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First
Christian Church of Puyallup
A welcoming, compassionate, Spirit-led people
of faith |
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First
Christian Church of Puyallup
A welcoming, compassionate, Spirit-led people
of faith |
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PaTH - Practicing and Teaching Hope
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CAN YOU IMAGINE A CHURCH... Discovering anew what it means to be the church? Learning to live as a community of Christ's disciples? United by a vision of God's mission? |
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Journey of Discovery: Living Into God’s Call / PaTH (Practicing and Teaching Hope) In 2005 our Church Board affirmed our congregation’s participation in a three-year transformation process called Journey of Discovery: Living into God’s call. No “quick fix,” it is a prayerful, scripture-based journey for our congregation to discern together God's call to us in our community. A coordinating team for our congregation (Bonnie Goddard, John Pasola, Luetta Patton, Robin Crabb, Katie Peterson, and Pastor Nancy) is receiving ongoing training to equip them to both design and manage our church’s transformation. PaTH (Practicing and Teaching Hope) is the working name chosen for our congregation's transformation process. In 2005 we celebrated 100 years. We told our faith story, lifted up God's faithful servants who joined in ministry here over the years, and gave thanks for gifts received from this community. Now our congregation is beginning a new journey; through prayer and study we'll listen for the guiding Spirit of God calling us to faithful discipleship now and into the future. Join us on the PaTH as we seek answers to these and other questions:
▪ Where are we as a
congregation?
▪ What
is God
doing
here? To see where we've been and where we are now, start at the bottom and work your way up! Hear sermons on draft Ministry Plan and be a part of the conversation Over the years of our involvement in PaTH, the congregation has looked at where they came from, where they have been, where they are now, and where they are going. Through conversation and prayerful decision-making as a congregation, we have arrived at a ministry plan with which to steer our future. Join us in Worship April 25th through May 16th as Pastor Nancy highlights the three main sections of the draft version of the FCC Puyallup PaTH ministry plan in her sermons.
Then, on May 16th, stay after Worship for a taco bar, dessert and conversation about what your feedback is on the draft. Your input is important as we take these steps together into the future we have discerned. Writing Team hands over draft Ministry Plan to Coordinating Team After months of hard work the PaTH Ministry Plan Writing Team completed in December 2009 a draft revision of the ministry plan formed from the action plan work of the design teams. The PaTH Coordinating Team will give their feedback and any needed changes will be made. At that point the draft will be presented to the congregation and input will be solicited from them. FCC Puyallup's consultant, Connie Robey reminded the writing team, "People may be overwhelmed and will need to understand that the Discipleship Groups will work out timelines to make things happen in a realistic way... that this is a long term plan and not set in stone." The plans which sprung from the design teams hard work is the way our church will "live into our missional vision," the future we dreamed together in previous phases of this process! To read the draft version of this dream coming to life, click here - your feedback is welcome. Please contact a PaTH Coordinating Team member with your comments. Design Teams making good strides! Three of the four design teams have completed work on their ministry plans for their areas in our congregation (Structure intentionally started later than the others) and have turned their work over to a writing team to compile the information into a comprehensive plan to take us into Phase V. Phase V is the final phase in the transformation process we have followed for over three years, and at that time the work of putting the plans into action will begin! Read the completed Resources, Common Life, and Formation action plans here. Rounding the bend in Phase IV - planning for Phase V: As the design teams continue work on their ministry plans for their areas in our congregation, we are also looking ahead to Phase V, the final phase in the transformation process we have followed for over three years. Join us on Saturday, February 21st at 10 am for a cluster meeting of several NW region churches also on the journey to learn more about Phase V. Please RSVP to a PaTH team member or the church office, lunch will be provided according to expected attendees. Coming up in Phase IV: Over twenty people make up four Design Teams who are leading this phase of the PaTH process by developing action plans, and who, with the PaTH Coordinating Team, will formulate those action plans into a comprehensive and strategic plan. That plan will describe the actions that the congregation will take as it moves into the future. Phase IV is expected to take about 6-8 months. Areas of ministry to be designed in Phase IV: Designing Common Life has to do with shaping the relational dynamics of the congregation. Special focus is upon the power dynamics of the congregation, the organizational climate, and