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PHASE 1

To uncover the good news in your neighborhood we need to see the good news in our own lives and congregation first. You can’t share good news you haven’t experienced. So, let’s conduct some exercises to expose God’s good news in the life of this congregation.

During Phase 1, your congregation is asked to complete four self-assessment activities focused on gathering information and reflecting on your church community’s history, values, and priorities.

Congregational Assessment Resources

• Congregational Timeline: You will need butcher paper or flip charts, along with markers of different colors. Begin documenting your findings as you interview members or look at archival documents. Pay close attention to adaptability to change throughout a congregation’s history, responses to population and social changes, etc. Follow the tutorial provided by Studying Congregations to conduct this exercise found here.
• Missional Readiness Survey: The purpose of the Missional Readiness survey is to reflect on the missional efforts of a congregation; an opportunity for members and leaders to share thoughts about their contributions to sharing the good news of Christ’s Kingdom. It is brief and members will be able to complete this quickly. It asks questions about members’ comfort with talking about their faith, member engagement with ministries off campus, the financial commitment of the parish to outreach, and awareness of the surrounding neighborhood. This will be ideally conducted electronically using this link. A .pdf of the survey can be downloaded here.
• Congregational Asset Inventory: Every congregation has a unique charism and call. A congregational asset inventory is intended to draw out the gifts a congregation has to offer to community engagement. There are 3 phases to conducting a congregational asset inventory: interviewing current members, reviewing congregational history, and identifying the perspective of the congregation from those outside of the church. You can download physical copies of this form here.
• Meeting Guide: Download physical copies of the meeting guide here.

Download the Handbook

To learn more, contact Canon Jason Evans at jevans@edsd.org.