Healthy Church Initiative Consultation Final Report
Riverside United Methodist Church
April 19, 2012
On March 23-25, 2012, the Healthy Church Initiative (HCI) Consultation Team consisting of Dan Johnson,
Kay Roberts and Cindy Gregorson, conducted the weekend consultation for Riverside United Methodist
Church (UMC). We reviewed the congregational self-study, the report of the mystery guest audit, and
the results of the Natural Church Development survey. We conducted individual interviews with the
clergy, paid staff and the pastor’s spouse. We held two focus groups: one group of 13 was a cross
section of the congregation and another group of 17 comprised the church council members. We also
received input during a congregational gathering in which 35 people attended. We were present to
observe Sunday morning worship and engaged the HCI leaders in a feedback session about our
observations and recommendations before finalizing them in this report.
The Healthy Church Initiative has named five key factors to a congregation’s effectiveness and vitality.
The consultation team used these as a lens to assess what we heard, and to make our
recommendations. These factors are:
 Purpose: a clear sense of why this church exists, what they want to accomplish, a genuine
outward focus and grounded in a clear set of shared values.
 Structure: staff is accountable and empowered to fulfill their responsibilities in the context of
healthy relationships with lay leadership; a future oriented church board focused on the ends,
not the means of ministry.
 Connectedness: a high level of community in which people feel connected and newcomers can
easily find their way in, excellent facilities that work well to facilitate ministry.
 Contemporary: music that regardless of style, is contemporary in its execution, relevant biblical
preaching, clear understanding of the community and its needs.
 Passion: a genuine excitement about the church and strong desire to invite others; a sense of
call to serve the community.
General Observations
For 127 years, Riverside UMC has served God in and through the Park Rapids, Minnesota community.
With faithfulness and fortitude, the congregation survived and often thrived amidst challenges to its
civic community and its faith community. Some of those challenges beset the church in the past five
years resulting in the loss of members, participation and financial support. However, in the past year
and a half, momentum and vitality are noticeably returning. This claim is supported by a number of
recent church-wide achievements: remodeling the Northern Pines Lodge, resurrecting the youth
program, growing the release time program, consolidating from three to two worship services,
continuing vibrant United Methodist Women Circles and returning positive cash flow. This is a resilient
family of faith! God’s Spirit, present all along, is empowering the congregation and its leaders with
energy and hope for their future.
For Riverside UMC, the HCI process has been an instrument for discerning new directions for ministry. A
high level of engagement in HCI is evidenced by congregational communications, prayer calendars, a
book study and a standing HCI teaching/visioning component in Church Council meetings. The church is
to be lauded for proactively applying HCI learning without waiting for direction from the consultation
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team. In many ways, their work as a pilot church has set the tone for this report and offers a model for
other churches to emulate in the future.
When reflecting on the congregational lifecycle chart, the congregation primarily located themselves
between the “maturity” and “empty nest” stage where “Vision” has faded. “Programs” begin to falter
because of lack of purpose. “Relationships” are still deep among the people attending, but there is
increasing challenge in extending those relationships to new people. In many ways, structure is still
strong and remains a vital foundation for revisioning and rebuilding ministry.
The consultation team observes that Riverside UMC demonstrates both organizational and individual
readiness for HCI. Caring and competent pastoral leadership has been in place for a year and a half.
Trust has been established and leadership capital has been banked – Pastor Lee Kantonen is embraced
as a spiritual leader who can shepherd the congregation through its next phase of change and growth. A
danger is waiting much longer, when comfort and complacency with a “good enough” status quo
reduces the urgency for change. Both the non-leader and council member focus groups overwhelmingly
expressed a willingness to become personal change agents within the church. We wonder if underlying
loyalties and traditions are threatened, that personal preference will still trump congregational purpose.
With courage, sacred cows can make gourmet hamburger. With timidity, sacred cows can become
significant roadblocks for initiating and sustaining change.
Strengths to Build On
Faith Community: Riverside UMC is a genuinely caring family of faith. Strong relationships are heralded
and experienced as one of their greatest assets, particularly among the retirees. “Snowbird Riversiders”
seasonally return, infusing the congregation with energy and resources. Leaders are emotionally mature
and spiritually healthy, living their faith through the Wesleyan motive, “Do all the good you can, in all
the ways you can, by all the means you can, for as long as you ever can!” They hold abiding compassion
for the alienated and isolated; whether infirm seniors in their faith community or the economically
marginalized in their civic community. The church strives to be an embodiment of the United Methodist
calling to “Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors” – where open is an active verb and not an
adjective!
