Vision document & survey

In May of 2015, we began our journey to develop a revised Mission and complete Vision for IPC, our goal was to discover God’s divine plan for Independent. We hoped to learn how God has called us to use the particular gifts He has given our community of believers. Our desire was to identify our specific Mission and the methods that would best utilize our gifts and opportunities.

The survey was a part of this process. We do appreciate the time our congregation spent responding to this survey. The leadership was encouraged to hear that the number of responses received was well above average. The number of responses received was a testimony of the love and concern our members hold for Independent. The information provided by the congregation was helpful to us in many ways as well as, numerous books and resources regarding the Church, the IPC budgets, attendance figures, demographic information, prior versions of the IPC Mission statement, and program analysis. The essential tools used to form the Vision document were scripture, prayer, and honest dialogue. The information below is a summary of data from the survey which was utilized, during this process. This data allowed us to view the church from the perspective of the congregation.

The members of the Vision Committee will make their best attempts to answer any questions you have pertaining to this data. The survey (the questions and answer options) was not a perfect survey.

There are areas we wish results could be better explained. We are confident that the results are statistically reliable and useful.

Please continue to pray for God’s providence in providing a new senior pastor. We are praying and seeking God’s guidance in how to best love the members of IPC. Click here to read the specific prayer requests for our next senior pastor from the Pulpit Search Committee.

IPC Vision Committee

THE MISSION OF INDEPENDENT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

IPC Vision Document IPC EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Preamble In the providence of God, Independent Presbyterian Church (IPC) was founded on the Holy Scriptures, which we believe are inerrant and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. IPC is a reformed, evangelical, Presbyterian church affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). As a Reformed church, IPC believes the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16) and salvation to be received by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone (Eph. 2:8-9). As an Evangelical church, IPC is committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and will endeavor to partner with other evangelical churches in order to display unity in the Gospel. (1 Cor. 15:3-8). And as a Presbyterian church, IPC is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America, affirming the Westminster Confession of Faith to be our subordinate standards (Acts 9:31). IPC is committed to God’s Word and the practice of the ordinary means of grace; namely, preaching of God’s Word, sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, sacrament of baptism, prayer, and the communing of the saints.

Shorter Version Independent Presbyterian Church (IPC) is a reformed, evangelical, Presbyterian church. As a Reformed church, IPC believes the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16) and salvation to be received by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone (Eph. 2:8-9). As an Evangelical church, IPC is committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and will endeavor to partner with other evangelical churches in order to display unity in the Gospel. (1 Cor. 15:3-8).

And as a Presbyterian church, IPC is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America (Acts 9:31), affirming the Westminster Confession of Faith to be our subordinate standards.

Purpose (Why do we exist?)

We exist to glorify God. Mission (What are we trying to accomplish?)

The Mission of IPC is to make disciples of Jesus by gathering for worship, growing in community, and going out in love.

Core Values (How will we behave?) (Abbreviated version) TRUTH - God’s word is the truth. We embrace the full counsel of his word as found in the Bible.

GRACE - God’s remarkable gift to his children is the unmerited substitution of Jesus’ perfect life received by faith and repentance through the work and power of the Holy Spirit resulting in our complete freedom from the just wrath of God. COMMUNITY - Worshiping together, growing together, and helping each other live as a follower of Jesus Christ to his glory is the benefit of living in open, honest community.

HUMILTY - Living by the Spirit in the truth of God’s grace produces humility and empowers a believer to value other people unconditionally.

LOVE - The sum of our grateful obedience to God is love. Loving God and all others is the fruit of God’s impact on us as believers.

Core Values (How will we behave?) (Extended version) We have a distinctive personality and particular mix of biblical values we especially hope to uphold.

We are motivated in our attempts to build upon the foundation of this church by the following five Core Values we will strive to champion.

TRUTH - We believe the Old and New Testaments to be the inerrant Word of God and Jesus Christ to be truth incarnate. We are committed to teaching and preaching the whole counsel of God as expressed in creedal form the truths of the Bible through the Westminster Confession of Faith. (2 Timothy 3:16; John 1:1 and 14:6; Luke 4:4; Acts 20:27).

GRACE - We believe the central message of the Bible is rooted in the undeserved grace of God toward sinners imparted by the Spirit and received by faith and repentance. We are committed to sharing this good news of God’s grace with others and also by demonstrating unity with other evangelical churches who affirm the centrality of grace embodied in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 2:17; Romans 7:24-25; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8).

COMMUNITY - We believe that being in community with other believers is essential to our growth into maturity. We are committed to coming together regularly for corporate worship, Sunday school, small groups, and meaningful fellowship, not as an end in itself, but a means to a more fruitful witness in our vocations, neighborhoods and broader community (Acts 2:42-47; Colossians 1:28; Matthew 5:13-16).

HUMILITY - We believe one of the greatest demonstrations of the work of the Spirit of God in the life of a believer is humility. We want to grow in our service toward others and value the interests of others above our own interests (Mark 10:45; Philippian 2:1-4, Ephesians 4:1-4).

LOVE - We believe that our attempts to obey God and love one another are not only deeply pleasing to the heart of God, but also the most effective outreach we can offer to those outside the church.

As disciples of Jesus, we are committed to the pursuit of love expressed in our obedience to the commands of God and love for one another. (John 13:34-35, 14:21; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13).

IPC LEADERSHIP CULTURE AND STAFFING Leadership Culture: includes the Session, Diaconate, and Staff (both Program Staff and Pastors {dual roles as: session and staff}). As leaders in Christ’s church, we are commanded to conduct ourselves in a God-honoring manner (Titus 1:5-7, 1 Peter 5:5, 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Galatians 5:13-26, Philippians 2:1-18). Having been given stewardship responsibility, we are committed to manage, lead, oversee, and interact with one another in a manner that is consistent with the Word of God. We believe that our Core Values (Truth, Grace, Community, Humility, and Love) reflect God’s desire for our IPC culture. These values help define the culture that we long to have (and often have not exemplified) at IPC. Therefore, as “Leaders”, we are committed to having our Core Values be more than empty words. To the contrary, we are committed to “living” these values by talking about them, holding one another accountable to them, and having them become words that define IPC. Core Values (The way Leaders behave) Truth We are committed speaking the truth in love to one another (Ephesians 4:15). Therefore, we will make every effort to speak truthfully in love to one another and embrace healthy conflict. With humility and love, we will “speak truth” directly to others instead of speaking “about” others.

Grace Because we believe and preach the undeserved grace of God toward sinners, we will demonstrate grace to one another by striving to forgive as we have been forgiven by Christ (Colossians 3:13).

Community We are committed to living in community as leaders joined to achieve a common goal. We will rebuff tendencies that would allow IPC to be affected by fractured, political, and underhanded means of leadership. (1 Corinthians 12:26).

Humility Because of grace, we will value other people unconditionally. We will seek to serve Christ’s Kingdom above ourselves. We are committed to squashing our prideful tendencies and humbly interacting with one another (Mark 10:45).

Love Because love is our best expression of unity to the world, we will endeavor to love one another in every opportunity. We will pray for and care for one another knowing that we are brothers and sisters in Christ (Romans 12:9-10).

Defining the Leadership Culture: The below list cannot be exhaustive. However, the Core Values are clear indicators of correct and desirable behavior. Their opposites are clearly offenses to the IPC culture.

DO’s • Always live by the Core Values. We are committed to speaking about them and living them in the day to day.

• Respect IPC’s leadership structure and processes. Do not bring a complaint to anyone without having gone through the proper “chain of command.” o Staff members are not to solicit Officers in order to “lobby” for their cause. o Officers are to immediately direct any complaints or attempts to “lobby” to the proper channels (chain of command); • If you are wronged by another, model Matthew 18:15-20 by going directly to the offender.

• Maintain Confidentiality. As leaders, we need to manage ourselves and our tongues so that church business may be deliberated within their designed court without the complication of a breach of confidentiality.

