Vision Summary Report for Rolling Hills

Presbyterian Church

August 2004

The Vision: Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church (RHPC) now and in the future shall be spiritually focused, mission oriented, relevant to today’s lifestyles, and a dynamic force in the community. Members shall be devoted Christians who are active, exciting, involved, caring, friendly, accepting, supportive, connected, and open to all.

To achieve our Vision we must build on the existing foundation and expand the role and scope of RHPC involvement in the overall mission of being a Christian organization in the faith community. The following themes have been identified as vital to RHPC now and in the future.

•  Relationships . There is a hunger within the congregation for building relationships and spending time together in all aspects of our spiritual and social lives. A recurring theme is that of a church community with more connections and relationships. Individuals are looking for fun, fellowship and education and want to get to know more people in the congregation. Another strong theme is that we need to be an integral part of the community.

•  Programs, Programs, Programs —From small focus groups in everything from parenting/relationships to quilting and book clubs to large, church-wide events, the most overwhelming message is that individuals want significantly increased opportunities to form relationships with others. Requested were opportunities to meet others, reach out to the community, invite the community to meet us, share common interests, become better educated (re: spirituality as well as life issues), be entertained, support one another, etc. There were strong feelings about increased intergenerational activities as well as a loud cry for fellowship by age group (especially Young Adults).

•  Outreach. Members are very much in favor of personal outreach activities where individuals give their time and talent. While continuing our strong financial support of organizations was mentioned, the message is that personal, hands-on activities are desired.

•  Communication. It was made very clear that communication is critical to every aspect of church life. We need to give people a reason to come, let them know what’s going on and give them a compelling reason to COME BACK. Not only is communication with the outside world a factor, but internal communications are seen as critical to meeting our objectives. There is a strong feeling that we are seriously underutilizing the talents of our congregation and that we need to COMMUNICATE opportunities and proactively involve more members and assimilate new members more effectively. Finally, communication regarding member talents and interests as well as the multitude of activities is seen as critical to the ongoing success of our more active church community.

•  Marketing is certainly perceived as an opportunity. Members feel that we have a great church, facilities and central location; however, people need to know we are here!! Ideas in this category tended to focus on neighborhood communications, providing more information regarding special services and events which are open to the community and ‘getting noticed’ by passers by. It is felt that increased programs, special events, etc. warrant increased coverage in the media and that we need to let the community know what is happening at RHPC. Across the board, members feel that we must proactively attract young adults and families in order to grow and maintain a diverse and thriving congregation. Overwhelmingly, participants voiced the need to provide a place and format for anyone to be educated, nurtured, and potentially drawn to membership in our church.

•  The Youth program is consistently seen as vital and vibrant and there is a strong message that this level of service must be maintained and grown in order to attract and retain members. However, the segment described as Young Adults (ages 18-35) represents a disenfranchised population group that requires extensive examination for the church to grow and thrive. From Pre-school to high school age and on into the post-high school years, members feel the need to draw more individuals into related programs; proactively focus on increased involvement and attendance; target those who quietly drop out of associated activities; open programs to those outside the church; and encourage these segments to bring friends. Members also feel that we miss opportunities to get our younger members involved in non-age specific activities such as community service and worship.

•  Facilities. Our members are pleased, impressed, and proud of our facilities and would like for more people in the community to be aware that we are here and to know about our hidden garden and talents. We need to present a more welcoming environment when members and visitors arrive in the narthex especially. Another theme was defined as curb appeal; participants felt that it was essential to ‘get noticed’ by those driving by. They also felt we were missing opportunities to get the word out about activities and special events and would like to see not only identifying signage, but also banners to invite the community in. Finally, some members continue to have concerns about the security of our facility.

•  Music & Worship . Our music programs regularly got a big thumbs up…continuation was seen as an integral part of our worship experience. Expanding into other types of music and increasing levels of participation will be critical to meeting our objectives.

The message is that worship continues to be an important part of what draws people to our church. There is a strong case for providing alternative service(s) and worship opportunities (e.g., non-Sunday worship times/formats).

Implementation: We recommend the establishment of specific task groups to develop a planned approach for each theme to be addressed. The task groups should include members and friends who have experience and interest regarding a specific theme area. Task groups may function for as few as one or two months or until goals and implementation steps are established. It should be recognized that the overall impact of the Vision is a long-term undertaking and some suggestions have already been implemented.

Secondly, we recommend that this document or one very similar to it be communicated to the congregation via the Spire and/or a separate mailing to each family and/or published on the RHPC web-site.

Possible action items for the Session’s approval:

•  Appoint specific Session members to serve as “Implementation Champions.”

•  Identify/recruit a Steering Committee to spearhead an execution plan.

•  Form specific ad hoc committees or task teams to address areas not within the scope and boundaries of current committee structure.

•  Within 30 days, elect a spokesperson(s) to communicate to the Congregation about Vision recommendations via the pulpit, The Spire, the website, special mailing, and possibly through an “after-church” forum in the Fireside room.

•  Develop and agree to specific timelines for execution (re: committees/task teams).

•  Within 30 days, conduct a separate forum with the staff to communicate process, etc.

•  Adopt a timeline in order to evaluate staff skill sets and interests to correlate to new initiatives.

•  Other suggestions.

Respectfully submitted by the Vision Task Force

* Session Member