This past Monday I attended a workshop in Indianapolis sponsored by The Center For Congregations, which is a wonderful gift to the churches of Indiana supported by the Lilly Endowment. The workshop was entitled “Creating Congregational Cultures of Generosity”, and, as the title suggests, was about religious giving and financing a church’s ministry and mission in the 21st Century.
“Transparency” was one of the many topics discussed. I thought transparency has to do with things like how easy it is to read and understand the financial records of the church, the openness of the budget process, and providing regular and clear information about the church’s financial health, etc.
Transparency in finances is about all these things, but I also learned that it is about much, much more!
Transparency for a church begins with everyone in the congregation being able to answer two questions — Who are we? and, What are we about?
“Who are we?” is an identity question. Why does our church exist? What makes our church unique and sets us apart? Our answers to these questions reveal the core values that shape the internal life and structure of our church.
“What are we about?” is a question about mission. What is the mission, the purpose or purposes, of our church that makes us accountable to God, to the world around us, and to each other? What is the compelling vision for service as disciples of Jesus Christ that excites us, and makes us want to be the most faithful church and people we can be? Having a core mission helps us become, and remain, a spiritually and structurally healthy congregation.
For the past few months the Vision & Planning Team of Session has been peppering us with surveys. There have been four of them so far, about 1) Congregational Communication, 2) Connections & Involvement, 3) Spiritual Growth & Christian Education, and 4) Leadership & Leadership Development. Each of these questionnaires has been designed to gather information from you the members and friends of Central, that Session can use to figure out how Central can best follow God’s call into the future. Session wants to be in partnership with you as it works on answering the important questions of “Who Central is” and “What Central is about”. Transparency is the goal.
It seems clear to me that we are experiencing a case of survey fatigue. The first two Vision & Planning surveys have been filled out by approximately 90 people so far. The third survey has 45 responses. The fourth survey has 39 responses. Session really needs your help in raising the response rate for these last two surveys. There are several ways to access them online. You could use the Vision & Planning link on the righthand side of the Central Website, you could click the Vision & Planning tab at the top of this blog (or on the link on the righthand side), or you can just simply click here. A page will appear with links to each of the surveys, and a few minutes of your time today will make a huge difference in Central’s future ministry and mission.
Transparency has always been important to the church of Jesus Christ, and in the 21st Century it has become essential. I look forward to our growing more and more transparent together for God’s Kingdom.
See you in worship Sunday!