• Speak the truth in love to one another. We will disagree. At times, we will act counter to our Core Values. When we do, we are committed to loving one another and treating one another with love and respect while engaging in healthy conflict. We are committed to addressing issues directly and in a healthy way versus empowering divisiveness through passive-aggressive behaviors. We will strive for unity and trust among the leadership by building relationships with fellow leaders.

DO NOT’s: • Behave outside of the Core Values. IPC’s core values coexist in a symbiotic relationship – they stand not alone but together, just as we desire for our leadership to stand together. Therefore, we must always model the core values together and in light of one another. A leader must not use a single core value as a justification or excuse for failing to act in accordance with scripture and our Core Values. For example, “I’m just speaking the truth” is not an excuse to act without humility and love.

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Individually speak on behalf of IPC, the Diaconate, or the Session (“the body”). A Leader may not speak with any authority on any issue without empowerment by the body. The body only speaks after a collective decision is rendered. Any Leader who “overreaches” his position has violated the Core Values and will be confronted by that body.

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Isolate yourself from the body or fracture trust within the body. If you are/were in the minority of a decision or ruling by the body (such as Session or Diaconate), you may not “report” to others that you were against the decision. Unanimity is required except where provided for in BCO chapters 43-45

Accountability: What Happens if the Do’s are violated or if a leader commits a Don’t? – (a “Violation”)?

In keeping with our doctrine, confession and repentance of sin leads to forgiveness (1 John 1:9-10).

Avoidance of our sin leads to discord and the absence of forgiveness. We are committed to a culture that is in alignment with our beliefs.

Therefore, If a leader acts outside of the IPC Leadership Culture described herein, it is incumbent upon that leader to confess the Violation to the appropriate body (for example - Session member confesses to the Session). If the Violation goes unaddressed (either by lack of awareness or willful avoidance by the offending leader), those fellow leaders who are aware of the violation are obligated to uphold the IPC Leadership Culture by humbly and lovingly addressing the offending leader about his/her Violation and requesting that the offending leader confess and repent to the appropriate body. Humble and earnest confession should be welcomed at IPC and should be met with bounteous mercy, forgiveness, and love for the offending leader.

The Session’s desire is that IPC’s leaders will thrive within the core values and that any offending leader will quickly recognize and confess any Violation and avoid future Violations. However, depending upon the nature of the Violation and the frequency or severity of the Violation, the Session may choose to designate a Sessional court (in the case of a Session member- regulated under BCO Discipline: chapters 27-46) or a Sessional committee (such as the Staff Committee in the case of a staff leader) to discipline a Leader which may result in deposition (in the case of an elder) or termination (in the case of an IPC employee).

In conjunction with and subordinate to my ordination vows, my signing below, I commit to support and uphold the IPC Leadership Culture described in this document to the best of my ability. I understand that it obligates me personally to measure my own actions and the actions of others and requires me to act within the Core Values to build and uphold this Culture by confessing my Violations and addressing Violations made by others to achieve this end. ______________________________ Name & Date

INDEPENDENT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY STATEMENT All trustees, officers, agents, and employees of this organization shall disclose all real or apparent conflicts of interest that they discover or that have been brought to their attention in connection with this organization's activities.

A "conflict of interest" occurs where a person is responsible for promoting the interest of the church at the same time he or she is involved in a competing personal interest (financial, business, or personal) resulting in a “duality of interests.�

"Disclosure" shall mean providing, to the appropriate person or body, a written description of the facts comprising the real or apparent conflict of interest. An annual disclosure statement shall be circulated to trustees, the Session, and certain identified agents and employees to assist them in considering such disclosures, but disclosure is appropriate and required whenever conflicts of interest may occur.

The certain identified agents referenced in the previous sentence will be those that in the judgment of the Session or its appointees should be included for the purpose of this policy. The written notices of disclosures shall be filed with the Secretary of the Session or such other person designated by the Session to receive such notifications. At the meeting of the Session following the receipt of the annual disclosure statements, all disclosures of real or apparent conflicts of interest shall be noted for the record in the minutes.

An individual trustee, officer, agent, or employee who believes that he or she or an immediate member of his or her family might have a real or apparent conflict of interest, in addition to filing a notice of disclosure, must: 1.

Clearly and verbally disclose their Conflict of Interest pertaining to the subject at hand

upon the onset of the discussion; 2.

Avoid using his or her personal influence to affect deliberations or outcomes, 3.

Abstain from making motions or voting on the matter; 4.

Remove oneself from the meeting only to return at the request of the body or the end of the

discussion pertinent to the conflict of interest.

At the discretion of the Session or a committee thereof, a person with a real or apparent conflict of interest may be asked to remain present or return for any portion of the discussion or deliberations with respect to the subject of the conflict in order to present factual information or to answer questions.

The Executive Minister shall ensure that all trustees, officers, agents, and employees of the organization are made aware of the organization's policy with respect to conflicts of interest.

INDEPENDENT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE ANNUAL REPORTING STATEMENT I have read and understand the Conflict of Interest Policy. I hereby declare and certify the following real or apparent conflict of interest:

(If necessary, attach additional documentation.)

(If none, so state.)

I agree to promptly inform the Session upon the occurrence of each event that could potentially result in my involvement in (or implication in) a conflict of interest.

Date:____________________ Signature:_______________________________ Title:_________________________________

IPC STAFFING How the IPC leadership moves forward during the current transition and into the future will impact staffing decisions. Assuming IPC leadership maintains the current ministry philosophy, the Vision Committee recommends the following goals and actions: SMART Goals To improve the “third-floor” culture among IPC staff during the current transition, especially the working relationships between the ministerial and program staff.

To reallocate direct reports among staff where possible in order to create a more efficient and effective accountability structure.

To ensure that all IPC staffing positions are consistent with the ministry philosophy approved by the Session.

IPC Staffing Action Steps To improve the “third-floor culture among IPC staff…

1. Distribute IPC Leadership Culture document among ministerial, program, and support staff. Executive Minister will lead a weekly training session on those newly adopted Core Values and how they apply to the entire IPC staff.

To begin: Fall 2015 2. Establish a weekly staff meeting that includes ministerial staff, as well as the Director of Women’s ministry, Director of Children’s ministry, Nursery Coordinator, and Director of Music.

The purpose of this weekly meeting is to communicate and discuss ministry plans adopted by the Session, to create an environment for healthy conflict, and to collaborate on matters of common ministry concern for improved ministry fruitfulness.

To begin: Fall 2015 (This meeting may become bi-monthly meeting over time.)

3. Executive Minister immediately address behaviors among IPC staff that are inconsistent with Core Values, communicate those individual behaviors with the Staff Care committee should a pattern develop and impact staff culture, and recommend termination of employment to the Staff Care committee should those individual behaviors persist after repeated reprimand from Executive Minister.

To begin: Fall 2015 To reallocate direct reports among staff . . .

Executive Minister recommends to the Staff Care committee direct report adjustments/revisions that are both consistent within existing structures/departments and also are deemed strategically and relationally compatible. Any direct report adjustment recommendations approved by the Staff Care committee will go before the Session for final approval.

To begin: Fall 2015 and completed by January 2016 To ensure that all IPC staffing positions are consistent . . .

Executive Minister will evaluate all staff positions to ensure that they are consistent with our Mission and Core Values. To begin: January 2016.

GATHERING FOR WORSHIP We want corporate worship at IPC to be characterized by consistent, reverent-joyful,

participation.

We believe that God instructs us how he wants us to worship Him for our good. By consistent, we mean that the elements of our order of service will largely remain the same from week to week. We will occasionally vary the form or placement of these elements, but we do not intend to create new ways to worship God. God has graciously revealed how he wants us to worship him for our good. Consequently, we want to offer our best in all our forms of worship, while recognizing even more that God desires a sincere heart.

We believe that God is both transcendent and imminent. By reverent-joy, we intend for our worship to reflect these two key attributes of God. Our reverence in worship should reflect the majesty, power, and holiness of God. Our joy in worship should reflect the love, patience, and kindness of God. We want our music in worship to mirror the transcendence and immanence of God, so we will balance traditional hymns with modern arrangements, as well as a variety of instruments designed to do the same.

