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?
    , ,

24 responses to “Good Vicar, Bad Vicar”

  1. Josh Avatar
    Josh

    Being a good vicar to stony, unreceptive hearts might require a pickaxe to reveal gemstones within. It must be tough to minister to jerks and meanies, no? We lose faith in people easily – I certainly do. But a good vicar – a loving parent – doesn’t give on up one’s children.

    A good vicar might depend on the eye of the beholder. Whether you believe vicars and congregations are intrinsically good or evil might get you called a Pelagian or an Augustinian depending on who you ask. Faith in the work of a vicar or the reception of the congregation depends on good faith and co-operation – what then do we place our faith in? Hardly Protestant thinking, when faith is dependent on work, manifestation, and epiphany. A bad vicar might be sent to good people. A good vicar might be sent to bad people. Whether a vicar or congregation is subjectively or objectively good is a difficult question to answer.

    It is then that I prefer to see both the vicar and congregation not as “good” or “bad” but rather as equally “beloved”. However large the congregation, or even the vicar’s skill shouldn’t matter then. But that raises the question: Who then do we love if we are so beloved by God? Perhaps love might be the answer. A vicar and congregation who sees and knows themselves as equally and lavishly beloved of God will love each other. Love makes congregations meaningful and precious, no matter how small they might be.

    Reply
  2. Josh Avatar
    Josh

    And if I might add to my previous comment – And love also makes vicars meaningful and precious, no matter how small the congregation might be.

    Reply
  3. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    Yes – things which make the practicalities of small congregations include:
    the laity in most senior positions find it hard to see the inclusive love of God and to see the value of prayer and spiritual exercises, a shortage of laity with administrative abilities, a tiny handful of parishioners prepared to insist on unhelpful things all the time (the oldest liturgies every week, the kind of behaviour small children cannot sustain all service long, particular dress in those at church on Sunday to name but a tiny selection). In a larger church these things can be contained (one nasty comment for lady x outweighed by five or six lovely ones or simply finding somebody to be treasurer who can cope with the job). In a small church, however good the vicar, the nasty comment carries more weight, and the sorting out of the finances may take days of clergy effort. It is always hard to get from a tiny congregation to a large one.

    That said, I have sat through sermons so mind-numbingly boring and inappropriate that I have actually moved to another church.

    Reply
  4. Paul Waddington Avatar
    Paul Waddington

    If one looks at the larger picture, the Archbishop’s optimism seems misplaced.

    According to the 1851 census, about five million people attended a Church of England service on the census day (a Sunday). The population of England and Wales at the time was about 17 million. These are round figures and I know that there were difficulties with the religious census, but they are good enough to demonstrate my point. Roughly speaking, about 30% of the population attended a CofE that Sunday.

    Recently published figures estimate average Sunday attendance at CofE churches at about 900,000. That is about 2% of the population of England. Wales is now excluded.

    So taking the long view, the trend is rather depressing for the CofE. Compared with 1851, fourteen out of fifteen no longer attend church regularly.

    As an aside, the 1851 census indicated a church attendance for Catholics of about 350,000. That is about 2% of the population. I understand that the current figure is very similar for Mass attendance is also around 900,000 or 2% of the population.

    Other recent research has indicated that the age range of CofE congregations is skewed towards the upper end. Certainly in my local parish, it is unusual to see anyone under the age of 60. I do wonder how many there will be in, say, 15 years time.

    Reply
    1. Kelvin Avatar
      Kelvin

      Thanks Paul – I find that bishops generally tend to accentuate the positive when it comes to thinking about numbers in church. Whether that is because they only go to events that are comparatively well attended or whether it is actually because it is their job to be upbeat about possibilities is not clear to me.

      Reply
  5. Pam Avatar
    Pam

    It is complicated – ‘good’ and ‘bad’ – poor adjectives. The rector is the leader of the congregation and needs support and trust. But, I think, no longer is the vicar held in such esteem as not to have to earn that support and trust. A good thing, mostly. Churches grow for all sorts of reasons – the level of involvement with non-believers, a prominent noticeboard and outstanding bikke and slice-makers all help.

    Reply

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