What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • 75 questions for people who want to help churches to grow

    Helping churches to grow is hard work but there are some things that need to be addressed to help congregations to grow which seem to be fairly consistent across churches which are otherwise very different in style. Some time ago I published two lots of 25 questions for people who want to help churches to grow.

    I thought it was time for 25 more. The new ones are the first 25 below and then come the ones that I’ve published before.

     

    1. If someone were to hear about the congregation from a non-congregational member, what is the most likely thing they would be told?
    2. What is the smallest number of words you could use to accurately explain the ethos of the congregation?
    3. What are those words?
    4. What strategies do you have to get good quality photographs of life of the congregation to use online?
    5. Which of the arts does the congregation use in its worship and regular life?
    6. How do the church education programmes relate to contemporary culture?
    7. Do things start on time?
    8. What steps have you implemented to ensure you don’t have the same meetings over and over again?
    9. Do you have a set length of time for meetings and does someone stop them after they have gone on enough?
    10. How do you stop people making decisions in the car park before or after the meetings?
    11. Who chooses the hymns?
    12. Why do they choose the hymns they do?
    13. When was the last time the congregation learned a new hymn it sang more than once?
    14. How many different styles of singing the psalms do you use and is that enough?
    15. How many opportunities are there for weekly non-eucharistic worship?
    16. Which would attract more people, a course in meditation or a course on prayer?
    17. Is anyone working for the local congregation underpaid?
    18. Does your bishop/presbytery/judicatory body or person help enable growth or are they a distraction from it?
    19. Is there are three year budget?
    20. Is the congregation moving into or out of debt?
    21. What percentage of people in the congregation would have a basic understanding about the congregation’s finances?
    22. Does anyone ever break copyright law whilst acting for the congregation?
    23. How do you share good news about the denomination that you belong to?
    24. When did you last issue a call to prayer for the congregation and what was it for?
    25. If someone wants to make a confession is it clear who they should approach and how they should get in touch?
    26. If you didn’t have to go to your church on Sunday would you still go?
    27. Are the clergy happy?
    28. Are the musicians happy?
    29. Does the congregation have a stronger ethos than that of its denomination?
    30. What one thing could you change this week to make the worship better?
    31. Why didn’t you make that change last week?
    32. What steps are you taking to make the phrase “All are Welcome” come true?
    33. Do you do church business on a Sunday after church or is there a better time for that?
    34. In the next month are you more likely to spend time on ecumenical activities or church growth activities?
    35. Do people who leave become ex-members who have disappeared or do they still contribute to the life and ministry of the place?
    36. What is the noticeboard like?
    37. What is the first thing you see when you come through the door?
    38. Did you implement the recommendations of the last “mystery worshipper” you asked to give you a candid assessment?
    39. Which church events in the next six months will be newsworthy locally?
    40. Which church events in the next six months will be reported in the local media?
    41. Do you have enough staff and who decides this?
    42. What would your clergy really like to do that they can’t because of the laity?
    43. What would your laity really like to do that they can’t because of the clergy?
    44. Which would attract young families more – a bible-based week long summer activity for children or letting it be known that gay people are welcome in your church?
    45. Can you email those members of your congregation who want to receive regular updates?
    46. Do you email those members of your congregation who want to receive regular updates?
    47. Has someone done the work required to make sure emails sent to large numbers of people don’t end up in spam boxes?
    48. Who in the congregation has gifts that could be better used doing a different job in the congregation than what they are currently doing?
    49. Who is your volunteer co-ordinator and is it obvious how to contact them?
    50. Can you volunteer without being a member of the church?
    51. Do you have a decent church website?
    52. Is it up to date?
    53. Is it responsive – ie does it work on mobile phones?
    54. Does your own online profile feature your ideas and hopes and dreams other than a desire for people to turn up to church?
    55. Do you know what you are doing with twitter and facebook?
    56. Who could you learn more about social media from?
    57. Do you have a compelling reason why people should come to your church other than where it is or what denomination it belongs to?
    58. Can everyone in the church tell you in one sentence what that compelling reason is?
    59. What is your beginners’ course like?
    60. What comes after the beginners’ course?
    61. Do people like the preaching?
    62. Do people enjoy the music?
    63. Have you dealt with conflicts from the past?
    64. Are the people friendly?
    65. Do you have any new groups starting soon?
    66. Do you talk about making the world a better place?
    67. How will people experience joy if they come to your congregation?
    68. If someone from your past turned up unexpectedly at worship how would it make you feel?
    69. How do you identify newcomers and what do you offer them?
    70. What problems will arise if you do grow and how will you deal with them?
    71. Do claims that you welcome everyone stop you working at welcoming those who traditionally find it hard to find a home in church?
    72. Do you use language that is inclusive of everyone?
    73. How do you know?
    74. Is there any identifiable group of people that you can’t explicitly say are welcome because of how an individual or group in the congregation will react?
    75. Do you want to grow or not?
    , ,