We believe that God and his people are the primary participants in worship. By participation, we mean that the rhythm of our worship should promote an active and devoted dialogue between God and his people, like a groom and his bride or a father and his children. Although we recognize and support the role of a few to lead the congregation in worship, we want to ensure that the greater, participatory objective in worship is achieved.

We believe the mission of IPC is to make disciples of Jesus. In worshipping well as a body of believers, we will glorify God and seek to understand Him in all of His Glory – including His transcendence and immanence, growing as maturing believers - being more and more conformed to the image of Jesus, and having hearts that are sincerely broken over those who live outside the Kingdom of God. In short, by knowing God’s pursuing rescue of us through Grace alone and celebrating that rescue deeply each week in Worship, we will have no choice as followers of Jesus, but to grow deeper in our devotion to Him and to pursue His Great Commission (Matt. 28).

We believe worshipping well is promoted by many elements of our Worship today, yet we also believe a few adjustments to our Worship Services are imperative. Better engaging our worshiper’s hearts and educating their minds about what constitutes worshipping well can only lead to more mature Believers and, we believe, make for more committed Disciples.

In addition to many elements in our current Order of Worship, we believe our Services of Worship should also be characterized by the following:  Guidance from the Directory of Worship as contained in the PCA Book of Church Order chapters 47-63  Strong Gospel-Centered, Expository Preaching

 A blend of rich musical texts which are presented with both classical and modern arrangements  Variety in the order of worship and liturgy in order to picture and Worship the fullness of our Almighty Father in all His complex attributes (i.e. Holiness, Love, Mercy, and Sovereignty – to name a few) 

 •

Variety in musical instrumentation to include a mix of the following instruments: organ, piano, strings (including acoustic guitar), woodwind, and percussion (just as any symphony might have) Engaging, participatory singing with a joyful emphasis (greatly increasing the participation of the congregation in all of Worship)

Occasional testimonies of what God is doing in His Kingdom and through IPC and our people

Smart Goals: 1. Over the next few months, we will implement a few changes to IPC Worship Services (only by Sessional approval on or before October 1, 2015) to enhance the Worship of our Congregation according to the elements expressed above. Specifically these initial changes are: A. A balance of traditional hymns and songs generally accompanied by Organ and contemporary hymns and songs generally accompaniedby piano, strings (including acoustic guitar) and other instruments as appropriate - woodwind, percussion, etc. These hymns and songs will be selected for their rich theological texts and for the support they add to the Scripture and Spoken word being presented in a particular Worship Service.

B.

In order to promote greater participation of our Congregation, engage their hearts and enhance their involvement in Worship, we will look for all opportunities to involve the Congregation in hymn/psalm singing during our Worship Services. For instance, having the congregation sing in place of a traditional Solo or Choral Benediction would involve greater participation on the part of the Congregation. (The offertory could become a good place for future musical solos).

C. We will ensure each song selected for our response to the Assurance of Pardon has a very strong Gospel content and is accompanied by a rich assortment of contemporary instruments all designed to be familiar and very ‘sing-able’ for the Congregation. (We are looking for a strong, Congregational affirmation of Christ’s work on our behalf that is enthusiastically sung by the majority of our Congregation in a joyful manner). All of the above to emphasize the Majestic, Wonder of Almighty God and what He has done for His People by sending a mediator, Christ Jesus.

D. As the leading spiritual officer of the church, we believe decisions concerning our Worship and any changes to Worship should be the responsibility of the Senior Minister of IPC – in partnership with Worship governance and the Session of IPC. The Senior Minister is expected to continually analyze and propose any

changes to IPC Worship which will increase the Glory to God and be more vitally engaging for each Worshipper. In preparation for each Worship Service, it is imperative the Senior Minister, the Ministerial Staff and Music Staff coordinate their efforts and work in partnership to enhance the IPC Worship experience, all to encourage proper Worship of our Majestic God and the spiritual growth and maturity of our Congregation.

2. We believe God-ordained, Christ-centered Worship Services with increased Congregational participation will produce more mature disciples of Christ at IPC. The goal being these mature Disciples will live, work, and worship in full relationship with Christ. To that end we believe our new Senior Minister, as IPC leading spiritual officer, should have the full support of the Session, Ministerial and Music Staff in making additional changes to IPC Worship Services once he arrives at IPC and after taking the time to understand the culture, history and Congregation of the church.

3. We believe to enhance the richness of our Worship, maturity of our Congregation and participation of individuals in our Services, we should, in the future, consider modifying our Sunday morning schedule for Services and Sunday Schools to give additional time for Worship and better transitioning between Worship Services and Sunday School.

4. We believe Worshipping well means being well-prepared to meet each week with the Holy Trinity in Worship, therefore being on-time and spiritually-prepared for our Worship Service is of utmost importance. This idea should be included in our Worship education to our Congregation.

Several Examples of Possible New Orders of Worship: Please see Appendix I Steps and timeline to accomplish these changes: September 2015 Sessional approval of Vision Document October 2015 Implement changes 1.A-D in Goals Section above to both Sunday morning Worship Services.

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Teach the rationale for Worship changes to our Congregation in either Age/Stage Sunday Morning Classrooms and in Wednesday night fellowship BEFORE the changes take place.

 According to our stated Leadership Culture goals, provide conversation between Ministers and Staff to explain Worship changes.

for

healthy

First Quarter 2016  Educate the Congregation of IPC about Worship: what we are doing, why we Worship, what our goals are concerning Worship at IPC, and how each item in Worship is designed to produce a dialogue between the Worshipper and his or her Maker and deepen their heart’s affection for and allegiance to the Kingdom of God. Help the Congregation understand the need for the characteristics of Worship contained in our Vision Statements.

 Upon arrival of a new Senior Minister and allowing for time elapsed for an acquaintance period, he will consider our current Worship Services for possible changes including items 2 through 4 in the Goals section above. He will work with Sessional governance, Pastoral and Program Staff, and Congregation to effectively lead, explain, educate, and build consensus for any changes.

Resources Required: Currently available resources for Worship and New Senior Pastor Obvious Barriers: Sessional Approval Who Is Impacted By These Changes: Congregation, Leadership, Staff, and Newcomers

GROWING I N COMMUNITY We believe the mission of IPC is to make disciples of Jesus. Growing in Community is the primary way our members mature as Christian disciples, living to glorify God and exhibiting continual growth in faith and love, and using their individual gifts in humility to build our Lord’s kingdom. We believe it is essential to call a senior minister who shares a deep commitment to this mission.

Sunday morning worship, Sunday school, and the various small group ministries that currently exist all serve to accomplish this goal. Increasing the role of elders as shepherds is also a vital part of our overall strategy of disciple making. We intend to strengthen our focus on Sunday school and small group ministry for fellowship and shepherding and gradually add life-on-life discipleship groups for deep spiritual growth and leadership development.

Sunday School We affirm our age/stage based Sunday school community structure and believe it is the primary forum for IPC Teaching Elders to teach their respective flock.

Terms:

Small Groups

At IPC, we have various types of small groups: Grace Groups, men’s Bible study groups, women’s ministry Bible study groups, shepherd groups, and various specific purpose study groups (divorce recovery, etc.). All of these serve to develop relationships that lead to growth as a disciple.

Journey Group

A Journey Group is a gender specific adult group consisting of 4-5 members and one trained leader. The purpose of these groups would be to provide an opportunity for intentional life-onlife discipleship training. Participation in this ministry would require higher level of commitment and willingness to prepare engage. Leaders would be carefully selected and specifically trained. The process would be guided by a curriculum. Leadership and accountability would be important components of this effort.

We recommend that IPC adopt the same program used by Perimeter Presbyterian Church in Atlanta unless a better program can be located. They are equipped to train our leaders and willing to share their experience and guide us as we implement this program. This type of small group training would add a new level of opportunity for deeper growth and accountability, and would enable us to produce disciples who are equipped to go and make more disciples.

