NEW SONG TOWN HALL
Wednesday October 17, 2018
Wednesday October 17, 2018
*The point was reiterated about the Vision being first, so far as sequencing and chronological steps, as reflected in the packet.
*Events/Things missed A question was asked about how things sometimes roll around on the calendar, or, some events roll off a calendar from year to year. Clarification was given as to why/how this happens. 2 events were identified as being particularly beneficial to the congregation:
- Women’s Christmas Event - Women’s New Year’s luncheon - Fall Women’s Retreat
*Financial Investments: clarifications were provided about how the amounts of our debt are evaluated and what the Finance Team is doing to allow for expansion, stewardship, pledges, grants, etc. Further communication about these topics was set to be covered in upcoming editions of the Quarterly Financial Newsletter due out later this month.
*How can we reach out to the community around us? More clarification about our Church’s steps in evangelism was provided, along with: - Clarity: vision will make sure that we are aligned and headed in the same direction together - Revising mission and vision: what can we count on to be uniquely “us”? - New ideas for worship, small group: the NLI report gives specific recommendations for considering everything from new small groups and campus-wide campaigns to even a new service - Community festivals and outdoor concerts and local park picnics – all of these continue our work towards reaching into the places where our community exists (not expecting them to only head our way here in the Church)
*How do we execute these? Mechanicsville Parade with Flatbed truck with band was suggested
Little League field/Soccer fields: possible Sports Worship ministries would take us to where many of our people are on Sunday! Go where the people are – continue to step outside the 4 walls of the Church.
*Plans to pave the parking lot? (Multiple questions received about the parking lot) Our initial bid of $47,000 went up to over $100,000 for gravel expansion into the woods after reviewed by the County. This has made this project’s timeline altered. To pave the entire lot would cost between $250,000 - $400,000. It was suggested that we pave more handicap spaces to have available for worship service times. Additional consideration was requested to add 15 spaces (approximately) to the back of the church area near the basketball courts.
*How do we get started with the new building? We are primarily circling around the campaign that calls for the “$1 to debt and $1 to build” philosophy. We will form smaller Focus Groups to help expand the interest in this direction; these will be church wide in nature. We also received a question about this process’ timeline: “what can be done in the meantime?” We discussed all the preparations, loan docs, contractor processes and County approvals – 2 years will FLY by! We were also asked small group studies that are congregation-wide; people loved the idea of gaining momentum together; the NLI Team has called on the Church to consider doing these types of preaching/teaching/small group studies on topics that range from stewardship to reaching our neighbors to change, etc.
*Women’s retreat in early 2019? Yes, it will be happening.
*What has been suggested about the service times and/or our Sunday morning services? One recommendation has been made to amend the 2
nd
service’s start time to 10:45am. This would better clear out the hallways and Commons, along with the parking lot and classrooms. It was suggested to use the Walnut Grove House more (during the week and on Sundays) and to make sure we balance the weight being applied to volunteers when altering service times.
*How to get everyone on board for change? This was noted to take time and a ton of intentional effort, particularly behind the subjects of prayer and Biblical teaching. We know heading into change that “some people won’t like anything we do, anyway” – so we need to be careful who we are listening to... it’s easy to get tripped up and only listen to loudest or most negative, but often the Holy Spirit isn’t in either of these categories.
We have to improve congregation-wide communication systems that inform, call for the reception & distribution of accurate information. We have committed to having ongoing Town Hall type sessions, along with annual business meetings (like the Charge Conference). We were asked if there was a particular forum that was available that would allow for Q&A’s on our website (no, however, there are Contact Pages at the bottom of each page and we can supply answers in a newsletter forum.) We also have many who engage on Facebook with public Q&A type formats. *Jill Mercier commented that the snapshot letter and other documentation from the Finance Team and other congregational teams is awesome – encouraged this to continue and expand!
*A note of encouragement was giving about the Town Halls and NLI process: Positive – well thought out/executed plans were incredibly helpful to the congregation Concern – a call to move up the “New Building” time line – seems SO long from now before we start.
*Director of Development – Rainmaker idea RB shared about an idea the Finance Team has been looking at in the form of a Director of Development; he shared this person’s primary role could be to research and apply for grants, as well as to run a Stewardship Campaign. These types of steps put us closer to the resources that are out there!
*Do we even have 2 years in this building before we can break ground – can’t we act sooner? - Certain tasks can go ahead and be completed ahead of time (not waiting until 2020 before commencing our timeline, in other words). - There are many preliminary steps that would need to be considered, including fiscal debt reduction and ongoing growth of what we CAN do (not everything has to wait – let’s get to it on the available next steps soon - agreed!) It was also offered to send in these types of suggestions in the meantime; don’t wait until it’s 2020 to get excited, to start getting creative.
*Small Groups Part of the communications plan to help receive/distribute information includes Discussion Groups, Focus Groups and other social activities, including Game Nights. Our books are open to all (always have been). Our meetings are open to all (always have been) with 1 exception, the SPRT and that is due to the sensitive nature of employment matters. We want everyone to get connected and participate!