Leadership Base: Riverside UMC is blessed by the service of Pastor Lee Kantonen. He has been
enthusiastically received by the congregation and well integrated into leadership. He is highly valued for
relevant messages, authentic pastoral care and relational leadership. Lay leaders, both paid and unpaid,
find significance and effectiveness in deploying their inherent gifts and talents for ministry. A core of
capable, young retirees comprise a valuable volunteer pool that “get things done”, yet have the
flexibility to consider change and new modes of work and witness. Leaders genuinely enjoy each other
and seem to have fun working together. This sets a great tone for the congregation.
Upswing in Energy and Momentum: This is measured by the growing participation of children and
youth. Approximately 100 students from diverse religious backgrounds participate in Release Time
Christian Education. The Wednesday night youth program multiplied from five to twenty-seven
participants within the past year. Worship attendance also rebounded this year by about 17%
(30/week), with the majority of growth in the contemporary service.
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Material Resources: Riverside UMC is blessed with building and grounds that serve as a remarkable tool
for ministry. A clean, well maintained facility on one level provides multi-use options for worship,
fellowship, education and recreation. The grounds, with a memorial garden, picnic pavilion, ball field
and landscaping is a setting of beauty, solace and activity. The mortgage was retired leading to greater
financial stability and the fiscal flexibility to begin reallocating assets to emerging ministries, staffing and
other growth oriented priorities.
Civic Engagement: Riverside UMC has a deep heritage of initiating and sustaining the development of
community support services too numerous to list. Outreach includes, but is not limited to: Kinship,
Community Thank Meal, School Staff Appreciation Breakfast, Widowed Friends, Faithfully Fit,
Headwaters Intervention Center, PACER Puppets, Reading Buddy, Youth Drug and Alcohol Task Force,
Living at Home, Community Education Advisory Council, Meals on Wheels, Hubbard County Food Shelf
and Itasca Park Summer worship. These are all excellent examples of community needs-assessment and
asset-based ministry development. The church is a collaborating partner in ecumenical ministries. Their
excellent facility is freely shared with non-profit groups across the area; an estimated eighty different
groups use the building. Members of Riverside UMC are frequently motivated to serve ably in civic roles
throughout the broader community.
Concerns for Attention
Vision: “Compelling Vision” was the lowest overall Natural Church Development survey subcategory,
scoring nearly one standard deviation below the mean (36). We repeatedly encountered ambiguity
about what Riverside UMC values, what difference they are called to make and to whom. The broad
mission statement “Extending Christ’s ministry to all for the glory of God” is well communicated on
bulletins, newsletters, website and even placemats. However, it is either too vague or too undefined to
be a rallying point for the congregation; it fails to focus and energize everything they do. The church is a
trusting culture, granting permission to most good ideas that are backed by a willing implementer.
However it is also a culture lacking alignment, with leaders often operating unilaterally – “flying by the
seat of their pants”. Without clear direction and sense of purpose, the congregation does not have a
way to determine priorities, allocate resources, evaluate ministries, and claim successes.
Leadership Development: Riverside UMC is blessed by a cadre of leaders who have faithfully and
effectively served throughout the years, often through their own inherent skill set. Such great personal
strengths can lead to organizational weakness. An estimated 74% of currently active “Riversiders” are
over 60 years of age. There is no evidence of succession planning, rotation policies and training
opportunities to stimulate discernment, mentoring and equipping of new leaders. The congregation is
challenged by uninvolved members and a perceived shortage of leaders especially among the Gen X and
Millennial generational cohorts. There are no staff meetings for team building and collaboration and if
developed, no evidence of utilization of job descriptions for paid staff, let alone elected volunteers. The
governance model lacks clarity about roles, responsibilities, authority and accountability.
Acting Your Size: Riverside UMC has long been at the lower end of the “Program Size” church category
which begins at 150 in average worship attendance. This is an awkward time of transition – Riverside
UMC is too big to be a small church and too small to be a big church (see The In-Between Church by Alice
Mann). While size may preclude “everyone knowing everyone”, the unique small town charm of Park
Rapids still yearns for “everyone to know and be known by someone”. In the “Program Size” church, this
happens neither naturally as in the “Family Size” church nor through the individualized shepherding of
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the “Pastoral Size” church. Without clear processes for visitor invitation and integration, disciple
formation, member engagement, leadership development, worship planning, schedule coordination,
supervision, etc., ministry experiences become inconsistent in quality and isolated from the gospel
imperatives of reaching new people and cultivating spiritual vitality for the purpose of bringing about
transformation in the world.
Diversity: The chart below depicts the disparity between national, community and local church age
distribution. Yet undefined societal and congregational barriers seem to be obstacles to Riverside UMC
being more reflective of the Park Rapids community at large. Small groups for various attitudes, needs,
and preferences have been cultivated, but are perceived by some as threatening. Diverse voices have
been invited to be part of the leadership and church development process in order to weave a stronger
spiritual fabric, but have yet to be integrated to the extent desired. “Spiritual Interconnectedness” is the
second lowest Natural Church Development survey subcategory at a score of 38.
