Congregational Health Assessment Report - The Spirit's Call to Faithfulness

1. Congregational Health Assessment Report of Business and Visitation CommitteesPresbytery of HamiltonNovember 8, 2016

2. Listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches God’s Spirit identifies signs of faithfulness and signs of disobedience

3. Spirit says I know your good works... But I have this against you... • love • faith • service • patient endurance • holding fast to Christ’s name • increasing in good works • sound theology • have abandoned love • tolerate evil teaching and practices • works not acceptable • dead, not alive as reputed • lukewarm • soiled clothes • wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, naked • self-satisfied/self-focused

4. The Seven Churches of Asia How Healthy Are They? 5 Unsustainable Pattern 1 Strategic Pattern 1 Sustainable Pattern

5. Laodicea • “I am rich, I have prospered, I need nothing.” • self-satisfied • self-focused • inward-looking • lukewarm • no mention of love for God

7. Philadelphia • praised by Spirit • you have kept my word of patient endurance • you have not denied my name • you have but little power

9. Smyrna • praised by the Spirit • afflicted • slandered • faithful in resisting untrue teaching • expected to be faithful unto death • poor (even though you are rich)

11. How long did churches endure? • 8th – 11th centuries AD • 1392 AD • 1922 AD • “unsustainable” churches: Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Laodicea • cease to thrive under Muslim control of cities • “strategic” Philadelphia • endures until city comes into Turkish possession • “sustainable” Smyrna • endures until Greek expulsion from Turkey

12. What we learned • Congregational Health Criteria is a good tool • It works! • God’s Spirit is active in our discussions as we seek to assess congregational health

13. Congregational Health Criteria An In-Depth Look

14. Health Criteria: origin • developed by Visitation Committee • as instructed by Presbytery (Sep 2015): • to develop viability guidelines • to assess Church of St. Andrew and St. John and St. David’s • approved by Presbytery (Nov 2015) • an adaptation of criteria used in other churches, including Anglican Diocese of Toronto

15. Health Criteria: structure • 6 aspects of congregational life: • overall health and leadership • worship • discipleship • fellowship • mission • stewardship

16. Health Criteria: structure • 56 statements • choose ALL that apply • may reveal clustering of characteristics under 1 of 3 designations: • sustainable stage of life • unsustainable stage of life • strategic to ministry of presbytery • many sustainable characteristics but need ongoing support

17. Why Assess Congregational Health? Good for all congregations to assess health and share findings with presbytery • open conversation in congregation • changes >>>> improved health • re-alignment of resources • learn/share “best practices” • connections between congregations: strengths match weaknesses

18. … Why Assess Congregational Health? Good for all congregations to assess health and share findings with presbytery • presbytery: comprehensive picture of congregations • RESIST/REJECT common practice: • “As long as congregation needs nothing from presbytery, leave them be.” • basis for presbytery decisions, e.g. congregational requests for $

19. Role of Presbytery Authority Goal Assessment Process and Reporting Visitations Commitment Accountability

20. Presbytery Authority Book of Forms: • Care and good order of churches belongs to presbytery • Only presbytery organizes churches and erects places of worship • Presbytery authority: • approve congregational name • unite or disjoin congregations in pastoral charges • raise or reduce status of congregations • dissolve congregations

21. Presbytery Goal To foster open discussion within the presbytery about the health of its congregations

22. Assessment Process and Reporting • Session: • assesses congregation • summarizes findings • sends report to Presbytery Clerk • Visitation Committee: • receives session reports • maintains file for each congregation • tells presbytery which reports received • may change visitation schedule, based on reports

23. ... Assessment Process and Reporting • Session reports required PRIOR to visitation • Sessions conduct assessment in next 2 years, or earlier: • if visitation scheduled • if congregation requests funds or change in ministry

24. When to Visit Congregations? • previous practice: • visit only during settled times • avoid times of transition • wait until new minister settled • yet transition times are IDEAL • broaden the timing of congregational visits: • in-between ministers • changes in ministry (full-time to part-time) • sustainability in question • other congregations on rotation

25. Presbytery Commitment Visitation Committee: • receive session reports and maintain files • during visitation, discuss session’s findings • report relevant details to presbytery • recommend changes to health criteria, with experience

26. ... Presbytery Commitment Business Committee: • BEFORE recommending responses to requests for grants or loans or changes in ministry, CONFER with Visitation Committee about session reports

27. ... Presbytery Commitment Presbytery: • consider reports of Visitation Committee • BEFORE decisions to change congregation’s status or to realign or reallocate resources, ENSURE time and space for appropriate consultation: OPEN, TRANSPARENT, RESPECTFUL

28. Presbytery Accountability • Presbyterian governance: • decision of court subject to review by higher court • Presbytery decisions: • could be reviewed by Synod or General Assembly • Purpose/meaning of regulations: • Presbytery accountable to wider church • leadership and stewardship of Presbytery do matter • we are to serve whole church

29. Role of Session Health Assessment Congregation Presbytery

30. Session: Health Assessment Honour assessment process and timeline: • allow time to conduct assessment • exercise transparency: • give specific examples for criteria chosen to describe congregation • take responsibility for assessment: • entire session to approve report (even if prepared by smaller group)

31. Session: within Congregation • Foster open conversation about congregation’s health • Give leadership in considering changes: • shifts in attitude and behaviour >>> improved health • realignment of resources

32. Session: within Presbytery • Submit report on congregation’s health • Observe timelines: • within 2 years or earlier as required • Discuss report with Visitation Committee • during visitation or as requested • Participate in open conversations about health of presbytery’s congregations

33. Decisions

34. Recommendation That all sessions use the congregational health criteria to assess their congregation within the next two years, or earlier if a presbytery visitation is scheduled or if the congregation requests funding or a change in ministry, and provide a written report of the results to the presbytery

35. Questions and Comments