moving intentionally toward collaborative decision-making. It involves strengthening relationships between leaders and members as well as members with each other -- all those things that contribute to loving and caring relationships -- to “one anothering.” Our common life is to give visible expression to the Missional Strategy of our congregation. Designing in the area of Formation has to do with cultivating those basic Christian practices that form a congregation as the living Body of Christ—a missional community. It will involve forming the congregation as a worshiping, welcoming, learning, serving, stewarding, and witnessing community. Thus, the congregation by those practices will itself become a manifestation of the Missional Strategy. Designing Resources involves planning for the cultivation, utilization, and stewardship of the church’s resources. These resources include material possessions (facilities and finances), the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the community of faith and its leaders, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Designs for Resources are to give visible expression to the Missional Strategy. Structure has to do with defining the congregation’s work, along with clarifying the roles, responsibilities, procedures, policies, and rules needed to equip and enable its life and witness. Designing your church’s Structure will have to do not only with “governance” but also with structuring for koinonia—a common life that forms and expresses Christian faith. Designing Strategic Ministries, The Center for Parish Development Where are we now? We've completed Phase III, the design of our Missional Strategy, and are officially stepping into Phase IV! The PaTH Conference on the Future was held and celebrated our current transformation work and creatively explored our next steps. We took a glimpse at a possible future for our church and it looked good! Phase III - Discerning God's Call - Congratulations to our Vision Panel and our entire congregation! Together we have crafted a Guiding Vision statement that will be our stepping stone into the future God dreams for us. Read the Guiding Vision here ▪ Thanks to the 25 people who attended the Missional Strategy workshop in April, we received many ideas and input for the continuing PaTH process. This information was handed over to a writing team who has designed a Missional Strategy document. The draft was then shared with small groups and the congregation for input before being finalized. ▪ The PaTH Conference on the Future was held on June 21st to celebrate our current transformation work and creative exploration of our next steps. In January 2008, FCC Puyallup hosted the Journey of Discovery Cluster Workshop. Cluster workshops have occurred through the stages of the transformation process in order to highlight the upcoming phase. Congregations from all over western Washington sent representatives to learn what's coming up next in the process. In March we joined in the Bible study Becoming a Missional People and in April we gathered for a Missional Strategy Workshop led by our Journey of Discovery consultant Connie Robey. At this workshop mapped out some key goals and directions that we used to help us to work toward a future and a Missional Strategy which encompasses the Guiding Vision statement goals that we recently agreed upon. Congratulations to our PaTH Vision Panel and our entire congregation! Together we have crafted a Guiding Vision statement that will be our stepping stone into the future God dreams for us. After conversations in small groups, studies and Worship, the Guiding Vision draft is a reality and has been embraced by our Board and congregation. This Vision will be the statement we own and take with us into our future. The final Guiding Vision reads:
From here, we move into Phase III, Part II (which means we are halfway done with the five part transformation process!). During the second part of Phase III, Designing a Missional Strategy, as a congregation we will determine the steps we need to take to make the Vision a reality. Listen for more information as the process unfolds.
Phase III
is under way: We asked for your participation during this exciting phase of transformation of our congregation by joining in the opportunities for Bible study, continued prayers for the team, the process and the congregation, and participation in the events. The Vision Team has crafted a guiding vision statement draft for our congregation using the input received from the summer Bible study Sign, Foretaste, Instrument and the PaTH Vision Retreat in July. The draft was presented and discussed in small groups, studies and Worship for discussion and feedback. The PaTH Teams asked for your input into the vision statement that will lead us into our future and into God's call to us. Your thoughts and prayers are always invited as we continue to discern God's call to us as a church in Puyallup. PaTH Guiding Vision Draft:
First Christian Church of Puyallup is a gathering of diverse individuals
called by God to live as a blessing in our own neighborhoods and in the
world.
We dream of being a faithful community of God’s people whose spiritual
practices of worship, prayer, study, and ministry nurture those who are
seeking to live in the way of Jesus.
Believing that every follower of Christ is gifted by God, we dream of being
a family in which each person discovers their gifts and is supported in
sharing those gifts with the world.
