Ministry Questionnaire Results – “Planning Themes”
The following planning themes were developed as part of a Ministry Questionnaire process occurring August through October 2012. 22 Ministries at St. Peter’s took part in the survey, arriving at a total of 8 themes which we think are central to the Strategic Planning process:
 Church Organization & Governance
 Church Leadership, Staffing & Administration
 Worship & Evangelism
 Mission & Visioning
 Communications & Information Technology
 Physical Resources
 Time & Talents
 Financial
Church Organization & Governance
 There is a general sense that we are no longer a small neighborhood church, and that the church organization and its governance needs to be revamped in order to match the size and scope of our ministries.
 The organization funnels too many decisions into too few hands and is too horizontal in structure. The church needs to be organized, perhaps with greater verticality.
 Lower levels of church organization need to be created and/or empowered to act independently, with accountability, and centered on the Church Vision and Mission.
 Ministries with integrated or overlapping roles must be organized as such to prevent gaps and alleviate confusion.
 People are the heart of our ministries and ministries are the heart of our church. Church leadership and the Congregation must work towards preserving this spirit, but the central focus of our church must revolve around Christ and the Vision and Mission we have established to glorify his name. We must be more unified.
Church Leadership, Staffing, & Administration
 There is a clear sense that the staff and lay positions are not currently structured to encourage growth.
 Church administration, personnel matters, the attention to church business, the details of financial matters, and accountability of lay and pastoral leaders are areas where we could and should do more and do better.
 Church leadership, including Council, must be more adequately prepared to serve in their roles and fulfilling of their commitments.

Worship & Evangelism
 Individual ministries may not make connections to current worship themes.
 Worship is an ideal setting in which to find ways to promote and further our mission, but we underuse the opportunity.
 There is a general misunderstanding or lack of understanding of evangelism as the heart of our overall mission.
 Given the spirit and energy of the church, it is imperative that we commit to worship that is evangelistic, what it really means, and how it can grow our collective and individual faith through worship.
Mission & Visioning
 Ministries have a good sense of what it is they do and how to get it done. They do not always know whether what they do is consistent with the congregational Mission and Vision. They do not always have a complete understanding of where their efforts should be most concentrated for the greatest good of the church or world at large.
 Goals , metrics, and plans tied to Mission and Vision are central to growth. Mission and Vision must be better used for reflection back as well as planning forward.
 There is a general feeling that many ministries want more mission direction and leadership. Council must become more strategic in its focus.
 Ministry activities should be directed strategically by Church Leadership, but day to day ministry activities must proceed without regular leadership involvement.
Communications & Information Technology
 There is consensus that we could and should make regular and better use of our time and talent surveys, member information, and use of our many data resources.
 We must get at the fundamental weakness(es) of our data systems; whether they are the systems themselves, or whether they are underutilized, misapplied, or misunderstood.
 We have a diverse congregation that responds best to varying types of communications. We must better communicate using multiple delivery methods and must also recognize the growing importance and use of social and electronic media.
 Electronic media, including our website, must better communicate our message to the church and to our community. Its many benefits to facilitate worship, evangelize, communicate, organize, and connect us should be better realized.
 The ministries clearly collect lots of data and information. Access to information is segmented, varied, and limited. Further, its use and analysis is limited, difficult, and not uniform. We must evaluate our data systems, its staffing, and its control. Better centralization and use of our data and information resources is important.

Physical Resources
 It is clear that the Vision that enabled St. Peter’s to expand its facilities and re-purpose many of its existing ones has lead to numerous benefits and has been a great blessing. With it has come the challenge of a larger facility including logistical coordination of so many activities and worship opportunities within short timeframes that can stretch resources thin and disconnect the groups, ministries, and leaders from each other. We need to get at how we can continue to provide these opportunities but better connect the congregation as one mind and spirit.
 Educational, administrative, fellowship, and storage needs continue to present challenges. This needs to be evaluated in order to assess whether the issue is lack of space itself; or whether better utilization, coordination, and multi-purposing of the spaces we have available is necessary.
 Electronic resources need to be expanded. Educational and ministry activities could be greatly improved with greater availability of audiovisual equipment including televisions, projectors, and computer equipment (laptops) for presentations and meeting activities.
Time & Talents
 Ministries are well supported by dedicated members and volunteers, but a broader base of involved members is needed. Once engaged, members of ministries are extremely loyal and committed to the tasks at hand. The most successful ministries appear to offer flexibility in participation and diversity in membership.
 Because of the dedication members have towards their ministries, they do not always look to their neighbor (in the pew or the house down the street) for help. The time and talents they may have to share the load and bring diversity and strength to the cause at hand are often lost. There is a general sense that committees struggle with pulling in new members and that this can be improved through better communication, better use of stewardship efforts, and a willingness of dedicated volunteers and members to share responsibility and mentor future leaders.
 Efforts at both to improve and greater utilize Time & Talent surveys and Shepherd Staff are ongoing and need to continue.
 There is a general understanding that a congregation with a revolving door of membership, in which as many members leave as join, will not lead to a growing church, nor a stable one, nor a one with a sense of community. In this regard, quickly welcoming new members into church life and encouraging longstanding members to stay actively involved and moving through various facets of church life is both vital and essential to long-term growth. It also cultivates the development of our faith lives. A sense of being called to serve must be more central and widespread to our faith and life at St. Peter’s.
Church Finances
 Few ministries indicate financial constraints as a limiting factor of their efforts.
 Few, if any of the committees look at the budget beyond what they will need to spend the next year.

 There is only one budget, which is the yearly operating budget. Capital budgeting is not separate.
Deferred spending is not normally employed.
 The lack of visioning, strategic planning, and reflection on mission is evident in church financial matters.
 There is little to no analysis of cost versus benefit, other ways of obtaining funds/services, or ‘creative’ financial thinking.
 Most rely on the past budgets to plan their future expenses, instead of building current budgets through ministry needs.
 Church leadership is hampered by the lack of proper church administration to assist in attending to routine foundational financial matters/decisions. A fresh look at church governance to include among other things a mechanism to enable and support the ministries and church administration is clearly required.