Visioning
This summary report was presented to Ministry Council by the Vision Task Force on June 22, 2010.
Visioning at First United Methodist Church 2008-10
One big, overlying thing to remember
Our journey, to this point, only has been preparatory. The important work begins now - living the vision.
Other important things to remember
We already have been living the vision; our prayer, discernment and experiences with God helped shape it.
We aren't being called to check through a list of tasks quickly on various committees so that we can say we are done and move on.
This work continues.
Benefits
We have a powerful vision statement that defines our journey with God.
Strong congregational participation existed at various levels, especially at our conferences.
People participating in conferences went deep with their analyses.
Membership remained focused on God's vision for the church.
New leaders emerged, many without needing to be asked.
Jim Keirsey and Alecia Williams are available external mentors for others seeking to find a vision.
All Vision Task Force and Vision Panel members are able to serve as internal mentors.
Regional churches that have participated in this program together are seeking ways to be better resources for each other: pastors from the churches met regularly as a group.
We have a long list of ideas and issues that can be tackled as church ministry.
We learned, through community interviews on God's behalf, what people we want from our church.
Things we would change if doing this again, and if possible
Move at a faster pace what was a lengthy process.
Have a good working understanding of the process, including overviews on where we were heading, which would have helped us manage expectations better, and make the length of time more palatable.
Other positives to celebrate
Bible studies provided a good starting place for discerning the vision.
We were part of a Center for Parish Development pilot program that cost the church $2,400 for consultancy that ordinarily would cost $24,000 over two years.
We were able to negotiate paying $100 per month for the program.
The church's Ministry Council was willing to commit to this based on faith.
We had good diversity on the Vision Task Force and Vision Panel.
Both the Vision Task Force and Vision Panel worked well together, and were engaged in their work.
Jill Sanders provided significant leadership from the District Conference when she entered the process.
Having six churches working at the same time on vision statements created positive synergy.
Our church will provide feedback to Dale Ziemer, the Center for Parish Development.
Finally...
What can our churches do together in the Iowa City area to move forward?
How can we keep alive community interviews? Different groups need to continue doing this.