Action Steps and Timeline 1. By September 2015 Obtain Session approval with commitment to the process. We believe that the leadership of IPC must be involved in small group ministry in some way for this effort to succeed. As leaders, we should look for every opportunity to encourage our members to be involved in a Sunday School community and in a small group.

2. By October 2015 A formal process of training for small group leaders should be in place. We also need to keep an accurate count of members participating. Develop a system for obtaining appropriate feedback from group leaders which would enable us to evaluate our effectiveness.

3. By January 2016 A. Review and refine the recruitment, training process, and accountability structure for all of our small group leaders.

B. Recruit and begin the training process for our initial “Journey Group� leaders. This would involve no more than 2-3 women and 2-3 men who would begin a training process. We will use the training offered by Perimeter Presbyterian Church unless we are able to find another program that better suits our mission. Our goal for this type of oneon-one discipleship would be to go slow, grow deeply, and produce high quality leadership.

C. Wednesday night will continue to be a family fellowship time to be followed by both Bible study time and Grace Groups. Some small groups will continue to meet at other times. Wednesday nights will also be used as a time to teach and train our whole church about our core, values and mission, as well as the importance and meaning of worship, outreach, evangelism, and mercy. During these special times, Grace Groups would be suspended on Wednesday nights so that our whole church family will receive the same training. This should take place in January and perhaps February as needed. Grace groups would resume on Wednesday nights after that. From time to time the church should use Wednesday nights for large group meetings as needed.

D. Establish a process for evaluating the curriculum used in all age groups at IPC including all areas of Christian instruction to assure that we are promoting and accomplishing our goal of making disciples in accordance with our mission, core values and state of faith.

4. By the 2016 Budget Cycle Develop a plan for staff leadership covering our Small Group Ministry and the Journey Group Ministry. This might include the realignment of existing positions.

Measurability By the fall of 2016, 30% of our regular adult members should be actively involved in a Small Group Ministry. We should have thirty (30) trained small group leaders and actively beginning the training of thirty (30) additional leaders. By the fall of 2017, we should have 50% of our regular adult members actively involved in small group ministry.

By January 2016, we will have no more than six (6) adults enrolled in Journey Group leader training. In the fall of 2016, each of these leaders will begin leading a group of four to five (45) members in our first Journey Groups. These members would be recruited and selected based on their desire to become Journey Group leaders. Future numerical growth of the Journey Groups will naturally follow the development of group leaders. The success of this effort should be reevaluated annually in order to determine if it is effectively helping us achieve the mission of making disciples.

There are tools available to assist us in the evaluation of a member’s spiritual maturity and progress which we should utilize. An example is included in our appendix (see Discipleship Continuum). We should utilize these tools as a help in our ongoing evaluation of effectiveness without developing an unhealthy spirit of legalism.

Obvious Barriers 1. Weekly schedule and pace in the life of our church.

2. Leadership “buy in”. Including senior minister, teaching elders, elders, deacons, and program staff.

3. Cynicism – this is just another program “here today, gone next year” 4. Lay leadership – will the ministers and elders commit to developing and then trusting lay leaders?

5. Staffing and staff training – Who will be in charge of the necessary organization and accountability?

6. Establishing and promoting benchmarks and accountability for mature believers without fostering an inappropriate spirit of legalism 7. Customization and uniformity – How do we make it relevant for all of the adult age groups without losing the necessary uniformity? How do we make certain that the children and youth ministries are working in harmony and promoting the same objectives?

8. Senior Minister – it will be essential to call a senior minister who shares a deep commitment to this process for it to succeed.

GOING OUT IN L OVE The Church was Jesus’ Plan A for outreach, and there is no Plan B. The Church was established

by Christ 1 as an evangelistic society. A people 2 empowered by the Holy Spirit 3 to represent 4 and model 5 the ministry of Jesus Christ on earth. Accordingly, we envision structuring our entire outreach and mercy ministry at IPC with Jesus’ high view of the Church. Providentially, IPC has already achieved this in part.

Consider the four regional components of Jesus’ charge in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

If we conceive of Jerusalem as IPC, Judea as both IPC’s physical place (Avon neighborhood) and where her members live, work and play (East Memphis, Germantown, etc.), and Samaria as greater Memphis, we have four distinct areas of effort. Our desire is to further align our local outreach and mercy ministry efforts with this Acts 1:8 paradigm, so as to be focused and united in our approach to being the evangelistic society that Jesus so desires.

Over the last several years, IPC has already made considerable moves to align our international outreach with Jesus’ Plan A, the church: almost all of our international ministry efforts (“the ends of the Earth”) are now focused on church planting. Our vision is to further align our 1

Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:4-6 I Peter 2:9-10 3 John 14:15-26; 20:21-23 4 II Corinthians 5:20 5 I Corinthians 11:1 2

various outreach and mercy ministry efforts with this Acts 1:8 paradigm so as to be united in our approach in being the evangelistic society that Jesus so desires.

SMART Goals for Going out in Love We will evaluate each area of our outreach ministries over the next two years, seeking to evaluate the impact of our efforts and to align them with our mission. A sessional ad hoc committee, Going out in Love, made up of three Ruling Elders, two Teaching Elders, two Deacons, and two leaders from the WOC ministry 6, will conduct a review 7 of all of IPC's outreach ministries, bringing back an assessment with a strategic plan aligning each ministry with our mission, vision and values.

The nine outreach-related ministries to be assessed include the Usher and Greeter Ministry, Mercy Ministry, Local Evangelism and Outreach, Global Outreach, Vacation Bible School, the

Communications Department, Men’s Ministry, Singles/College & Career, and the Recreation Department. Of these nine, at least the following four will be assessed in the months: Communications, Usher/Greeter, Recreation and Mercy Ministry. The measurement of success will be the delivery of an assessment and strategic plan for each of these nine areas. Specifically, the process will deliver: • • •

A strategic plan for recreation ministries A strategic plan for ministries of mercy A comprehensive usher/greeter plan 8

6

The ad hoc committee will bring in additional lay, staff and outside leadership as needed, for input and subject matter expertise.

7 For example the assessment of these ministries will ask questions like: 1. Recreation Department: a. Why do we want a recreational ministry? b. Is recreation a discipleship ministry or an outreach ministry? c. How do we align recreation ministry with our mission? d. Is recreation resourced adequately? e. In light of the answers to these questions, do we have the right leadership in place?

2. Mercy Ministry: a. What are we currently doing with mercy ministry and is it effective? b. How do we understand mercy ministry in the church? c. What is our hope for this ministry? d. Who oversees this ministry? e. How do we get more of our people involved with mercy?

8

The usher and greeting review and plan would take place under the purview of the Diaconate’s Functional Needs Committee, would give attention to both the front door and side doors (particularly the nursery on Sunday mornings), and would ultimately include recommendations to the session on policy and procedure for recruiting and training ushers and greeters in perpetuity.

Action Steps and Timeline • • • •

Appointment of ad hoc committee by Session – October, 2015 Committee reviews first four outreach ministries, develops alignment plans – April, 2016 Committee brings first batch of plan proposals to Session for a vote – July, 2016 Committee first remaining five outreach ministries, develops alignment plans – April, 2017 Committee brings second batch of plan proposals to Session for a vote – July, 2017

IPC GOVERNANCE The goal of this proposal is to move our session to a “governance by policy” model, utilizing a structure of well‐organized committees that are aligned with the focus areas of the Strategic Plan. Committees operating under policy governance will empower individuals and groups to make decisions within the limits offered in the policy. Well developed, clear policies will be created for each committee which will delineate operating procedures for programs, ministries, and employees within that ministry. The intent is to limit the amount of direct supervision by the Committee itself. This will be accomplished with the oversight of the Session. Adoption of this document and any future additions, deletions and modifications rests solely with the Session of Independent Presbyterian Church as the final authority of all items covered herein.

Below are a number of key opportunity areas that this Proposal intends to address with the implementation of a policy governance model.

1.

