Findings in more detail -- Part 3

For those of you still with us here we continue on with additional Findings from our CAT.

From BridgeDesign for Sylvania UCC:

Finding #7

With the exception of the Spiritual Vitality Index, Sylvania UCC scores "high" or "very high" in every performance index of our instruments including hospitality, governance, conflict management, engagement in education, readiness for ministry, and worship. In the area of education, Sylvania UCC set a new high in our database.

Finding #8

Worship attendance at Sylvania UCC has declined slightly over recent years. Church records indicate that the current average Sunday attendance is 217 persons compared to 246 persons three years earlier.

Finding #9

Financially, Sylvania UCC has an average level of giving as a percentage of household income. This is consistent for a church with a low-average level of spiritual vitality. With an average household income of $93,000 and a level of giving around 1.8%, the church could potentially expand its annual revenue by $300,000 given the right motivation and emphasis. However, the church is challenged by the fact that members give a relatively low priority to spiritual generosity (8th).

Finding #10

In looking to the future, members of Sylvania UCC give the typically high priorities to reaching new people and healing those broken by life circumstances. What makes the congregation distinctive are unusually high priorities given to

• Expand outreach ministries that provide direct services to those living on the margins of society.
• Work as an advocate for social and institutional change.
• Strengthen the management and support of persons in various ministries.

Questions, thoughts, input? Please leave your comments in the box below. Also plan to attend the forum on January 22 from 2 to 4p and we'll share our ideas.

-- Bonnie

Findings in more detail, Part 2

Sunday's post listed our CAT Findings #1 - 3 (out of 20 total) and we'll continue the series today with Findings #4 - 6.

From BridgeDesign for Sylvania UCC, FINDINGS:

Finding #4

On the whole, Sylvania UCC is theologically progressive. However, it is important to also recognize that there is a relatively high level of theological diversity among members of the congregation. Approximately one in six respondents (16%) clearly agrees that the Bible is the literal Word of God without error of any kind. About a third (56%) clearly disagrees with the same statement. The unusual capacity of a church to live with this level of diversity is almost always a reflection of a pastor who has helped negotiate these differences.

Finding #5

Sylvania UCC is very flexible in its approach to change. This flexibility appears to be moderate in the area of worship, but high or very high regarding efforts to address the needs of those in the community and those within the church, and the willingness to deviate from an established way of doing things. Overall, Sylvania UCC appears to be more adaptable than 83% of the churches in the database.

Finding #6

The combination of a more progressive theological perspective combined with a flexible approach to change reflects an organizational culture that is typically well-educated, articulate, analytic, curious and open. Persons in this culture tend to approach problems from a systems perspective and the need to develop safeguards for those with minority status or who lack the power to protect themselves. They also tend to be permission-based, inviting members to take initiative in a variety of areas with relatively modest support from or accountability to the formal structure of the church. The shadow side of this organizational culture is that it may perceive the development of a specific collective vision as closing down dialogue and, therefore, fail to capitalize on opportunities that require a coordinated, system-wide response. While rationally robust, this organizational culture may tend to intellectualize issues and may struggle to deal with the emotional and relational side of life in a direct and healthy manner.


So, good stuff to mull over! Consider the above Findings, along with the others, and engage fellow church members in conversation. Remember our forum on Sunday, January 22, 2 to 4 pm, where we will further discuss the survey results.

-- Bonnie

Findings in more detail -- Part 1

Our last post, pre-holiday, outlined a short "Executive Summary" of the Findings from the Church Assessment Tool. The longer version contains 20 such Findings in a 5-page report. This report - titled BridgeDesign Findings - is available in the church office, but to save you a trip and time we will reproduce the list here by posting a few Findings several times a week.

And we're not done yet! In addition to the Findings, key points from the 39-page report Vital Signs will be discussed at the forum on Sunday, January 22 from 2 to 4 pm in Wright Hall. The full report is available in the office for those interested in reading it.

So, without further ado -- From Holy Cow! Consulting: BridgeDesign for Sylvania UCC, FINDINGS

Finding #1

Sylvania UCC is a vital church with unusually high levels of energy and satisfaction. The overall morale score for Sylvania UCC is higher than 90% of the churches in our database. This places the church in the transformational zone and suggests long-term strategies focused on growth, replication, extension, and external impact. Like other transformational churches it runs the risk of idealizing its recent past and failing to capitalize upon its opportunities.

Finding #2

Members at Sylvania UCC tend to feel best about the church overall when they believe that

• Persons who serve as leaders in the church are representative of the membership.
• The worship services at the church are exceptional in both quality and spiritual content.
• Being part of the church community has given new meaning to their lives.
• The church provides high quality education that is appropriate to every age and stage of life.
• The church prepares for ministry by helping them discern their gifts.

