Category: Assessments and Evaluations

Posted in Assessments and Evaluations, Buildings and Property, Church Growth & Vitality, External Relations, Hospitality, Mission and Vision, Stewardship Tagged with

10 min 28 s

Rev. Dr. Jill H. Small

To the 3 standard questions of the interim period, consider adding a 4th one: “What do our buildings say about who we are as God’s people in our community?”

  • Plus an “Identity & Facility Discussion Guide” (5 questions to engage parishioners’ conversation around the “4th” question.)
Listen or Read Now!
Posted in Assessments and Evaluations, Change Management, Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Entering and Engaging the Congregation, Legacy Churches / Church Closing Tagged with

10 min 43 s

Rev. Dr. Jonathan New

  • How I think about the church’s capacity to be and to do church
  • The 5 things that bear directly on a congregation’s capacity to be/do church
  • Helping the congregation to increase its self-understanding
  • The pattern of who leaves a church and who stays
Listen or Read Now!
Posted in Assessments and Evaluations, Change Management, Finishing and Exiting, Legacy Churches / Church Closing, Mission and Vision Tagged with

09 min 54 s

Rev. Dr. Jonathan New

  • What is “faithfulness” for a church?
  • How a congregation’s notion of faithfulness affects the interim experience
  • Telltale signs that a church is coming to its end (It’s not always obvious)
  • Helping a congregation to faithfully think through a “threshold” point where closure is a real possibility
Listen or Read Now!
Posted in Assessments and Evaluations, Buildings and Property, Contracting and Negotiating Before Beginning, Mission and Vision Tagged with

08 min 43 s

Rev. Dr. Jonathan New

  • How to know if / when it’s appropriate to take on a significant project during the interim time
  • The layers to think about when considering a major project during the interim time such as a capital campaign or an Open & Affirming process
Listen or Read Now!
Posted in Assessments and Evaluations, Change Management, Church Growth & Vitality, Conflict Management, Interviewing for an Interim Position, Search Committees Tagged with

12 min 33 s

Rev. Cindy Mueller

  • Helping a congregation understand the value of having a trained intentional interim minister
  • Difference between an “interim minister” and an “intentional (trained) interim minister”
  • Guidance for lay leaders as they approach the interim time
  • How to lower the anxiety during the interim time
Listen or Read Now!
Posted in Assessments and Evaluations, Buildings and Property, Change Management, Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Church Mergers, Legacy Churches / Church Closing, Mission and Vision Tagged with

15 min 33 s

Rev. Dr. Todd Grant Yonkman

  • When the energy gets low, churches often don’t know there are other options to closing;
  • Thoughts on various options: merger restart, adoption, consolidation, redevelopment…;
  • Barrier for vitality is shame and blame;
  • Avoiding the “Twin Titanic” model (throwing a rope from one sinking congregation to another);
  • Key to church mergers: learn to love other things together;
  • The challenge of trying to do vitality work and consolidation work at the same;
Listen or Read Now!
Posted in Assessments and Evaluations, Buildings and Property, Change Management, Church Decline, Contracting and Negotiating Before Beginning, External Relations, Legal, Mission and Vision, Social Justice Tagged with

12 min 33 s

Rev. Dr. Rochelle (Shelly) Stackhouse

  • Book of Acts reminds us that the first congregations shared space;
  • Many New England churches originally called themselves “meeting houses” – places for all kinds of meetings, not just Sunday worship;
  • Assessing the many ways your congregation adds value to your community;
  • “Partners for Sacred Places” can help your church think creatively about uses for your building;
  • Over the centuries, churches have functioned as patrons of the arts;
  • Integrating social justice in multi-purposing your space;
Listen or Read Now!