Improved efficiency. Rather than a management-by-29-Elder system of governing, we propose moving to a policy governance system combined with an effective committee structure. We believe this will help facilitate sessional efficiency, improve trust, empower staff, improve harmony between staff and Session, lead to better results, focus the Session on Spiritual matters and the overwhelming need to shepherd the flock of God at IPC;

2.

Creation of clear parameters in which to operate. We will all (Session, employees, Committees, etc.) be familiar with and operate under the same “playbook” with new Committee policies and practices;

3.

Comprehensive development and orientation for all church officers;

4.

More effective support of our Ministers and staff. The cultivation of greater trust among TE’s, RE’s and program staff.

To achieve these improvements, we propose the following: 1.

Approval of the proposed committee structure that mirrors the Strategic Plan and Mission Statement.

2.

Adoption of a “governance by policy” model, organized through these sessional committees. This new policy governance and structure will take effect in April 2016.

3.

Appointment of an ad hoc Officer Election Committee to evaluate the effectiveness of the current process and make a recommendation to the Session by February 1, 2016 regarding any needed change to the election and orientation process. (Including: officer training, nomination, election, review/interview, ‘onboarding’ or orientation, etc.).

4.

Sessional appointment of an ad hoc Policy Committee that will gather policies from other churches and assist the existing, corresponding committee chairs in the creation of the new policies for the new committee structure. All committee policies will be submitted to the Session by April 1 and voted on during the April 2016 Session meeting.

After receiving the Session's approval of these proposals, the corresponding committee chairs shall poll the Session to determine on which committee Session members would like to serve (if any). The committee will then use this information to make initial committee recommendations to the Session for approval. The Ruling and Teaching Elders on each committee would then complete their respective membership by proposing the full membership roster to the Session.

Session Committee Structure & Reporting Following are the proposed standing committees of the Session with general information and guidelines for their makeup, operation, and reporting procedures. The purpose of these committees would be to generate policy for their areas of ministry, oversee that the policies are being followed, and bring to the full Session all policies, modifications of policies in the future, and requested and recommended exceptions to policies along the way.

IPC Session Standing Committees • Gathering for Worship • Growing in Community • Going out in Love • Nurture and Care •

Staff Care

•

Leadership Development

•

Communications

Recommended Structure, Purpose, and Functioning of Each Committee When developing committee policies, committees should seek to craft policy that governs rather than manages by committee. In this vein, committees will develop policies, subject to Session approval, that empower staff to be the day to day decision makers and to act, and/or oversee issues within clearly defined parameters. When an issue arises that is not covered by current policy, the committee will work to revise policy, subject to Session approval, develop or adapt policy to cover such situations both now and in the future rather than making a specific management decision about a specific circumstance. This does not preclude the committee from being a resource on specific operational issues. To the contrary, we encourage staff to seek the council of their committee; however, our overarching desire in terms of governance is to empower full time staff to execute the ministry policy delegated by the Session.

To this end, policy governance as intended by this document does not create a framework for staff members to report to a committee or its chairman. However, the committee chairman is responsible for ensuring staff operates within the parameters of Session approved policy. Should

staff members violate approved policy, the chairman is responsible for addressing any clear policy violation with staff and report violations to the committee. Should violations persist; the committee chairman will report violation(s) to the Executive/Senior Minister and Staff Care Committee. Our desire is for daily decisions to be made by staff, in accordance with sessionapproved policy.

The broader point is that policy will empower staff to operate the day-to-day of the church rather than be managed by, or report to, committees.

We are proposing that the approved committees begin immediately to develop their policies (with the help of sample policies to be gathered from several peer PCA churches by the Ad Hoc Policy Committee, with the goal of final Session approval by the end of April, 2016). It will be the responsibility of each committee to initially draft and then further revise its own policies, which must be submitted to the Session for final approval. Please note that this is not an ‘instantaneous process’.

Each committee will include Teaching and Ruling Elders who should take responsibility for the proactive development and improvement of ministry in their respective area, in addition to maintaining those current programs and activities that continue to serve us well. The Lead T/E will be responsible for providing regular communications, reports and updates to the respective committee concerning the activities of its ministry.

Each committee should determine whatever subcommittees it needs to carry out its work.

Subcommittees will operate under the authority of the standing committee that created it.

Session Committees should meet at least every quarter. Exceptions could be made at the discretion of the chairman, but not as a routine procedure. Meetings conducted by email only should be the exception, not the rule.

This proposal seeks to move the session toward governance and oversight versus operations.

This structure should lead to elders that are more balanced in their efforts to shepherd and govern – which results in Session meetings that are focused on prayer and spiritual matters versus operational decisions. That said, the Session has oversight and will govern by holding committees accountable to the goals, plans and policies approved in the Strategic Plan as amended from time to time by vote of the Session.

Committee Membership Each standing Session committee must include at least three (3) Ruling Elders and one to two (1-2) Teaching Elders. Any Sessional subcommittees will also include at least two (2) Ruling Elders and one (1) Teaching Elder. Ruling Elders must be currently active on the Session. All Ruling Elder and Teaching Elder committee representatives will be voting members.

In order to leverage the effectiveness of the Communications Committee, the chairman may appoint up to three (3) members of the congregation. Any “Going out in Love” subcommittees will utilize up to two (2) additional Ruling Elders and up to six (6) members of the congregation

who have demonstrated an interest in the work of that particular subcommittee. All lay committee (Communications) or subcommittee (Going out in Love) representatives must be approved by the Session and will serve three (3) year terms. Upon rolling off, lay committee/subcommittee members may serve one (1) additional term, subject to Session approval. Lay representation on the Communications committee as well as “Going” subcommittees will be voting members.

The committee chair may occasionally invite non-voting guests to participate in some discussions. The duties of the Committee Chair shall be as follows: 1. In consultation with the other committee members, schedule dates, times and location for meetings 2. Ensure meetings are called and held in accordance with the organizations’ policies, terms of reference or by-laws 3. In consultation with the lead TE establish and confirm an agenda for each meeting 4. Ensure the meeting agenda and relevant documents are circulated to the members of the committee 3-5 days in advance of the meeting 5. Officiate and conduct meetings 6. Provide leadership & ensure committee members are aware of their obligations and that the committee complies with the guidelines stated in the Sessional approved policy.

7. Ensure there is sufficient time during the meeting to fully discuss agenda items 8. Ensure that discussion on agenda items is on topic, productive and God-honoring (in accordance with the IPC Leadership Culture policy) 9. Ensure minutes are complete and accurate, retained, included and reviewed at the next meeting 10. Chair ‘executive session’ meetings as required Required Committee Leadership Positions Each committee shall have a Chairman, Vice Chairman, (who acts in place of the Chairman when the Chairman is unable to attend), and Secretary, who will record the minutes of the meeting. The Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Secretary shall always be RE’s, and one lead TE authorized and primarily responsible for the day to day management and execution of approved Sessional policies (The relationship between the committee Chair and the lead TE is analogous to the business relationship of a board Chair and a President/CEO).

Membership Appointment Procedure Prior to the October, 2016 Stated Session Meeting the Session will be polled to determine the top three committees sought by each elder (with the understanding that elders will generally complete their committee terms before joining another committee). At the October, 2016 Stated Session Meeting, the Session, using the above polling information and matching elders with committees according to gifting, will vote via secret ballot to add members to the committees and these appointments to be approved by the Session. Annually, at the September meeting the Senior Minister/Executive Minister will communicate to the Session his recommendation to

serve as the lead TE for each standing committee. These recommendations must be approved by the Session. The lead TE may serve on a particular standing committee without rotating off, but the Session must approve his reappointment at the September meeting each year.

The Senior Minister/Executive Minister will serve as the lead TE for the Gathering for Worship committee without rotation with Session approval.

Once a committee is in place, the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary of each committee shall be elected by the committee members. The term of the Chairman shall be for one year when the Vice Chairman shall take his place. Once his term is complete, the Chairman shall rotate off the respective committee. Thereafter, prior to the September Stated Session Meeting each year, each committee shall meet, elect a Vice Chairman and Secretary, and recommend any needed members to replace those whose terms are expiring. Replacement members shall be approved by the Session. Upon the Committee chairman rolling off the committee, the Vice Chairman shall become the Chairman for the next year. All committees shall operate with this rotational system.