Conversely, they tend to feel less positively about the church overall when they believe that leaders do not represent them, when they have concerns about the worship experience, when they feel that being part of the church is failing to give meaning to their lives, when the educational ministry is not sufficiently comprehensive, and when the church is failing to help members discern their gifts as preparation for ministry.

Finding #3

Members of Sylvania UCC bear witness to significantly higher levels of involvement beyond worship than most mainline churches and they find that activity very meaningful. High levels of involvement beyond worship in meaningful activities can have a buffering effect during times of stress and is an asset to the church in its succession process.

That's it for now, we'll take this in small bits -- watch for Findings #4 - 6 in Wednesday's post.

We welcome your questions and comments in the box below or in person!

-- Bonnie

Findings Report

Forty-five members of the Ministry Team, program staff, Cabinet and the Vision, Transition and Search Teams attended the Findings and Recommendations Retreat December 16 and 17. Russell Crabtree of Holy Cow! Consulting presented the reports from the Pulse survey (taken by the staff) and the CAT (responded to by 221 members).

Good news! Overall, very positive results came out of the CAT, a summary of which is posted below. The full report is located in the church office and is available for review. Have at it!

Findings Report*

The Church Assessment Tool (CAT) was recently administered in our church. 273 households were sent an authentication letter inviting them to participate and 424 persons were identified in those families as being eligible to take the survey. Of these, 221 persons responded. A response from every member is not required to provide valid results. Holy Cow! Consulting recommends a response goal of 80% of the average weekly service attendance. Our average weekly attendance for the first eleven months of 2011 was 217 people. (0.8)(217) = 174. At 221 responses, we far exceeded the suggested 174 responses.

A summary of the report is provided below. For a complete readout, please review the Vital Signs report located in the church office.

Overall, approximately 72% of our members are clearly satisfied with things in the church. In combination with other questions, this suggests that the morale in our church is very high. Morale is important in a church because it is one of the best predictors of overall health and numeric growth. The indication that our morale is very high suggests that members are highly energized about the ministry of the church.

Members tend to feel positive about their church overall when they also feel that
• persons who serve as leaders in our church are representative of the membership.
• the worship services are exceptional in both quality and spiritual content.
• being part of the church community has given new meaning to their lives.
• the church provides high quality education that is appropriate to every age and stage of life.
• the church prepares our members for ministry by helping them discern their gifts.

The conflict management score for our church is high. Approximately 2% of members are clearly disturbed by the level of conflict. The church has become relatively skilled at dealing with potentially divisive issues that arise from time to time.

Our responses indicate that theologically the church tends to be progressive in its perspective. On the flexible style index, our church appears to be adaptable. This suggests that in the life of our church we may be comfortable making frequent adjustments to the way we do things.

As members look to the future, their top four goals are:
• Make necessary changes to attract families with children and youth to our church.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to reach new people.
• Develop ministries that work toward healing those broken by life circumstances.
• Expand outreach ministries that provide direct services to those living on the margins of society.

The urgency that members indicate in addressing the above goals is low. This suggests that while members have a clear sense of priorities for the future, there is not a high level of concern that the church must act quickly.

In comparison to other churches, two goals that are unusually strong for our church are:
• Work as an advocate for social and institutional change.
• Make necessary changes to attract families with children and youth to our church.

These may warrant attention from the leadership even if they are mid-level priorities.

All the information in this report should be explored and validated in further conversation. Survey data is not the end of a conversation but the beginning.

* Report submitted by Holy Cow! Consulting and presented at the retreat by Russell Crabtree of HCC; edited by Bonnie Loeser

Questions or comments? Ask or talk to any member of the Vision, Search or Transition Teams. Check out the blog tab above for members of these committees.

- Bonnie

Meet the Search Committee

The Search Committee has eleven members representing many facets of the congregation. Here is some information that they wanted to share:

Jeanne Brockmyer is the Chair of the committee. She is a longterm SUCC member, currently involved in the choirs, Health Ministries, and the Personnel Committee. She is passionate about the welfare of children and is involved in research on violent video games. She is retired from UT but still works with several graduate students in clinical psychology.

Anne Reed will be handling the committee’s minutes and blog postings. She describes herself as a “recent” member. Anne keeps busy teaching Sunday School, singing in the Treble choir, and serving on the Board of Christian Education, among other church activities. She was “Mary” for VBS and is directing the Christmas pageant. Anne also keeps busy with her family including her three girls ages two, four, and nine.

Al Compaan is a longterm member (23 years). Among other activities, he is involved in the choir, Stewardship, the Green Team, and the Science and Theology series. He served on the very successful Associate Pastor search committee. Al is passionate about renewable energy and lives in a solar home. He drives an electric truck that he and his family converted in 1999. Al has been married 42 years and has four grown children and four grandchildren. He is retired from UT and helped start Xunlight 26 Solar.