- Would love to see small groups be more involved in helping to coordinate/plan and run certain
events; taking the pressure off of certain leaders, in this way, may allow for more forward progress in some of the other areas the new Vision will call for.
*What if I am concerned that the church will be spread too thin with too many new projects? Is there a way to focus across the board, and wouldn’t that potentially make us stronger with even better results?
A few things: Under a new Vision, we’d immediately be able to focus on alignment; pare down projects
- 4 Heart and Hands months - 1, single focus in our communications per month i.e. “Elementary School” – we would do all we could to help that school (paint, playground repair, provide breakfast, school supplies, etc.) - Other ideas would still be at work, as well (Backpacks and other projects/areas, but we would not be advertising them so heavily, particularly if they already have a team supporting the need) Mission foci may/will put us in the community more; people will ask, “What might happen if this church shut down tomorrow?” What would change if this were to take place? What are known for?
- Sparks awareness & sparks interest - Gives purposeful reasons to invite friends/family/coworkers/strangers/neighbors - Allows all parts of the congregation to be intentionally involved: young to old, new, etc.
*Resources from the District? Primarily, the resources listed would be coaches, consultants, etc. “Mission Possible” by Kay Kotan– Kay Kotan: is a consultant they have talked about having come to New Song or be available to our leadership to help meet less in committee-style gatherings... and serve more.
*Meetings? Too many! Larry Davies, Pete Moon will both be helping us sort through our process and meshing with the process from Kay Kotan mentioned above.
*Finances – Amy Talley We are continuing to monitor this situation; we would like to have as much of the current debt paid down as possible before proceeding into discussions with the Banks, the United Methodist Foundation, the Credit Union, etc.
*Do we have to do what NLI says in a very prescriptive, exact way? NS has 2 more years after our vote. There is a lot of play within the standards and expectations of the report between the church and the mentor; what is best “on the field” is normally how we will proceed. However, there are exceptions to this answer. We cannot change the entire spirit of the innovation and proceed without holding ourselves accountable. There is language in the report that is done with our best interest in mind: they have received over 10 years of data from our church (giving records, membership records, data concerning attendance and programming, publications (bulletins, newsletters, etc.)). So while there is a high level of reasonable, rational intent in the report, it’s not SO exact that you’ll be kicked out if something takes an extra month or two. It is a RECOMMENDATION, not a MANDATE!
We vote on Sunday, October 21, 2018, at 10am; our Called Church Conference will be run by the District Superintendent, the Rev. Dr. Pete Moon. All church members will be invited to vote! A 70% majority is required in order to provide the next step of launching into this process!
*Events/Things missed A question was asked about how things sometimes roll around on the calendar, or, some events roll off a calendar from year to year. Clarification was given as to why/how this happens. 2 events were identified as being particularly beneficial to the congregation:
- Women’s Christmas Event - Women’s New Year’s luncheon - Fall Women’s Retreat
*Financial Investments: clarifications were provided about how the amounts of our debt are evaluated and what the Finance Team is doing to allow for expansion, stewardship, pledges, grants, etc. Further communication about these topics was set to be covered in upcoming editions of the Quarterly Financial Newsletter due out later this month.
*How can we reach out to the community around us? More clarification about our Church’s steps in evangelism was provided, along with: - Clarity: vision will make sure that we are aligned and headed in the same direction together - Revising mission and vision: what can we count on to be uniquely “us”? - New ideas for worship, small group: the NLI report gives specific recommendations for considering everything from new small groups and campus-wide campaigns to even a new service - Community festivals and outdoor concerts and local park picnics – all of these continue our work towards reaching into the places where our community exists (not expecting them to only head our way here in the Church)
*How do we execute these? Mechanicsville Parade with Flatbed truck with band was suggested
Little League field/Soccer fields: possible Sports Worship ministries would take us to where many of our people are on Sunday! Go where the people are – continue to step outside the 4 walls of the Church.
*Plans to pave the parking lot? (Multiple questions received about the parking lot) Our initial bid of $47,000 went up to over $100,000 for gravel expansion into the woods after reviewed by the County. This has made this project’s timeline altered. To pave the entire lot would cost between $250,000 - $400,000. It was suggested that we pave more handicap spaces to have available for worship service times. Additional consideration was requested to add 15 spaces (approximately) to the back of the church area near the basketball courts.
*How do we get started with the new building? We are primarily circling around the campaign that calls for the “$1 to debt and $1 to build” philosophy. We will form smaller Focus Groups to help expand the interest in this direction; these will be church wide in nature. We also received a question about this process’ timeline: “what can be done in the meantime?” We discussed all the preparations, loan docs, contractor processes and County approvals – 2 years will FLY by! We were also asked small group studies that are congregation-wide; people loved the idea of gaining momentum together; the NLI Team has called on the Church to consider doing these types of preaching/teaching/small group studies on topics that range from stewardship to reaching our neighbors to change, etc.
*Women’s retreat in early 2019? Yes, it will be happening.
