Thriving Congregations Initiative

Last summer, our church received a grant from the Lilly Endowment to be part of its Thriving Congregations Initiative.  The endowment's web site explains the program:

The Thriving Congregations Initiative seeks to equip congregations to explore and understand the rapidly changing contexts in which they minister, gain clarity about their values and missions, and draw on practice from their faith traditions to adapt their ministries to their changing contexts. The aim is to help congregations strengthen their ministries and thrive so they can better help people deepen their relationships with God, enhance their connections with each other and help their communities and the world to flourish.

The Thriving Congregations program provides resources and a consultant coach over a four year period to guide an examination of questions such as: 
  • What makes our congregation a vibrant, effective community of faith? 
  • How can our congregation grow stronger in the years ahead in the face of contemporary social change? 
  • How best can our congregation sustain and develop future congregational leaders? 
  • How can practices for promoting congregational vitality be shared among a diverse congregation whose membership reflects different stages of the faith journey?

The Team:

Our Thriving Congregation Committee is:
Lily Clark, Susan Killenberg, Charlie Thomas, Carter Wilkie and Rev. Rebecca.

This group was intentionally chosen to represent a diversity of ages, life stages and faith backgrounds within our congregation. The group has been meeting monthly since August 2020.

Upcoming Work:

Some questions that will be guiding our upcoming work:
  • How does our congregation encourage new members of the congregation to become spiritually thriving members?
  • How do we foster authentic relationships within the congregation and constructively manage conflict within the church community?
  • What are the core practices of our community that help us thrive?
  • How do we bring our faith practice into our community and beyond?

What We've Done Thus Far:

Some of our work to date:
  • Built a team covenant to guide our work with one another.
  • Read the book "Always On, Practicing Faith in a New Media Landscape" by Angela Gorrell and discussed the possibilities and pitfalls of using social media in our church community.
  • Reviewed a list of "23 Characteristics of a Thriving Congregation" to see how these characteristics align with our current practices.
  • Distributed a survey to our church leadership asking for their opinions regarding key determinants of a thriving congregation
  • Reviewed how our church's mission statement and web site highlight features of a thriving congregation.

The Long Range Plan:

In later stages of this 4-year project, we will survey the whole congregation to determine core practices that help us thrive, and eventually, design, plan and implement strategies to enhance those practices.
Please contact any of the committee members if you have questions about our work!