We experience God’s welcome in our celebration at the communion table and
dream of being a reflection of that welcome in our acts of acceptance,
forgiveness, generosity, and peacemaking.
Phase II recap: In March 2007, 38 FCC Puyallup members and friends joined to dig into those hypotheses. After three hours of reflection, discussion and prayerful consideration, a consensus of our top three current challenges as a congregation was formed. Here are the results of the Conference:
Who We Are: Our Present & Our Future (a conference on
the present) |
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The original nine hypotheses were: |
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October 22, 2006 Me, Myself & I We live in a culture of self-centeredness, instant gratification and convenience. These expectations affect how we participate in church activities, programs and worship. What this Hypothesis/Discovery causes me to pray for is: Read the congregation's prayers ▪ Read the Me, Myself & I sermon ▪ More sermons |
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October 29, 2006 There Is No One Truth We live in the “Postmodern” world, in which the once unquestioned values, standards and viewpoints of the past have become only one of many perspectives. In today’s society, there is no longer such a thing as one “Truth” with a capital “T.” There are diverse beliefs or versions of the truth, and the truth is left up to the listener to decide. What this Hypothesis/Discovery causes me to pray for is: Read the congregation's prayers ▪ Read the There Is No One Truth sermon ▪ More sermons |
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November 5, 2006 I Go to Church vs. We Are the Church The church is viewed as a place/building where religious goods are dispensed rather than as the Body of Christ. The pastor plays the key role. We "go to" church rather than seeing ourselves "as the church." The future of our church depends on our understanding of the church as "the Body of Christ" in which each person has the responsibility to contribute his or her unique gifts in ministry. With busy lives there does not seem to be enough time for being the church. What this Hypothesis/Discovery causes me to pray for is: Read the congregation's prayers ▪ Read the I Go to Church vs. We Are the Church sermon ▪ More sermons |
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November 12,
2006 Who Is Our Church? As our membership has decreased throughout the years, a smaller group of people has continued to do the majority of the ministry in our church. For some our church can feel like a burden to be carried rather than a joy to be celebrated. This is a recipe for burnout and decline. What this Hypothesis/Discovery causes me to pray for is: Read the congregation's prayers ▪ Read the Who Is Our Church? sermon ▪ More sermons |
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November 19,
2006 Rattle, Rattle, Thunder, Clatter We come to church and church activities weary, rattled and empty from hectic, out of balance lives. For many, the church is just one more obligation with shallow, erratic and unsatisfying participation. And yet for others, church is a way to connect and find meaning through intentional, spiritually nourishing participation. What this Hypothesis/Discovery causes me to pray for is: Read the congregation's prayers ▪ Read the Rattle, Rattle, Thunder, Clatter sermon ▪ More sermons |
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*A KEY ISSUE TO BE ADDRESSED
November 26,
2006 Cross Training Training for ministry in our congregation has been primarily learning “how to do the job” (e.g. board members, worship greeters, preparing communion, taking care of the building, teaching Sunday School). We could more effectively develop our human resources (leaders and members) by 1) identifying and nurturing the gifts of the Spirit that exist in the congregation and 2) providing opportunities for individual growth in discipleship. |
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*A KEY ISSUE TO BE ADDRESSED Hypothesis/Discovery formed as a result of the member interviews: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate The organizational structure of our church does not promote effective communication among members. As a result, the information often required for informed decision-making, adequate planning, effective program and ministry involvement or useful feedback is not always available to the majority of the membership. |
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Hypothesis/Discovery formed as a result of the member interviews: Vision We lack a broadly shared and compelling common vision of what God is calling the congregation to be and do as it moves into the future. Because of this, many are not able to articulate such a vision or to identify clearly defined goals or core values of the congregation. |
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*A KEY ISSUE TO BE ADDRESSED Hypothesis/Discovery formed as a result of the member interviews: Reflecting our Community Our recent membership survey shows that 42% of our congregation is over the age of 65. The average age in our neighborhood (zip code 98371) is 38.8 and only 14% of the community is over the age of 65. If we are to be faithful to God’s call to share the good news with our neighbors, we must seek new opportunities to meet the needs of a younger demographic. |
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