St. Paul’s United Church

Summary Report of the work of the Ad Hoc Growth Committee

formed at the February 2009 Annual meeting

 

Committee members have included:

Grant Brooker

Elsie Kirkpatrick

Heather Linington

Lynn Mueller

Catherine Stevenson

John Weaver

 

The committee’s mandate:

 

 

Focus on the question of membership – both attracting new members and reviving interest in existing members whose involvement has declined. The committee may investigate the feasibility of methods to accomplish these goals and may conduct research among members of St. Paul’s and residents of the area to study the most promising methods of increasing membership and may carry out other activities in consultation with the executive of the Church Council.

 

as created by the motion at the February 2009 Annual meeting

 

The process we followed:

 

We began our work believing the issue was as simple as reaching out to the non – attendees, telling them they were missed, and we wanted them back.

We contacted 10 former regular attendees, and 1 new family “church shopper”.

We benchmarked other churches, other services.

 

The findings of our investigations:

 

We surveyed members whose participation has diminished. We received feedback that included the following:

 

–       Attending church is not a priority

–       Busy with other things

–       No social connection during time at church

–       Attended with kids, they are now confirmed, now no connection

–       There is no meaningful connection or relevance to attend the Sunday morning service.

–       No connection with the Minister

–       Sarcastic comments of “Welcome” after prolonged absence

–       “.........but I golf on Sunday..........”

–       Felt slighted by the church hierarchy

–       No leadership from the pulpit

–       Moved to other priorities in their lives

–       A church shopper hoped people would come up to her and say hello and welcome, hoped the minister would hello and welcome, but neither happened (this couple received a very warm welcome at the Presbyterian church)

–       Gets nothing out of Sunday morning service but participates in social committee activities

 

Our path forward:

 

The committee has scratched our collective heads, as the message from the interviewed absentee members and current attendees is......

            we need to make the service more meaningful and relevant, meaningful to all

Changes underway:

 

Making our church time more meaningful

 

–       Create a welcoming entranceway through adding banners, a table with flowers, communication tools telling our upcoming activities, removal of the coat rack, etc.

§       Create a warm welcome environment

§       Create the spirit of a happening place

§       Create a pride of ownership of our building

 

–       Introduce a Chapters™ style environment in the Narthex, where coffee will be made available, magazines to preview and read, removing the clutter. A host / hostess will ensure a warm welcome is given to all.

§       Creates a welcoming environment

§       Looks inviting

§       Greet newcomers with a coffee

 

–       Introduce the role of a host / hostess. Treat church attendees as welcomed guests (much like you would in your house to guests).

§       Ensure needs are met

§       Names exchanged

§       Create the warm, lasting impression

 

–       Remove the pews under the balcony, close the balcony, open up a common area and a quiet Nursery / Play area at the back of the sanctuary

§       Physically move the congregation closer together

§       Everyone will feel like a part of the service

§       Frees up space for more social connection activities

 

–       Change the message on the Outdoor Sign more frequently and communicate points of interest in the service as well as upcoming community events

§       Communicates to community our outreach, our intentions

§       Appeal to a broader base

§       Reach the non – regular attendees as they travel by our building

 

–       Service changes

§       include messages regarding life events and health of congregational members (i.e. concerns / prayers for…)

§       include a message from a different committee each week

·       with the intention that through communication we are all united

§       include different styles of music; 10 – 10:30 time frame (while coffee is being served) could be an ‘open-mike’ time, where people can play the piano and other instruments

 

§       introduce alternate type of service option – i.e. discussion style, praise

§       Change the service length i.e. 30 – 35 minutes

§       Change the time of service, the day of the service

·       With the intention of reaching our community who busy life styles do not afford the luxury of time

 

Summary:

 

Our community continues to grow, and will grow for years to come. We need to reach out and communicate the message of the good news. To be successful, we must reach out in a style and format that is relevant and meaningful.

 

As we position ourselves throughout the rest of this spring and summer, we recommend that a membership drive be undertaken this fall.