All committee meetings and times will be posted in advance. All committee meetings (except for Staff Care) are open, with advance email notification to the Committee Chair, to all Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders to attend as non-voting guests.

Again, it should be noted that the policies of each respective committee will be developed by the committees with final approval thereof by the Session.

Ruling Elders elected to serve on the committee ordinarily will serve a term of three years unless recommended by the Committee and approved by the Session to serve one additional term. All committees w i l l rotate its Ruling Elder members to encourage both new ideas and a degree of continuity.

The Chairman of each committee has latitude in regard to Diaconate and lay representation.

The Chairman will appoint additional committee members, subject to final approval by the Session.

Committee Reporting Requirements Any committee reports to the Session produced for information only, and thus requiring no action by the Session, should be distributed to the entire Session at least a week in advance of the Session meeting and accompanied by the committee meeting minutes .

Any committee reports or recommendations requiring action by the Session should instead be directed to the Executive Minister preceding the Session meeting by more than a week. If the Executive Minister feels that the request for action is well-documented and "all necessary bases have been touched," it will be placed on the agenda for the upcoming Session Meeting and distributed to all Session members with the agenda at least a week in advance of the Session Meeting, so that -prior to the Session meeting -Elders will direct any questions about any recommendation to the Chairman of the committee that created it. Advanced distribution is

a must. This will allow for more efficient Session meetings and will avoid "redoing" committee work during Session meetings. Minutes of all committees shall be kept and distributed to all Session members, except for meetings on sensitive issues for which confidentiality must be maintained.

NOTE: Placement of an item on the Session agenda does not imply endorsement of the proposal by the Senior Minister/Executive Minister.

Format of Reports and Recommendations to the Session The Executive Minister will submit a standardized committee report template to each elder.

This format will be required to be used for all committee reports. The following items are standard, to be supplemented by the Committee as needed: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

The Situation, i.e. a concise statement of the opportunity, need or problem, Impact of the matter, Alternatives considered, Recommended action with any important details for Session's consideration, Benefits to be derived, Other committees or IPC functions affected and a summary of consultation with those entities, 7. Any budget impact with Budget Committee's response 8. Additional information as appropriate to facilitate the Session's deliberation New business items that have bypassed the committee process will not be accepted in the Session meeting and will be considered out of order by the Moderator unless a majority of Elders agree that it should be added to the agenda. Otherwise such proposals will be referred to the appropriate committee.

Minutes of all committees shall be kept and distributed to all Session members, except for meetings on sensitive issues for which confidentiality must be maintained.

CHARTER AND BYLAW CHANGES: Any charter or bylaw changes contemplated by this document should be proposed by an ad hoc committee of the Session which will recommend any changes for Sessional approval prior to submission to the congregation for its approval.

11.18.15

To: From: Re: Date:

The Leaders of Independent Presbyterian Church John Purcell Synopsis of Key Takeaways from Congregational Survey April 24, 2015

Introduction I have spent several hours going over the congregational survey, reading comments, thinking about the responses in comparison to what I know about the church, and comparing these responses to those I have received from other churches via similar surveys. I have reviewed the responses by age group, women vs. men, and leadership vs. non-leadership. The following are my key takeaways from the survey. My recommendation to you is to read this synopsis thoroughly, then to read the Survey Summary, and finally to read the comments made on many of those questions. It will take a lot of time, but it will be a worthy investment. I have highlighted in gray some areas that I believe may be especially important.

Purposes of the survey The purposes of doing a congregational survey like this are the following: • Find out exactly what people are thinking and feeling about how the church is doing overall, as well as in individual ministry areas, including what is most important to people and how widespread various opinions are.

• Investigate what segments of people hold different opinions.

• Honor people by asking them their opinion.

• Gather people’s assessment of their own spiritual maturity, whether that is accurate or not, so that you can compare these results with your own assessment of the congregation’s spiritual maturity.

• Take all feedback into consideration as you lead the church towards God’s vision, mission, and values for the church. Remember that the Session is there to represent, as stewards, the Owner of the church, not the members, and your role is to lead the congregation according to what they truly need, not what they want. But the more you understand their desires and feelings the better you can lead them and also the better you will understand the barriers to making changes. This can contribute to your wisdom in leading change.

Who took the survey Participation rate 605 completed most of the survey. Statistically, that is more than enough for a +/- 3% margin of error, which is how closely the answers represent the true opinions, and 95% confidence level, which is the likelihood that your sample actually represents the population.

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65% are members. 13% are regular attenders for more than 6 months, and only 2 people have been visiting less than 6 months.

About 22% of the respondents identified themselves as church leaders.

53% are females and 47% males. (One woman noted in a comment that it appears that over 75% of the congregation is female.)

Age Here is how the age demographics of our survey takers compare to the IPC Church membership.

Survey Members

20-29 16% 17%

30-39 25% 16%

40-49 14% 17%

50-59 25% 26%

60-69 11% 12%

Over 69 8% 13%

The problem with this comparison is that your membership data is not current with your actual active members. In fact, one respondent said they are a member of 2nd Pres. and another said they live out of town. However, going by the official membership information, the 30’s are over-represented and the over 69’s are under-represented. The rest are very close.

Families Only 20% of those taking the survey are single, divorced, or widowed. I don’t have that statistic on IPC’s membership; however, 43.5% of those in your surrounding area are in those categories.

40% of the survey takers have children under the age of 18.

Converts at IPC (Q1 in My Church Background) 11% said that God used IPC to bring them to Christ, which sounds fairly encouraging until you dig a little deeper. In fact, based on how long these people have been at IPC, with the exception of children growing up in the church this only happened with 2 people over the past 6 years and 7 over the past 15 years.

Attraction & Connection to IPC (Q2, Q3) As is typical with other churches, far and away the main reasons for people first coming was someone telling them or inviting them personally (62% total). 18% were looking for a PCA church (but this is higher with younger folks). 14% wrote in that they grew up in or came to the church as a child.

Only 2% came from driving by, and only 1% came because they found the church on the internet or in the phone book. These last 2 numbers are extremely low compared to other churches.

What they were first attracted to, in this order, was: 1. Preaching 2. Theology 3. Overall worship service John Purcell transform-coach.com

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4. Vision and Mission 5. Adult education opportunities 6. Friendliness of the people 7. Felt accepted 8. Music 9. Location 10. Children’s ministry 11. Youth ministry 12. Facilities These is one interesting age distinctive in this area: • The older the more likely to have been attracted to the music and the overall worship, although still a positive for a strong majority of younger people.

• The younger the more likely that the music was actually a negative (21% and 25% of 20’s and 30’s).

Now fast forward to why they continue to stay at IPC (Q28 in About our Church). (Note that you have to read this graph backwards due to the way I inadvertently arranged the weighting.) The order of the main responses is: the preaching, the theology, the pastors, the commitment I made to the church, the people, the Sunday morning worship experience, and the challenge to grow spiritually here. The greatest negative factor is the music, with 16% listing it as a negative or very negative factor.

72% feel Very Connected or Pretty Much Connected to IPC (Q32 under About our Church). Fewer in their 20’s and 30’s seem to feel connected (65%).

Spiritual practices & involvement 62% say they attend Sunday worship every week and another 27% three times/month. Based on the response of these 606 people, their average Sunday attendance would be 527. 64% say they attend Wednesday evenings 1-4 times/month. Based on their responses, the average Wednesday evening attendance for this group of 605 would be 276.

Q6 on the importance of small groups got strong positive responses, and there are many comments about how good their small groups are; however, there are many other comments about not being able to find good small groups or groups that work for them at IPC. PCA church members typically see themselves as very spiritually mature, and that also seems to be the case with IPC people.

• •

Q8 - 57% say they had personal worship 3-7 times in the past week and 43% 2 or fewer times per week.

