Survey Summary
Response totals as of July 19,2005:
- 32 of 59
congregations and fellowships responding
- 3 of 9 provincial boards and agencies
responding
The summary that
follows is focused on the response to question three of the survey:
" As you consider the diversity of our broader
shared ministries as the Southern Province, which stretch from V A to FL, what
aspects of ministry are most important for the 2006 Synod to address to best
support and inspire positive growth in our shared ministries in the next
synodal period (2006-2010)?"
Each congregational, provincial board or agency group and
their respective delegates were asked to respond and to note the top three
responses. A single response for each congregational or provincial board /
agency was requested noting the top three replies each group had prioritied.
·
35
groups responded; 105 possible different answers
·
There were 7 categories with at least 10
responses:
1. Polity and Organizational Management [18]
2. Evangelism and Church Growth [17] :,
3. Theology and Faith Expression [16]
4. Unity and Community Building [15]
5. Stand on Issues of Controversy [13]
6. Social Concerns, Justice, and Tolerance [10]
7. Stewardships and Financial Reform [10]
There were six additional categories with a moderate
response of 2 to 5:
· The categories receiving
five responses include:
1.
Youth
and Camp Ministries [ 5]
2.
Ministerial
Development [5]
3.
Communication
[ 5]
· The categories receiving
at least two responses include:
1. Moravian
Heritage [3]
2. Marketing,
Promotion, and Public Relations [3]
3. Education
and Spiritual Formation [2]
Listed
below is a summary of the comments given in each of these categories beginning
with the highest response and concluding with the category with at least two
responses.
Polity and Organizational Management [18]
- .Responding
to the geographical spread and the development of the province
- .How
will the province deal with the issue of small congregations and how to
minister to them without prejudice against small congregations?
- .Determine
the effectiveness of the current provincial structure
- .Finding
innovative ways to encourage broader participation of congregations
allover the province (in provincial shared ministries)
- .Actively
seeking ways to broaden representation on the PEC can only enhance the
unity of the province
- .How
can the province encourage / enable people from congregations outside of
Forsyth County to serve on the PEC and provincial boards?
- "
At times provincial leadership has seemed inconsistent in dealing with
local congregations. The development of a documented strategy for
provincial leaders, pastors, and church boards in responding to personnel
issues, particularly as those issues related to church doctrine,
ordination vows, etc., would be useful:"
;
- Take a hard look at
smaller congregations and try to determine what is; in the best interest
of the province. Try to determine why some congregations continue to
thrive while others steadily decline.
- A void duplication
of services within congregations -encourage cooperation, sharing and
pooling resources
- Stronger
provincial leadership -willing to take decisive action more quickly
- "Work
harder to reduce Winston-Salem bias in provincial matters."
- Concern
for what appears to be doubt on the part of the PEC on where Moravians
stand in terms of salvation
- Having
more frequent encounters and contacts with "Winston-Salem"
(assuming this means visits by provincial leaders to outlying
congregations)
- More independence
for congregational pursuits -financial and congregational
- Maintaining
conferential form of church government
- .More open to
sharing resources
- Relevance and
leadership of the PEC
- Need
for a unifying vision for all congregations
- Leadership must
begin to reflect the changes that are occurring in our immediate
culture that reflect changes and growth in ethnicity and
cultural diversity
- Build bridges -have
more joint participation and activities
- "Simple,
straightforward statements concerning what we as Moravians believe
regarding the uniqueness of Jesus Christ is needed! Not enough has been
done."
- Re-establish
trust between congregations and provincial leadership
- Transparency
in budgets of provincial boards and agencies is needed -just as
congregations are expected to provide to provincial leadership
- Provincial
leadership is "top heavy" -growing larger as the over all
membership of the province is in decline
- Clergy
salaries were raised to a burdensome level at the 2002 Synod
- Call
process is in need of change and improvement
- "Appropriate
representation on the PEC -leadership!"
Evangelism and
Church Growth [17]
- A new provincial strategy for developing
new congregations
- Develop new models for congregational
growth
- Strategies to reach Hispanic peoples
- Strategies
for small congregations -those declining and those which are growing
- Ministry
to the aging
- "
.Ministry to the young and attracting young folks
- Strategies to address the aging of many
congregations and their declining attendance and membership
- Concern
for compromise of values, heritage and preferences for the sake of
attracting new and inactive members
- New emphasis on the proclamation of the
"Gospel"
- Sharing strategies already learned by
congregations experiencing growth
- Multi-cultural awareness
- Redevelop
provincial media resources for evangelism ("Becoming a Member"
video )
- Declare
new effort to reach new persons for Christ (move away from maintenance
mode )
- Help
in learning to minister to a diversity of ages
Theology and Faith Expression
[16]
·
Keeping
a biblical emphasis
·
Lots
of time spent by the congregation in the last synodal period monitoring,
studying, and responding to our province's stand (and lack
thereof) on a variety of theological issues
- Provincial
leadership's response to theological challenges have often lacked clarity
or appeared inconsistent from situation to situation, or seemed
inconsistent with the Moravian Church's foundational beliefs.
- 2006
Synod needs to take a scriptural, unwavering and public stand on issues
that threaten to split our denomination
- "
As long as the Synod allows the Truth to be compromised, the efficacy of
our denominational leadership will be diminished by the enemy.
- Christ as sole and unique way of life
- Affirmation of
scriptural authority
- Stand
on doctrine without compromise. Do not allow our efforts to increase
attendance cause us to weaken our gospel message.
- Make
Christ and the Church the main focus.
