and potential connection points utilizing tools such as Community Leadership Interviews, Windshield Tour, Prayer Walking (guides available on the Conference website and the MissionInsite demographic tool;
• take an inventory of all the points of contact that the church already has with its community, through both programs (such as clothing giveaway, Food Pantry, VBS, 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, 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 target audience.

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

Furthermore, the Ad. Council will consider the church starting a Christian preschool by May 31, 2013.

1. FACILITY AUDIT

The pastor, in consultation with the coach, will establish a facilities team of not more than nine people by May 31, 2013, with a diverse representation.This team will study the current usage of the facilities in light of its new vision, as well as envision its future space needs.

By December 31, 2013, this facility team will visit at least five other congregations of equal or greater size, to learn how those congregations use facilities to increase ministry effectiveness. The facility team will also meet with eachKnightstown UMC ministry leader to determine current and future facility needs.

Following the establishment of a clear mission and vision, the facilities team will review all location possibilities such as the west property, expanding and/or remodeling the current building, buying surrounding or other properties.It will also include issues such as handicap accessibility, signage, parking, and worship seating capacity.

The facilities team will present the study to the Ad. Council on or before April 30, 2014.

Immediate actions to be taken by this team consist of the removal of the “Future Home of Knightstown UMC” located at the west property, and implementing appropriate signage inside and outside the current building.

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.

Ed Fenstermacher, Kirk Freeman, Jen Hudson, David Mullens

Town Hall Meeting Dates:

April 17 at 6 pm

April 21 at 11:45 am

April 25 at 7 pm

Church Conference Date:

April 29 at 7 pm

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