Generation
Name
Ages in 2012
Millennials
Gen Xers
Boomers
Traditionalists
18-35
36-47
48-66
67+
% of Adult
National
Population
27
20
34
19
% of Adult
Park Rapids
Community
26
17
28
29
% of Riverside
UMC Members
% of Riverside
UMC Leaders
10
10
30
50
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6
45
45
Age Appropriate Discipleship Systems: According to MissionInsite (an online census data resource), the
population of the Park Rapids area is projected to remain quite stable over the next five years (give or
take a percentage point across all demographic age categories). Children and young parents comprise
42% of the total Park Rapids area population base. Despite the number of young families in the
community and Riverside’s excellent nursery facilities, Riverside UMC has no nursery staffing for Sunday
worship or mid-week programming, no nursery procedures, no Safe Sanctuaries policies, limited
programming for young children and no fellowship or educational opportunities targeted for young
parents. Although unintentional, it creates a perceived image that children and young families are
unexpected at best and unvalued at worst. Adult faith formation is characterized more by intermittent,
unrelated experiences than by an intentional, integrated process.
Strategic Recommendations
A. Develop Compelling Vision
Required Action Steps: Develop clear and powerful core values and ministry vision to clarify
congregational identity and cast a public image. Explore a theme for ministry branding potentially
around the metaphor of “river” or “down by the riverside”.
Rationale: The near unanimous consensus of Riverside UMC leaders is that the congregation finds itself
between the “maturity” and “empty nest” stage of the congregational life cycle chart. Predictably, in this
stage there is a lack of clarity about vision for ministry and unique identity in the community. The
inability to clearly articulate congregational values and offer examples of decision-making alignment
with a common purpose was evidenced in the interviews and focus groups. In an area of relatively equal
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distribution across all life stages, the potential for establishing significance and transferring legacy
between generations is rich if vision is clear.
Possible Implementation Steps:
 The coach leads a visioning day in the spring of 2012 where she will guide the leaders in
identifying their values, vision and mission. Together they will explore metaphors and images as
a means of empowering and embodying that mission. This will include everything from
identifying core scriptures and beliefs, values, ministry priorities and practices and what the
congregation will offer to the community that makes a difference.
 In the fall of 2012, the congregation will engage in congregation-wide vision casting, through
sermon series, spiritual experiences to ground them in these core beliefs and values and
leadership futuring exercises.
B. Establish Systems and Staffing for Growth
Required Action Steps: Introduce an interim form of governance that places the HCI strategic initiatives
at the heart of Riverside UMC’s decision-making and resource allocation structure for the next two
years. Hire a ministry assistant, lay or deacon, to support the pastor in offering administrative and
programmatic leadership for engaging members and reaching new people through intentional
discipleship processes.
Rationale: A staff person with this organizational mindset can focus on strategy and operations, to
complement the skills and passions of Pastor Lee enabling him to focus on vision, team building and
relational leadership in both the congregation and the community. The church council needs to be able
to morph into a new model of governance that is more focused on the future and strategic planning and
working with the coach to develop an interim form of governance allowing the church to experiment
with which model will work best given their vision and ministry style.
Possible Implementation Steps:
 In consultation with the coach, appoint HCI implementation leaders that reflect a diversity of
ages, backgrounds, program loyalties and worship service preferences. Establish a short-term
model for administrative integration with Riverside’s current governance structure. This could
include Ad Hoc task forces and team member recruitment/appointment rather than traditional
and lengthy officer nominating and election processes.
 Formulate a position description, create a job title and hire a ministry assistant to develop,
implement and monitor systems for hospitality/visitor follow-up with attention to the book
Fusion by Nelson Searcy. This staff person will also oversee leadership development, spiritual
formation and membership engagement strategies.
 Apply for an Investing in Congregations grant in October 2012 through the Office of
Congregational Development to help acquire this new position.
C. Bridge the Divide
Required Action Steps: Participate in Healthy Communications training as a tool for congregational
healing and establishing constructive communication systems and practices. Expand and implement
multi-generational programming on Wednesday Nights to relate and solidify the various constituencies
of the Riverside UMC family.