9 responses to “Another Day, Another Mission Strategy is launched”

  1. Mark Avatar
    Mark

    three diocesan wishes?
    (i) Scrap every Diocesan body, council and group; let Bishops commend and expound the Gospel, and care for their clergy.
    (ii) Devolve every decision to the locally accountable group; let priests be priests and not bureaucrats.
    (iii) Let go of the Anglican communion for the sake of the Kingdom.

    Reply
  2. Rev Ruth Avatar
    Rev Ruth

    You know, in all the years I’ve been a member of the SEC I didn’t know about the Diocesan Fairy Wands. But now you mention them I can see that there must indeed be such a thing. In the spirit of openness I would like to see them processed in at the beginning of General Synod with the candles and placed on the Table. Carried by small children, perhaps?

    Do you know if they are different colours?

    And where is The Diocese of Argyll and the Isles’ fairy wand at the moment? Is someone else looking after it and therefore has two? Or is it waiting in a dusty filing cabinet for the drawer to be flung open and set free?

    Reply
  3. kelvin Avatar
    kelvin

    Please allow me to jump in before anyone from the Diocese Across the Water feels obliged….

    Ruth, you should know by now. It is the Diocese of Argyll and The Isles. Not the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles. Nor indeed the Judean Peoples’ Front.

    Reply
  4. Scottish Roundup

    […] To wrap up Kelvin Holdsworth, Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow explains that as a new day dawns a new mission statement is launched […]

    Reply
  5. Kenny Avatar
    Kenny

    As the Chair of a Regional Council, and a member of Diocesan Council, I feel well and truly “whupped” by your words, Kelvin. If I were the MDO or the Bishop or Dean, I would feel similarly put down. There are folk who are genuinely trying to put together a strategy for mission that works and is not smothered by cynicism from the outset. I think a bit of support or a word of encouragement or advice may have been a bit more helpful.

    It is true that some Regional Councils may not be working, but that certainly isn’t helped by clergy staying away from them because it’s bad for their health. On the contrary, it needs these priests to be there, to stand up and question what’s going on or not going on and help shape them into a body that works. The theory is a good one, but Regional Councils will fail simply because some folk will share your attitude towards them. As a member of the Bishop’s Staff Group and a member of Diocesan Council, I find it totally incredible that you choose not to attend and disseminate information from these two bodies, and indeed incredible that you have not taken your Regional Council by the scruff of the neck and shown it how it can be more productive and engage more dynamically in current Diocesan policy.

    I sit on Diocesan Council too, and am amazed at the power you think it has! Very often, it seems to me, we cannot make any decisions until they are ratified by the Bishop’s Staff Group, or things come from the Staff Group that we are told to ratify. Debate is sometimes rare and I feel Council is a pretty toothless being, and exists only to ratify what others in more lofty positions want to happen. (Paisley was a prime example of this).