*What has been suggested about the service times and/or our Sunday morning services? One recommendation has been made to amend the 2
nd
service’s start time to 10:45am. This would better clear out the hallways and Commons, along with the parking lot and classrooms. It was suggested to use the Walnut Grove House more (during the week and on Sundays) and to make sure we balance the weight being applied to volunteers when altering service times.
*How to get everyone on board for change? This was noted to take time and a ton of intentional effort, particularly behind the subjects of prayer and Biblical teaching. We know heading into change that “some people won’t like anything we do, anyway” – so we need to be careful who we are listening to... it’s easy to get tripped up and only listen to loudest or most negative, but often the Holy Spirit isn’t in either of these categories.
We have to improve congregation-wide communication systems that inform, call for the reception & distribution of accurate information. We have committed to having ongoing Town Hall type sessions, along with annual business meetings (like the Charge Conference). We were asked if there was a particular forum that was available that would allow for Q&A’s on our website (no, however, there are Contact Pages at the bottom of each page and we can supply answers in a newsletter forum.) We also have many who engage on Facebook with public Q&A type formats. *Jill Mercier commented that the snapshot letter and other documentation from the Finance Team and other congregational teams is awesome – encouraged this to continue and expand!
*A note of encouragement was giving about the Town Halls and NLI process: Positive – well thought out/executed plans were incredibly helpful to the congregation Concern – a call to move up the “New Building” time line – seems SO long from now before we start.
*Director of Development – Rainmaker idea RB shared about an idea the Finance Team has been looking at in the form of a Director of Development; he shared this person’s primary role could be to research and apply for grants, as well as to run a Stewardship Campaign. These types of steps put us closer to the resources that are out there!
*Do we even have 2 years in this building before we can break ground – can’t we act sooner? - Certain tasks can go ahead and be completed ahead of time (not waiting until 2020 before commencing our timeline, in other words). - There are many preliminary steps that would need to be considered, including fiscal debt reduction and ongoing growth of what we CAN do (not everything has to wait – let’s get to it on the available next steps soon - agreed!) It was also offered to send in these types of suggestions in the meantime; don’t wait until it’s 2020 to get excited, to start getting creative.
*Small Groups Part of the communications plan to help receive/distribute information includes Discussion Groups, Focus Groups and other social activities, including Game Nights. Our books are open to all (always have been). Our meetings are open to all (always have been) with 1 exception, the SPRT and that is due to the sensitive nature of employment matters. We want everyone to get connected and participate!
- Would love to see small groups be more involved in helping to coordinate/plan and run certain
events; taking the pressure off of certain leaders, in this way, may allow for more forward progress in some of the other areas the new Vision will call for.
*What if I am concerned that the church will be spread too thin with too many new projects? Is there a way to focus across the board, and wouldn’t that potentially make us stronger with even better results?
A few things: Under a new Vision, we’d immediately be able to focus on alignment; pare down projects
- 4 Heart and Hands months - 1, single focus in our communications per month i.e. “Elementary School” – we would do all we could to help that school (paint, playground repair, provide breakfast, school supplies, etc.) - Other ideas would still be at work, as well (Backpacks and other projects/areas, but we would not be advertising them so heavily, particularly if they already have a team supporting the need) Mission foci may/will put us in the community more; people will ask, “What might happen if this church shut down tomorrow?” What would change if this were to take place? What are known for?
- Sparks awareness & sparks interest - Gives purposeful reasons to invite friends/family/coworkers/strangers/neighbors - Allows all parts of the congregation to be intentionally involved: young to old, new, etc.
*Resources from the District? Primarily, the resources listed would be coaches, consultants, etc. “Mission Possible” by Kay Kotan– Kay Kotan: is a consultant they have talked about having come to New Song or be available to our leadership to help meet less in committee-style gatherings... and serve more.
*Meetings? Too many! Larry Davies, Pete Moon will both be helping us sort through our process and meshing with the process from Kay Kotan mentioned above.
*Finances – Amy Talley We are continuing to monitor this situation; we would like to have as much of the current debt paid down as possible before proceeding into discussions with the Banks, the United Methodist Foundation, the Credit Union, etc.
*Do we have to do what NLI says in a very prescriptive, exact way? NS has 2 more years after our vote. There is a lot of play within the standards and expectations of the report between the church and the mentor; what is best “on the field” is normally how we will proceed. However, there are exceptions to this answer. We cannot change the entire spirit of the innovation and proceed without holding ourselves accountable. There is language in the report that is done with our best interest in mind: they have received over 10 years of data from our church (giving records, membership records, data concerning attendance and programming, publications (bulletins, newsletters, etc.)). So while there is a high level of reasonable, rational intent in the report, it’s not SO exact that you’ll be kicked out if something takes an extra month or two. It is a RECOMMENDATION, not a MANDATE!
We vote on Sunday, October 21, 2018, at 10am; our Called Church Conference will be run by the District Superintendent, the Rev. Dr. Pete Moon. All church members will be invited to vote! A 70% majority is required in order to provide the next step of launching into this process!