- Reaffirm
that Jesus Christ is the Chief Elder
- No
doubt as to where we stand in terms of our salvation
- "The
number one issue facing Southern Province" is adherence to biblical
truth. If the province would take a stand on biblical truth there would be
more unity and we would be in accordance with God's will, thereby opening
us to His shower of blessing."
- Address
theological differences
- Establishing what
we believe and what example we set to and for others, including the
secular world
- Strengthen support
and understanding of the Ground of the Unity, the Holy Scriptures, and the
great creeds of the Church.
- Reaffirm
the essential beliefs of Moravians with clarity
- Know
what you believe, articulate what you believe and them you will have
active growth. Preach it, teach it and they will follow.
- Confirming
the authority of the Bible as God's word
- Affirm heart
relationship with God as the individual's journey as central to our
Moravian identity
- Move toward a
spirit of acceptance of diversity as a strength of our church
- Need
for a unified theology and practice regarding rites, sacraments and adherence
to the order of the province and the unity
- Destructive,
divisive and wasteful nature of extremism in Christianity -church must be
courageous and intentional in its response to such elements
- Will we take the
Bible literally as the inerrant word of God?
Unity and Community Building [15]
- Need
for a unified theology and practice regarding rites, sacraments and
adherence to the order of the province and the unity
- Move toward a
spirit of acceptance of diversity as a strength of our church
- Covenant to work
better together; to be less partisan
- Interaction between
congregations -working together on outreach events .
- More joint
participation in activities and events
- Connections
with congregations away from Winston-Salem
- Keep
common bond as we face issues and challenges
- Need
for a vision that unites all congregations
- Staying
in community as a province
- More
frequent encounters and contacts with "Winston-Salem" (assuming
this means
sharing and cooperation between members of the province in
general)
- Develop exchange
program between congregations
- Keep
province together under the same tent -developing an attitude of not
letting our
differences destroy us but let our diversity strengthen us (
- More communication
and unity on policies in the worldwide Moravi~ Church
- Pastors and
congregations need to be more provincially minded
- Avoid duplication
of resources -encourage cooperation and pooling of resources
- Unity in our
diversity
Stand on Issues of
Controversy [13]
- Making
a firm stand on controversial issues, fai~h issues, and keeping a biblical
emphasis
- Need
to take a scriptural, unwavering stand on issues that threaten to split
the province.
- Sexuality
in the church
- Stand
on our doctrine without compromise
- More
clarity from Synod on social and moral issues
- "The
number one issue facing Southern Province" is adherence to biblical
truth. If
the province would
take a stand on biblical truth there would be more unity and we would be in
accordance with God's will, thereby opening us to His shower of blessing."
- Take a stand on
issues that are theologically diverse
- Acceptance of
persons with same sex orientation
- Keeping
common bond as we face difficult issues and challenges -stay together in
Christ!
- The
Southern Province needs to take a biblical and unified public stand on
social issues facing society today
- Destructive,
divisive and wasteful nature of extremism in Christianity -church must be
courageous and intentional in its response to such elements
Social Concerns, Justice, and Tolerance [10]
- How
will the province focus on the essential aspects of food, shelter,
clothing and employment rather than on things that may be considered
superficial?
- Tolerance
with regard to theological diversity
- Inclusion
of others -women in pastoral roles, racial reconciliation
- Promoting
equality in ministry as to race and gender
- More
formalized acceptance of women in ministry
- More
clarity from Synod on social and moral issues
- Disaster
response -shared efforts and coordination
- Ministry to the
aging
- Ministry to
immigrants
- Acceptance of
persons with same sex orientation
- Employment and life
skills training programs
- Parenting classes
Stewardships and Financial Reform [10]
- How
will the province be the best stewards of our resources recognizing our
differing sizes and needs?
- A
stewardship emphasis encouraging and challenging people to use their time,
talent, and their treasure for the Lord and for the Church.
- Raising
money to support a growing church- funds for programs and staff
- Empower
our provincial leadership to actively seek to minimize the financial
burden on congregations by reducing the required giving to the province. A
reduction would free up funds to be used by congregations for ministry ,
increased space, etc.
- Address
declining membership and financial issues
- Address financial
burdens on individual congregations
- More open to
sharing resources
- Financial help
(Cornerstone Campaign)
Youth and Camp Ministries [5]
- Continuing
support for camp programs and Laurel Ridge
- Camp
and mission ministry for youth
- Youth
ministries
- Youth
and children's ministry
- Tensions between contemporary and
traditional worship
- Youth ownership in the congregation
Ministerial Development [5]
- Promoting equality in ministry
- Attract and train new ministers
- Need for formalized mentoring program
- Lucrative seminary scholarship program
- Paying ministers a living wage and adequate
benefits
- Care
and nurture of clergy
- Recruitment and support of quality
candidates for ministry
- More
Godly leadership in the recruitment and development of candidates for
ministry
- Call
process -improvement
Communication [5]
- Foster
better communication between churches for ideas and programs that work and
don't work
- Sharing strategies for growth
- B-lingual education
Moravian Heritage [3]
- Preserving
our Moravian heritage
- Preserving
our Moravian identity
- Promoting
our Moravian story
Marketing, Promotion, and Public Relations [3]
- The
province as a whole should make greater use of the wider electronic media
that are available today to tell- no proclaim -the Moravian Church's story
(radio, TV , publishing, billboards, advertising)
- Have a Christian
based public relations campaign to let people know what the Moravian
Church is
Education and Spiritual Formation [2]
- The
priority of Christian education for personal spiritual formation and our
on-going identity as Moravians
- Strengthening
provincial Christian education