02
Apr '19

 Reflections on Listening to the Congregation

Posted on 2019-04-02 in Newsletter |

02
Apr '19
The Listening Team has started the next phase of the Missional River process which is to listen to the community. We want to share our reflections on what were some of the key takeaways from listening to the congregation.

Reflections from Listening in the Congregation:

1) Members of Peace are involved in a HUGE range of ministries that serve our neighborhood.

2) Identifying what we mean by our “neighborhood” is tricky.

3) Looking at the map of congregation households was fascinating to many of us, and we didn’t always know who were our neighbors in the congregation.

4) Many of us think we ought to grow in numbers…but no one wants to be a mega-church.

5) It is a rich and valuable experience to have deeper conversations than we usually have, and we’d like to do it more.

6) Listening is how relationships are built.

7) Listening deeply is very vulnerable, and it can make us anxious. And it is still SO worth doing.

8) The congregation as a whole is excited about maximizing the use of our facilities.

9) Worship, music, and staff were credited as strengths and as reasons people would want to join the congregation.

10) Developing partnerships in the community is very important.

11) There are different ways of participating for different folks (giving money, time, gifts…)…to maximize the value of the ministry and to allow the greatest participation.
 

Thanks to all who participated in this process.

The Listening Team