Dave Walker has been a member at SUCC since 1965. His past activities include service as a trustee, deacon, Stewardship Board Chairman, Fellowship Committee, Sunday School teacher, and the Action Auction. Currently he is involved in children’s worship, serves as a confirmand mentor and is a member of the Church Growth Committee. Among his passions are Grace Community Center and the Sylvania Academic Excellence Foundation (he is president of both), and his work as a Chartered Financial consultant.

Rini Ng is a relatively recent addition to the SUCC family. Her activities include the Church Growth Committee, music ministry, Hospitality Committee, and Holy Chow. Her current passions include running in half-marathons and marathons, playing the cello, crocheting, spending time with her husband, daughter and two sons, teaching 6th grade, and raising awareness about extreme poverty through Beads for Life.

Amber Ulrich is a longterm SUCC member. She is a senior at Northview High School and is involved in the Youth Group at SUCC. Amber plays soccer and will be attending Bowling Green State University next fall. She will be a business major and plans a career in Human Resources.

James (Jim) Overmyer is a relatively recent addition to SUCC. He is a member of the Board of Christian Outreach and the Open and Affirming Committee. Jim also helps the Personal Needs Ministry by doing Food Bank shopping. Jim is a retired public school elementary teacher. He enjoys reading, nature study, yard work, art museums and classical music.

Barbara Eikost is also a relatively recent SUCC member. She serves on the Nominating Committee, and participates in adult Sunday School. She was also a member of the amazingly successful Associate Pastor Search Committee. Barbara grew up in south Toledo attending Park Church, has two sons and two grandsons. She is passionate about Hospice of Northwest Ohio, public education, current events and political issues. Her additional volunteer involvement includes working with a 5^th grader at Martin Luther King Academy for Boys and participating in Bridges out of Poverty.

Bob Forcht is a longterm SUCC member. He serves on the Stewardship Committee, is an usher team member, and a board member of Grace Community Center. Bob has four children. He was born and raised in Butler, PA. He follows all Pittsburgh teams. Bob is the District Manager for First Merit Bank.

Warren Henry has been a member at SUCC since 1972. He has served on many Boards and Committees including Trustees, Diaconate, Endowment, and Pastoral Relations. He currently serves on the Nominating and Endowment Committees, and is a member of the Open and Affirming study group. Warren was the church Moderator when our congregation extended a call to Bill Chidester. Warren’s family includes wife Leann, three children, and four grandchildren. Warren is retired from Finkbeiner, Pettis & Strout, and now is responsible for transportation planning in NW Ohio and southern Monroe County.

Scott Russell is a relatively new member to the church, joining in the spring of 2007 with his then fiancé, now wife, Kate, who is part of the Growth & Membership Committee. He has served on the Fellowship Committee, been involved with Habitat for Humanity, and is excited to be part of the Search Committee. Most of his free time is spent with his 16 month old daughter, Lorelai, his wife, their two dogs, and soon their second child that is expected any day now!

- Jeanne

We Are Here: Something to check out on Sunday

We are here: the transition process fully mapped out

A big thanks to Cheryl Crandell for putting together this wall graphic of the transition process. Check it out!

It shows where we are in the process divided up by each team: transition, vision, and search teams.

This graphic is on the left wall when you walk in the parking lot doors.

The graphic is based on Russel Crabtree's method for the transition process. Each step in the process is explained. There are arrows showing where we are in each step. If you have any questions from this graphic, feel free to leave a comment here or contact any of the staff or any of the team members listed in the "About the Blog" page.

We did it ... and more!

218 CATs submitted! 109% of our goal of 200

This is truly a remarkable response -- thank you to all! Moving on ... we won't stop posting entirely but our efforts can now be directed to what the assessment tells us.

The data will be compiled and evaluated by Holy Cow! Consulting and reports will be distributed at the Recommendations Retreat, December 16 and 17, attended by the program staff, Cabinet members and the Vision, Search and Transition Teams. Soon after the retreat, condensed reports will be available in the gathering area and the full report may be accessed in the church office.

Next up: Mark your calendars now for January 22, 2012, 2 - 4 pm, to attend a church-wide forum in Wright Hall to learn more about the CAT's findings and our plans to implement the suggestions. This will be an opportunity to engage in discussions concerning the transition period and perhaps to discover areas in which you may be willing to serve.

A reminder: This Sunday, December 4, we will have a brief congregational meeting following the second service -- and preceding the Advent Gathering -- to approve the nominees for the Senior Pastor Search Committee.

Look for soon: A wall chart in the gathering area depicting the timeline for the Vision, Search and Transition Teams with descriptions of 'where we're at' during each phase of the journey.

As always, we're available for questions, concerns and comments.

Again, thanks for making your voices heard!

Bonnie