46% say that they have regular real accountability, with about 54% of those under 50 and 37% of those over 50. There are several comments saying they desire this, and, interestingly, just John Purcell transform-coach.com

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• • • • • •

• • •

•

asking these kinds of questions on a survey like this can sometimes motivate just a few people to make changes in their lives in these areas.

54% say they have shared their faith in the last 3 months and 79% within the past year, which seem to be very positive responses. So an interesting question would be, “Why have only a handful of the survey respondents come to Christ at IPC over the past several years?”

49% say that they give a tithe or beyond to IPC. The average giving of these 593 people appears to be around 7.6%. The tithing of various groups (according to their answers, at least) is as follows: 74% of Elders, 38% of Deacons, 43% of staff, and 72% of other leaders.

43% say they are using their spiritual gifts in ministry Absolutely or Pretty Much. Only 11% say they are not sure what they are. There are several comments expressing a desire for help in knowing and finding a way to apply their gifts.

32% say they volunteer at IPC an hour or more per week, and another 37% say they volunteer at another Christian or other organization more than an hour per week (although there could be some overlap in this latter 2 groups that make up the 37%).

There are 1525 ministry involvements represented in Q14 and another 714 desires to get involved in one of the ministries listed. Theoretically, you could increase the involvement by 47% if all of these people followed through on these desires!

35% say they are in a Grace group and 27% in a men’s or women’s small group, and that is equally divided between men and women. This gender specific group response is very strong compared to most churches I have surveyed. If these groups were to be doing effective life-onlife discipleship, they could have a tremendous impact on the church and the city.

32% say it’s difficult to get involved in ministry at IPC. There are 143 suggestions on how to improve this that will be worth reading through.

68% say it’s easy to make friends at IPC. There are 168 comments about this, and many appear to be from the 32% who find it more difficult.

Q17 on self evaluating spiritual growth over the past 5 years yields this key takeaway: people feel they are growing more in loving and trusting God (41% and 51% say significant growth there) than they are in loving others and obeying God (28% and 30% say significant growth).

We must take these kinds of self-evaluation questions with a grain of salt. However, it’s interesting that Christ said those that obey Him are those who really love Him and Paul and James both boiled down the whole law to just one thing, loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Many of the comments were that great difficulties in people’s lives have been the greatest “gift” (my term, not theirs) in drawing them closer to God. Q18 – 54% have not discipled or been discipled, according to whatever their own understanding of that is. The younger the person, the more likely they are to have been involved in discipleship. There are many comments expressing a strong desire to be discipled.

Of those who have been involved in discipleship, 77% said it was Very Important and another 22% Somewhat Important in spiritual growth, which adds up to 99%!

Worship How well do the following aspects of our worship services help you worship God well? (Q20) Preaching gets the highest marks by far, followed by the overall service, liturgy, music, and physical environment, in that order. The older the people, the more positive they are about the liturgy, music, John Purcell transform-coach.com

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and physical environment. Since these are issues, here are the specifics, with the age group responses (age listed in left-hand column):

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Bringing guests to worship (Q22 & 23) Only 51% feel Definitely or Very Much comfortable bringing a guest to worship. The comments about the issues of this include the following categories: the service; the music, the size; people’s formal dress; the lack of diversity (socio-economic and also race); unfriendliness toward newcomers. Still, 44% say they have brought a friend within the past year and 65% within the past 3 years. The comments about the guests’ reactions mostly follow the same issues just listed.

What would you like to see changed about worship (Q24)?

These are open comments, and I have tallied the most frequent responses: 1. 138 – Change the music – mostly adding more contemporary, some more joyful, some add a contemporary service 2. 58 – Specifically said NO change to the service, leave it as is 3. 27 – More casual 4. 9 – Bring back Sunday evening service 5. 6 – More friendliness – of the people, the greeters, or greet one another during the service 6. 6 – Acoustics

Offering a clear and effective pathway to becoming a fully devoted follower (Q25) As with most churches, the vast majority (84%) of people affirm that you Definitely or Somewhat have a clear pathway to maturity, reflecting (in my own opinion) their lack of understanding of two things -how we really grow spiritually and that we should all be on a growth pathway (not just new believers).

43% answered Definitely on this one, but only 14% of Staff, 26% of Other Leaders, 33% of Deacons, and 38% of Elders.

In Q46, which was just for leaders, “Having a clear pathway to spiritual maturity that’s effective,” the leaders answered as follows: Excellent 2%, Good 30%, Fair 40%, Lacking 18%, Poor 11%.

How would you rate the following IPC ministries? (Q26) The ranked results are as follows, after eliminating the Don’t Know answers: Ministry Weighted Ave. Rating (Excellent = 5.0) 1. Children’s ministry 4.41 2. Nursery 4.35 3. Overall Sunday AM experience 4.24 4. Adult SS 4.18 5. Women’s ministries 4.08 6. Music 3.94 7. Grace groups 3.74 8. Wednesday evening ministry 3.70 9. Global outreach 3.69 10. Student ministries 3.68 11. Audio/Video 3.49 12. Mercy ministries 3.40 13. Accountability/discipleship groups 3.23 John Purcell transform-coach.com

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14. Hospitality/Welcome 15. Local outreach

3.20 3.17

There are many varied comments about individual ministries, worth reading by the staff. One repeated comment is “What is the Hospitality Ministry?” There are some specific “complaints” about some ministry specifics.

Leadership (Q27) Ranking by Excellent and Good responses after eliminating the Don’t Knows: 1. Effectiveness of staff 79% 2. Work of Diaconate 77 Equipping you to live (tie) 77 3. Work of Session 67 4. Elders as approachable shepherds 66 5. Shepherding you, esp. in need 62 6. Your willingness to reach out to an Elder 59 7. Giving you sense of church’s vision 54 There are a wide variety of comments here that communicate very different experiences with the Elders, Staff, and shepherding, along with a lot of confusion about the organization.

What is your understanding of the current Mission of IPC? (Q29) 358 people attempted to answer this question. Only 8 people correctly quoted it almost word for word.

Several (perhaps 12 or so) did say they “know what it is” but didn’t try to quote it. 37 got the essence correct of some version of “making disciples for Memphis” or “making disciples and sending them out.” 65 others got some form of “making disciples” correct. And 39 others talked about reaching Memphis but without the word “disciple” included.

57% said they are Inspired by it or attracted Very Well to it (whatever they think “it” is).

Values (Q31) I believe an organization’s culture (what’s most important and how people behave) is most captured by the REAL core values that are exhibited there, both positive and negative (as described in my two articles about culture). The purpose of the Values question is to learn how most of your people experience the culture and what is most important to people here, as well as what they desire to be most important at IPC. Here is how your people selected the top 11 REAL (true today) values. The 4 marked with * are your stated values today.

Value 1. Wealth 2. Control 3. Criticism

% selecting 94 87 86

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4. Tradition 5. Discord 6. Caution 7. Commitment to scripture 8. Centrality of the gospel* 9. Biblical 10. Importance of the church* 11. Integrity

81 79 74 67 65 66 62 51

Worth of the individual* Renewal of the city*

33 21

This is an amazing response, with the top 6 overwhelming responses all being negative behaviors and culture. And based on these responses, it appears that 2 of your 4 stated values are somewhat real, while the other 2 are not a part of the culture at this point.

People also selected what they think are the stated values, as follows: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Centrality of the gospel* Biblical Commitment to scripture Outreach and evangelism Renewal of the city* Importance of the church* Faith oriented goals Growth Worth of the individual*

78 77 70 70 61 53 53 51 50

The good news here is that 50% or more selected your actual stated values.

Finally, they selected what they would like the values to be:

1. Honest, humble community of believers 2. Reaching the younger generations 3. Spirit filled 4. Deep relationships 5. Loving family, highly relational 6. City renewal* 7. Mercy 8. Hospitality 9. Harmony 10. Worth of the individual* 11. Priority of prayer 12. Centrality of the gospel* John Purcell transform-coach.com

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Importance of the church*

28

Changes Never change (Q33) These are open-ended comments, so I counted and gathered them into the following categories: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Preaching/teaching/gospel teaching Our theology, Biblical, etc.

