Transforming Church Index & Imagine
Renewal
Hopefully many of the members
and attenders at Holy Trinity have taken the
Transforming Church Index (TCI) survey.
I want to thank everyone for their much needed and valued input into this
survey. Many are asking: What is
this index for? Won’t it just make us
look bad? What are we going to do with
this information? Are there next steps? Great Questions!
The TCI survey is just a
small part of a larger process of assessing the health and well being of HTLC
and to the discernment of the present and future mission and vision, including
the strategic priorities and goals for the church. The process is includes:
- A comprehensive demographic study and report of
the area surrounding the church.
- The TCI survey which measures the cultural and
systematic health of the church.
- Focus Groups (Food & Faith Meetings in homes)
which will seek deeper input from members about their assessment of the
church and its mission and ministries.
- A Leadership retreat to develop a clear mission
statement and to identify three (or more) strategic priorities for the
next 3-5 years.
- A leadership retreat to put concrete goals and
timetables to the strategic initiatives.
The Transforming Church Index
will measure our health according to five Key Indicators. These are outlined in the book: The Transforming Church, by Kevin
Ford. Each Key Indicator measures health along a continuum from unhealthy to
healthy:
- How church members relate to one another. Unhealthy churches are a collection of
people who act individually out of self-interest, while healthy churches
relate as a community. This Key
Indictor measures consumerism vs.
community.
- The church’s “genetic code.” Unhealthy churches lack a clear identity,
while healthy churches have a clear sense of their DNA and take steps to
align their culture, mission and ministries with their code. This Key Indicators measures incongruence vs. code.
- The church’s leadership culture. Unhealthy churches tend to be overly
autocratic or bureaucratic, while healthy churches view leadership as a
shared function and as a ministry.
This Key Indicator measures autocracy
vs. shared leadership.
- How a church relates to the local community. Unhealthy churches disengage from the
world around them, while healthy churches are focused on their mission
with an outward orientation that begins with their local community. This Key Indicator measures cloister vs. missional.
- How a church members think about the future. Unhealthy churches resist change and
fear or deny the future, while healthy churches embrace change, even when
it is painful. This Key Indicator
measures inertia vs. reinvention.
This assessment, along with
the information we receive from the members at the focus groups (Food &
Faith Meetings) will help us understand our strengths and our issues for focus
and improvement. All of this information
will help us as we gather for setting mission priorities and goals. This entire process will offer HTLC an
opportunity to intentionally move into the great future that God called us to
live out so that all we say and do will honor God and make an impact for the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thank you all for your
ongoing participation and prayers in this Transforming Church & Imagine
Renewal
process that we share.
-Pastor John