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Rationale: Latent conflict and unaddressed misunderstandings continue to be a barrier to congregant
relationships and leader alignment. The consultation team does not perceive crippling division, but
restoration of trust, team building, and honest interpersonal interaction across age and affinity groups is
necessary for congregational cohesiveness. This foundation is important through the anticipated period
of organizational “unsettledness” that predictably accompanies any change process like HCI. We also
note that the divide between the two worship communities is not as strong as some still perceive it to
be. Most people affirmed the need to offer two different worship styles and embraced the diversity of
styles. Therefore, to further strengthen congregational identity and programming, we suggest multigenerational programming on Wednesday evening where the whole congregation can build
relationships and community outside of worship.
Possible Implementation Steps:
 Conduct Healthy Communications training with Kay Roberts and create a leadership covenant
for behavior and communication expectations.
 Building on the Wednesday night youth dinner and programming, offer an all-church family
meal on Wednesday night followed by nursery services, educational and fellowship
programming for all ages and stages of life. Explore options for cross-generational experiences
that enable all people to mix, share their faith, deepen friendships and develop leaders.
 Research and visit other congregations; capitalize on past experience and expertise of Pastor
Lee with strategies and tactics for multi-generational mid-week programming.
D. Connect with Young Families
Required Action Steps: Form a team to work with the coach to evaluate every aspect of the church's
connections with young families including public communications, internal policies and procedures,
facility allocation, and program development. Establish an intentional nursery ministry.
Rationale: MissionInsite data reveals population potential in this demographic segment. Focus groups
and the Sunday morning worship/nursery/education provided significant anecdotal narrative to support
the need for intentional and urgent development of family friendly ministries.
Possible Implementation Steps:
 In the summer of 2012, develop policies and procedures for nursery care. Connect with the
Minnesota Annual Conference Christian Educators Fellowship for a speaker/consultant on
facility standards and volunteer/staff training in accord with Safe Sanctuaries. They can also
provide a template for a nursery and early childhood handbook.
 At the conclusion of the 2011-2012 school year, transition Sunday morning Sunday School to a
new model. Retain the middle “Connections Hour” for CROSS-generational programming. Pilot
adult education offerings, children’s choir, milestone ministries, etc.
 Offer a full brunch from 9:30 – 10:30 to encourage people to interact and deepen faith
community connections. Expand family friendliness of the second service with a concurrent
children’s worship option during the second half of the second service. Consider God’s Big Table
by Elizabeth Caldwell as a resource for this initiative.
 Beginning fall 2012, provide intentional nursery care on Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings
and for key congregational events and meetings in order to foster programming and
participation by young families.
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E. Engage the Community
Required Action Steps: Capitalize on the successful release time ministry as a foothold for need-based
evangelism. Discern and develop a signature outreach ministry with and for the release time students
and their families currently unconnected with Riverside UMC’s worship, fellowship and discipleship
ministries.
Rationale: Release Time participant households are seen as the most accessible, approachable,
unchurched community that God has entrusted to Riverside UMC.
Possible Implementation Steps:
 Survey households of release time participants to determine potential needs such as
transportation, home repairs, parenting classes, financial planning, etc.
 Select and implement a ministry of impact for neighborhood transformation and church visibility
including cultivation of volunteer and material resources.
 Through compassionate service, foster relational evangelism opportunities to invite and
integrate these households into the broader ministries of Riverside UMC.
Conclusion
While Riverside UMC may currently seem like a group of passionate work horses pulling in multiple
directions, we see phenomenal spiritual, material and relational resources waiting to be harnessed in a
common direction. This congregation has the gifts and capacity to grow numerically, spiritually and in
community impact. A realistic and attainable goal is to become a congregation that worships 250 within
the next five years. This is based on Natural Church Development survey projections if the current
overall average score is maintained. The mission of the church is to make new disciples of Jesus Christ as
well as to help existing disciples grow to be more like Christ. We would remind the congregation that a
return to upward movement on the congregational lifecycle curve requires intentional effort. It does not
just happen. Setting a quantitative goal as well as qualitative goals helps you know if you are making
progress. The consultation team set 250 as a target goal for several reasons:
 It helps you know what kind of systems and infrastructure you need to build and the tasks you
need to address as a “program-sized” church.
 This size church continues to offer you the strength and diversity of ministries that are attractive
to those outside the church and keeps you at a size where connection and community are not
lost.
 It is a big enough challenge that it forces your congregation to wrestle with your level of
commitment to reaching new people and consequently making the changes necessary for that
to happen. You are a congregation poised on a tipping point. Risk is challenging, but so also is
following the way of Jesus!
We have been honored to be engaged in this consultation process with you. You took the vulnerable
step of inviting us into your spiritual home and embracing us within your family of faith. From
perspectives of both the outside and the inside, we see you as a great congregation with tremendous
potential and pray God’s blessings upon you as you take the next steps in receiving and acting upon this
report.
Dan Johnson, Lead Consultant Kay Roberts, Coach
Cindy Gregorson, Consultation Team Member
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