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Denomination Launches Resources to Increase Church Vitality

(October 5, 2006, GBOD) ––The United Methodist Church's General Board of Discipleship has launched a cutting-edge resource that helps church leaders focus time and energy on areas of ministry that have the most potential for strengthening, reshaping, and moving congregations forward.

By using a congregational assessment and planning process called the Church Vitality Indicator™, church leaders discover where and how to invest their congregation’s energy and passion for the future.”

The Church Vitality Indicator™ helps focus a congregation’s resources on the areas of ministry that will yield the most results.

Betsey Heavener says the CVI is more than a fill-in-the-blank survey. Heavener is a member of the congregational leader development team in the Discipleship Ministries Division of the General Board of Discipleship.

“The emphasis isn’t on technology. It’s the combination of survey and discernment that will lead churches in a powerful planning process,” she says.

The Nebraska Annual Conference has purchased the resource for the entire conference to aid churches in developing discipleship plans that focus on leadership development for clergy and laity. Church leaders in Nebraska believe the CVI will help them evaluate their current ministry situation and provide a process for developing their own discipleship plans.

“CVI will help local congregations focus their energy and creativity on what ministry they do best and that, in turn, will have a positive impact on their other ministries," said the Rev. Nita Hinds-Park, associate director of connectional ministries and director of congregational development for the Nebraska Annual Conference.

“As a result of this process, there should be a 'rebirth' and renewal of the gospel story as told in 'the United Methodist way' in Nebraska,” Hinds-Park says.

The 400 congregations that make up the Nebraska Annual Conference began using CVI in September. Later this fall, they will complete the assessment and begin strategic planning.

What Nebraska is doing is important because “first and foremost, we have a story to tell and a world waiting, sometimes in agony, to hear the story. Telling the story is who we are and what we do,” said Hinds-Park. The CVI will help us be more effective and creative in our “story sharing.”

Secondly, it will generate a renewal and growth in Nebraska United Methodist churches, which, in turn, will allow us to touch more lives through more missions, more ministries, and more outreach, Hinds said.”

The CVI evaluates the intersection of a congregation’s energy, interests, and current ministry to guide leaders to the congregation’s indicators of vitality.

Created for leaders interested in revitalizing their churches, the Church Vitality Indicator™ is an affordable, customized, interactive online assessment tool and discernment process that can help congregations of all sizes and in all settings.

According to Park-Hinds, the General Board of Discipleship’s creativity in integrating the CVI with Nebraska Conference’s Signs of Discipleship has made this an invaluable assessment tool for the churches and the conference.

The conference’s vision is for every congregation to take part in the connectional joy and commitment that is part of the heart and soul of The United Methodist Church evinced in . . .

• Practicing radical hospitality;
• Offering heart-warming worship;
• Providing opportunities for vital faith formation;
• Practicing gracious generosity.

“CVI will transform the spiritual life of our churches as they begin the journey to a more dynamic congregational life and ministry,” said the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top executive for the General Board of Discipleship.

What makes this tool so powerful is that the results are tailor-made to specific congregations. It's like having access to a ministry consultant 24/7.

For more information about the Church Vitality Indicator™ and other resources for renewal and new church starts, contact Betsey Heavener at 615-340-7295; or visit the CVI Website at www.cvindicator.com.

This article was written by Jeanette Pinkston, Media Relations Director for the General Board of Discipleship.