Our music, either the type or quality Our worship service The gospel Outreach, missions, mercy Children’s ministry, nursery, emphasis on children The ministers on staff Grace groups

162 120 86 83 46 14 13 10 8

Desired changes (Q34) 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Music 102 Friendlier, more welcoming, hospitality, real relationships Worship style, incl. adding a more informal service 37 Outreach, mercy, missions, city impact 31 Formal, country club atmosphere 29 Age segregated Sunday School classes 23 More diversity 22 Plus hiring a minority pastor 3 8. Less formal dress, incl. suits for officers, robes 20 9. Add Sunday night service 17 10. Changes of various types to Youth Ministry 17 11. Add discipleship emphasis/approach 13 12. Changes to Wednesday evenings 13 13. Change the elder rotation or annual elections 12 14. Add a college or college/career class/ministry/minister 11 Plus comments on 20’s Sunday School Class & adding Singles Ministry 6 15. Communications improvements 11 16. Cliques 9 17. More frequent communion 9 18. Various comments on the minority ladies serving in 8 the Nursery, paying them more, honoring them, not taking advantage of them, etc.

19. Pastors and Elders reaching out more to people 8 20. Sunday School classes friendlier, perhaps smaller 8 John Purcell transform-coach.com

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Transform, LLC john@transform-coach.com

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21. Ministry to women’s hearts or working women 22. More humility 23. More Session leadership (incl. more humble) 24. Add counseling ministry 25. Racial reconciliation 26. More parking 27. Less sloppy dress/appearance in worship services 28. Gossip 29. Change the church’s name 30. More small group options

7 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 3

Strengths desired in the new Sr. Pastor (Q36) Category 1. Preaching 2. Shepherding/pastoring 3. Visionary leader 4. Discipler of men 5. Developer of leaders 6. Mission focus 7. Discipleship focus 8. Attract young families 9. Personal evangelism 10. Organizational leader 11. Change agent 12. Protector of tradition

Weighted Rating 4.73 4.01 3.69 3.65 3.56 3.49 3.43 3.31 3.31 3.02 2.60 2.50

There are a few comments that we must not expect him to have all these strengths and to do everything.

Q37 asked about preferred age range, and the top 2 responses were 40’s (44%) and Not Important (32%), followed by 50’s (13%) and 30’s (10%).

Anything else you would like to tell us (Q37) As an encouragement to you, I’m quoting a few of the comments here: Thank you for doing this survey. I am certain there will be much negativity with a blind survey. This is a huge gesture to have honesty, unfiltered by sinful people. I being one. Thank you for reading and hopeful for the results that benefit the Kingdom.

I love IPC and am praying for our elders, ministers and deacons. Thank you for this opportunity to share some of my thoughts and desires!

I just want to see our church become a loving place where the love of Jesus and becoming like Him is the main priority. I want people to see how extravagantly they have been loved and to see them live John Purcell transform-coach.com

Transform, LLC john@transform-coach.com

(678) 910 2705 4809 Coppedge Trail, Duluth, GA 30096

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out of that knowledge in relationships with others and with a joy to share that with those who don’t know the great news!

You are in my prayers! That this survey would be used to serve IPC – in God’s will and guidance. . . for the good of His Beloved Church.

I think this has been a great survey. I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts!

And this was such a thoughtful comment that I wanted to include it:

Leaders-only questions Clarity on who makes which decisions (Q44 & 45) There is an obvious lack of organizational clarity right now on this issue. On Q44, which just asked how clear this is, 47% said this is clear or very clear, and 37% said somewhat vague or very vague.

Q45 really tests this by asking about specific decisions and responsibilities. When given several categories of responsibilities, the responses are all over the map. For example, the 32 Elders taking the survey responded as follows about their own responsibilities: Elders individually Make policy decisions 1 Make major management decisions 0 Make medium level mgmt. decisions 2 John Purcell transform-coach.com

Session 24 23 5

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Shepherd specific church families Disciple men Develop leaders Ensure e are attaining our Mission Ensure we are abiding by our Values Establish our strategy Execute our strategy Oversee the Sr. Pastor Manage the Staff Pastors Lead committees Lead ministries Evangelize individuals Lead small groups Shepherd the Sr. Pastor Shepherd the Elders Cast Vision Model the Christian life Attend all major church events Equip members to do the ministry Shepherd lay leaders

21 16 15 5 4 0 9 4 1 19 15 24 23 17 11 3 20 16 16 19

10 13 16 23 26 24 20 26 16 11 11 10 6 14 8 18 20 13 15 12

The leaders’ rating of IPC in several leadership areas came out as follows (Q46) Area Excellent or Good Rating 1. Healthy teamwork within the Diaconate 65% (70% of Deacons) 2. Having a culture of real Biblical community 54 3. Developing leaders 52 4. Caring for leaders 48 5. Healthy teamwork within the Session 48 (28% of Elders) 6. Healthy teamwork within the Staff 43 (31% of Staff) 7. Healthy teamwork among the staff, session, diaconate 40 (28% of Elders, 27% of Staff, 45% of Deacons) 8. Communicating with leaders 37 9. Having a clear pathway to spiritual growth that’s effective 32 (20% of Elders) 10. Being outward focused 31 11. Organizational clarity on our Mission and strategy 29 (23% of Elders, 17% of Staff) Evaluation of the church’s effectiveness on its Mission Statement, by component (Q47)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Area Being a community of worshipping believers Being a community of maturing believers Calling them into a devoted community Making disciples of Jesus in Memphis Sending out disciples out to be salt and light John Purcell transform-coach.com

Excellent or Good Rating 63% 53 33 24 21

Transform, LLC john@transform-coach.com

(678) 910 2705 4809 Coppedge Trail, Duluth, GA 30096

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Aligning with our stated Core Values (Q48)

1.

2.

3.

4.

Area The centrality of the gospel The importance of the church The worth of the individual The renewal of the city

Highly or Mostly Rating 89% 80 52 21

What needs to happen for IPC to grow to the next level (in whatever way you would measure that)? (Q49) There are a wide variety of thoughts here, and the closest to any overall themes may be represented by the following comments: Begin to see people as each having a soul and having value, as stated before be open to new friendships, relationships, step outside your comfort zone.

Continue to preach the Gospel of Christ with strength and clarity.

Effective organizational leadership and processes that are committed to Biblical mission (the great commission) and shepherding our flock to be doers and not just hearers of the Word. We will have to completely change the DNA of IPC to accomplish this task and it will not be done unless driven by the Holy Spirit.

IPC needs to have humble and spirit filled leaders that are encouraging others to be humble and spirit filled. We need to have clear mission, vision with practical ways to move toward that. It should be measured by the number of adult baptisms we see each year, and the number of professions of faith.

Also by the congregation looking like the neighborhood around us, by the increased attendance in Worship service and other church functions. The increase in volunteers that do local mercy and outreach and global missions. The Spirit of God needs to work first in our leaders and the congregation will follow and then the city. . .

Define tactically how every aspect of the Church supports the overall Mission of IPC – Membership to plant churches when needed in Memphis – Drastically commit to and improve communication approach and strategy, measure it, and optimize it – Staff Leadership diversity (economic and racial) – Economic elected leadership diversity – Break and/or change programs/traditions that don’t measurably impact mission/goal (dress codes, worship style, legacy support organizations, recreational programs, etc.)

Unity of Vision and Mission of All Staff, Session and Diaconate.

1. Clear Mission and Vision for the church over-all 2. Clear vision and plan concerning discipleship John Purcell transform-coach.com

Transform, LLC john@transform-coach.com

(678) 910 2705 4809 Coppedge Trail, Duluth, GA 30096

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More intentional focus on discipling the Session and Diaconate and praying with each other.

Pray together and struggle together.

John Purcell transform-coach.com

Transform, LLC john@transform-coach.com

(678) 910 2705 4809 Coppedge Trail, Duluth, GA 30096

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