Session 3: "Honest Evaluation of Providence Ministry and Culture"

Owned by David Hina
Last updated: Mar 07, 2017
  1. PURPOSE:  Not to simply condemn or find deficiencies, but to uncover opportunities for movement toward the goal.  Note that the goal of this session is discovery, understanding, and clarity.  It's not to come up with new ideas, solutions, or to make changes.  That will come in session #6.
  2. MOTIVE:  "...for the sake of the gospel" (1 Cor 9)
  3. IMPORTANCE:  To bring about any real and lasting change and improvement, we must have an honest assessment of where we currently stand.  We need to understand both the problem areas and the areas where we have real potential.
  4. PROCESS:
    1. ASSESSMENT:  We will be evaluating Providence in the two areas reviewed last night - Definition for a "mature, equipped, follower of Christ, and Definition of a "Healthy Church."  As we look at each of the items for these two areas, need to assess in terms of the following:
      1. Where are the individual members of Providence in each of these areas?
      2. Where are we (the leaders) in each of these areas?
      3. How effective are each of our current "ministry activities" in moving individuals closer to maturity in each area?
        1. Consider the following areas (and others missed):
          1. Weekly Sunday School (currently four groups)
          2. Praise & Prayer
          3. Men's & Women's Bible studies; children's study & fun time during the Bible study
          4. Ministry team meetings
          5. Children's night out
          6. Home life for each member
          7. Regular one-on-one meetings
        2. Which ones are working well, and can be built upon?
        3. Which ones have very little alignment with our goal and the needs we have?
        4. Where are the primary GAPS - areas in which we are not doing much, and something new is needed?
      4. How effective is our Sunday service at moving individuals closer to maturity?

    2. INDIVIDUALLY:  Using one index card per item, evaluate Providence in each bulleted item:
      1. On one side of the card give a rating between 1 and 10 (1=not effective, 10=very effective)
      2. On the other side of the card, where needed, write (briefly) one or two reasons for the rating
      3. This should take no more than 15 minutes total
         
    3. TOGETHER:  Briefly discuss each item and average ratings
      1. Using flip-chart paper, we will record average ratings and (as necessary), reasons for the ratings
      2. This should take no more than 45 minutes total

  5. OUTPUT:  A list of the areas in which the greatest change is needed, with a short description for each of the type of change needed.

Output from Session #3:

PEOPLE (Disciples):

  1. Wil - 6.8 (3 +'s)
  2. Terry - 5.5 (0 +'s)
  3. Roddy - 5.25 (4 +'s)
  4. David - 3.0 (3 +'s)
    AVG = 5.2

Process:  Each person took 4 random members and evaluated (using "disciple" criteria) on spiritual maturity, and the results were averaged (rating scale: 1=no maturity, 10=highly mature).  Each person was also given a "+" if any increase in maturity has been seen in the past 6 mo.


LEADERSHIP:

  1. Wil - 7.0
  2. Terry - 8.5
  3. Roddy - 6.0
  4. David - 5.0
    AVG = 6.6

Process:  Followed the same process, but each evaluated all the Elders, averaging the results.


MINISTRY ACTIVITIES (Making Disciples):

  1. Sunday School:  8,7,6,5 = 6.5
  2. Praise & Prayer:  8,8,8,4 = 7
  3. Bible Studies:  8,7,7,4 = 6.5
  4. Ministry Teams:  7,7,3,2 = 4.8
  5. Child. Night Out:  7,7,7,5 = 6.5
  6. Home Life:  5,6,6,4 = 5.25
  7. Regular 1-on-1:  3,4,5,2 = 3.5*
    AVG = 5.7

Process:  Each person evaluated each ministry using "disciple-making" criteria, (rating scale: 1=not effective, 10=highly effective).  The reason for the lower scoring of "Regular 1-on-1" was the frequency with which it happens, not just the effectiveness of the activity itself.

SUNDAY SERVICE:

  1. Wil - 8
  2. Terry - 7
  3. Roddy - 7
  4. David - 6
    AVG = 7

Process:  Same as with "Ministry Activities."