    It’s dead easy to sit there and snipe at those who are trying their damndest to wake the sleeping and encourage growth and life. Instead, we need to pull together and make sure something is put in place that is effective and that we can all buy into.

    Maybe the Clergy Conference will give us a start, but banging in and damaging the process before it has begun is perhaps not the most constructive thing you’ve done of late.

    Reply
  6. kelvin Avatar
    kelvin

    Hi Kenny – thanks for your comments. I think you are quite right in some of the things you say, though not in others.

    I agree that it was not a constructive way to engage with this to put all of my grumpiness into a blog post and wish now that I had kept quiet.

    There are some things which you’ve not got entirely right though. I’m not a member of the Diocesan Council, as it happens. Also, your assumptions about the way in which decisions were made about Paisley are not quite right. However, learning from what you’ve said, I’m not inclined to post more about that on here, but I will be saying more about it in meetings as appropriate.

    My comments about Regional Councils are influenced by two things only – the local ones which I have been to and the reports from the Regions which are given at Diocesan Council. (I usually find these quite shocking).

    As it happens, I disagree with you about clergy health. Should regional council meetings ever affect the health of clergy, its certainly time to stop going. We don’t think nearly enough about one another’s wellbeing.

    I do however take the general point that my blog post was unhelpful. Though it does still represent my views, I’m sorry that I posted it online in the first place and wish I had thought twice about it.

    I guess lots of us who keep blogs sometimes make mistakes and this one was one of mine.

    Reply
  7. Kenny Avatar
    Kenny

    Now I feel like a heel! I’m lucky inasmuch as what I post is largely ignored or unread, so I can rant when I like without too many consequences, unless it annoys or causes hassle for the upper echelons in our little Church.

    I know, of course that you are not a member of Council, but you do attend as Provost of the Cathedral and are allowed to contribute.

    You did say that Regional Council were bad for your health and well-being. I am concerned about that, and yes, I wish we were all a bit more concerned for each other, but my suggestion was that you took steps to ensure that these meetings were a little more constructive and actually did what they were set up to do. I agree that reports back to Diocesan Council are often dreadful. I shiver when I hear reported that the highlight was a Coffee Morning held in Little St Reubens, but how do we change that?

    I often think that the old RCC was much much better at disseminating information down to parishes, and every parish felt part of the processes of Church Government, but new models are indeed needed. I think new processes may well emerge from this new initiative.

    I wouldn’t worry too much about the negativity in this particular post. You seem to be redeeming yourself in subsequent jottings.

    The truth is that we need you, and your vision, on board, and the Clergy Conference may well be a good place to begin.

    Reply
  8. Kelvin Avatar
    Kelvin

    And we’ve got yet another Mission Strategy document to get our teeth into at General Synod! Hurrah!

    And you know what I think of that one?

    Well, let me tell you, I think………

    No, maybe I’ve learnt my lesson.

    For now, anyway.

    Reply
  9. Kenny Avatar
    Kenny

    I just can’t wait… and I hope tou DO say what you think!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Posts

  • Pilgrimage

    Here’s a video featuring Bishop Kevin and a fine hat.

  • Sign seen

    I’m currently on holiday and so spending quite a lot of time going in and out of churches. (What else do you think I would do on holiday?) In one of the many churches I’ve visited, I caught sight of this. Thoughts?

  • Sunday’s Sermon on Vocations

    Here’s what I said on Sunday about vocations [Sorry about the poor audio. We’ve some major problems with the sound system that are going to take some weeks to sort out – however, the Vestry are well aware that Something Needs to be Done]. The Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church have asked the whole…

  • Inspection of TISEC

    TISEC – the Theological Institute of the Scottish Episcopal Church has had the inspectors in (from the Ministry Division of the Church of England, since you ask) and they’ve just released their final report. There is not much for anyone’s comfort in the report as the inspectors indicated that they had no confidence in the…