By Darlene Miller, PNC Moderator
The Pastor Nominating Committee is very thankful for the participation of the congregation in our recent survey. We used this information, including quotes from some responses, to prepare our Ministry Discernment Profile. This profile will be the main communication about our church to potential ministry call seekers once it is approved by our Session and Presbytery of East Tennessee Committee on Ministry. Your views were very valuable in crafting our document.
In several ways, this information aligned closely with the previous input from the Vision Task Force’s work, and we also used the Vision for the Road Ahead document as an important part of our work. We appreciate all who took time to give their input and to identify the most important leadership characteristics.
Results Summary:
Our vision for ministry is that we are called to be an anchor for the community to help others in need and for everyone to experience God’s love through education, fellowship, worship and missions. It is important for us to learn and serve together and provide outreach to our community.
Our church family shared numerous reasons why they participate in worship, education, and missions. We have a focus on Christ and several participants like the style of our worship and our wonderful music ministry. Many view the church as a family who genuinely show care, acceptance and no judgment. Our small groups for fellowship, Bible study, and spiritual growth are important in nurturing our relationships with each other and with God.
Serving our community locally and beyond is important to most responders. Survey responses named our various ministries, for our church members, our community and others as how we respond to emerging needs. The consensus is that we continue to find ways to serve, to respond to necessities, and provide support. We especially want to support the needs of our aging and homebound members as well as our children and youth through faith development and education. In our community, we feel it is important to go outside of our walls to share the gospel and show the love of Christ. We do that especially well through the Davis Center, Fountain City Ministry Center, Family Promise, Fountain City Elementary School, and Grandmas Pajamas.
A thought shared by several is the importance of selecting what we are going to do and then do it well. It was noted that we should build a strong local volunteer foundation and support it well, before moving outside of our community. Emergencies and natural disasters were mentioned as potential needs to serve beyond the local community.
The ministry in Belize is noted as an important part of our mission history and some feel it is still a valuable ministry. However, several responses also noted that our church size and resources are factors in whether we can be effective in serving both local and international missions well.
We see the value of our streaming service that provides access to worship for those who are homebound, who have moved, and who are searching for a church home.
All pastoral leadership characteristics had votes as being important. The top five characteristics identified are spiritual maturity, good communicator, good listener, organizational manager, and values tradition.
To quote the Vision Task Force summary regarding their survey, we found this to be true: “We hear very clearly that we matter to each other, and we want to care for each other and our neighbors in ways that help, that are true to Scripture, and that honor God.”