Christ Church United Methodist
Long Range Plan
November 17, 2003

Table of Contents:

1. Purpose
2. Team Members
3. Graph of Worship, Sunday School Attendance (with projection)
4. Recommendations
5. Appendix of Process Research and Documentation Details

Purpose

The Team was charged with the responsibility of “envisioning God’s dream for Christ Church” and making recommendations that looked out 20-30 years in the future for Christ Church.

The purpose of this Long Range Plan is to:

  1. Make and serve more disciples of Jesus Christ
  2. Reach out to meet more needs
  3. Systematically challenge ourselves to rediscover what the Lord has planned for Christ Church United Methodist.

The Team met monthly since January 2003 and collected a large amount of data as the basis for this report, which is summarized in the following Appendix. We have prayerfully planned for the future needs of Christ Church.

Long Range Plan Team Members

Dr. George Strunk, Senior Minister
Neil Kuvin, Leader
John Bock
Cindy Crockett
*Bill Ewing
Phil Gayhart
Jennie Gomez
Stephanie Horne
Denny Howell
Mark Jackson
Mimi Mulvey
Tom Ryan

* Bill Ewing was a vital member of this committee up until his death in July, 2003.  We were honored and humbled by his presence and his contribution to this Plan.

The Picture of Growth

Observations:

  1. Worship attendance has increased at a rate of approximately 4% per year since 1990.

  2. At simple compounded growth, worship service attendance could be near 2,000 each Sunday by 2030.

  3. Worship attendance has steadily held at 40% of total church membership.

  4. With no planned or designed effort to increase membership, CCUM could reach 5,000 members by 2030.

Recommendations

  1. Plan to make and serve more disciples of Jesus Christ

    Matthew 28:19-20 “ …go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…”
     

    1. Facility

      1. Form a Building Committee and Finance/Capital Campaign Committee for the purpose of expanding our current facility. Expansion of sanctuary/narthex, office, classroom space, and building a new “activities center” should be prioritized.

        After considering options, it is the current Long Range Planning Committee’s recommendation that the current CCUM location be utilized and expanded. Christ Church should actively establish and pursue a plan to acquire, or option to purchase adjacent property surrounding our current CCUM property.
         

      2. Christ Church should investigate the acquisition of land or real estate in another location for our future needs.
         

    2. Program Expansion

      1. Establish and activate plans to add new Children and Youth programs.

      2. Establish and activate plans to expand Recreation Ministries for all ages.

      3. Establish and activate plans to create new small groups.

      4. Continue to encourage fellowship.

      5. Encourage the expansion of adult activities.

      6. Pursue increased media exposure and other outreach opportunities.

      7. Maximize openness to ideas for programs

        1. Establish a system or method for a program evaluation system that provides feedback on the basis of (1) is it a vehicle for making disciples? (2) is it a program that meets a need?

        2. Collect better demographic information of our congregation.
           

    3. Staff

      1. Continue staff expansion as needed.

      2. Communicate to the congregation the relationship and interdependence of paid and volunteer staffing.

      3. Continue to support and expand the Lay Ministry strategy
         

    4. The Permanent Endowment Fund and the Long Range Plan

      1. Encourage active support for growth and utilization of the CCUM Permanent Endowment Fund.

      2. Establish and institute a plan whereby the Long Range Plan becomes an important consideration for Permanent Endowment Fund planning, particularly where purchase of additional property, acquisition of adjacent property, or expansion of facilities is being considered.
         

  2. Reach Out to meet more needs

    Matthew 22:37-39 “…Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and love your neighbor as yourself.”

     

    1. Facility: Encourage the continuation and expansion of the use of our facility by outside groups.

    2. Program Expansion

      1. Recommend Christ Church reach out to meet needs and promote justice for those beyond our walls.

      2. Encourage Christ Church to continue to make outreach an important, vital part of our church by continuing current programs and creating new programs.

    3. Staff: Encourage and support staff involvement in outreach initiatives and programs.

    4. Continue increasing our financial support for outreach programs.
       

  3. Ongoing Review of Long Range Plans:

    Psalm 33:11 ”But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.”

    It will be the ongoing, annual responsibility of the CCUM Administrative Council to determine a method for creating and the establishment of a Long Range Plan review. It is recommended that an LRP Team leader be selected and the implementation and report system be determined during the first Ad Council meeting of each year. Responsibilities for review, implementation and reporting include:

    1. Review existing LRP to determine elements of the Plan that need implementation as appropriate to the current needs of CCUM.

    2. Seek approval from Administrative Council regarding all elements of the LRP to be prioritized to activate during the current year.

    3. Systematically report to Administrative Council on decisions to activate, alter or delay sections or elements of the LRP.

Appendix

  1. Discussions and analysis from monthly Long Range Planning meetings held January through November, and from half-day brainstorming meeting in October

  2. Graphs and Tables created from CCUM Annual reports and statistics, CCUM zip code representations from Church records, and US Census Bureau data:

    1. Five mile CCUM Radius Population Projections

    2. CCUM zip code representation

    3. CCUM Worship and Sunday School Trend Projection 1990-2030

    4. CCUM Youth and Children Trend Analysis1996-2015

    5. CCUM Confirmand Growth 1991-2002

    6. Worship Attendance and Membership Comparison for CCUM, St. Paul, St. Matthews, Crescent Hill, Buechel and Fourth Avenue 1960-2000

    7. CCUM Worship, Sunday School and Membership Statistics and Projections 1955-2019

    8. CCUM Sunday School Statistics

  3. Percept demographic Ministry Area Profile for zip codes: 40207, 40206, 40207, 40059, 40222, 40223, 40241, 40242, 40245

  4. Written comments from Survey Questionnaire in reflections and on the CCUM website

  5. Title Search performed on CCUM to establish acreage of CCUM and surrounding properties (approx 3 acres south)

  6. Worship Recommendations from Dan Stokes and Laurie Scarborough:

    1. Provide additional worship opportunities

    2. Create culture of fellowship

    3. Create New Paradigm for Christian Education: expand small groups with new worship schedule

    4. Maximize Senior Pastor’s Preaching: Examine staff responsibilities

    5. Redesign parking flow

    6. Redefine Music Program to fit new schedule

  7. Verbal Comments received at the following meetings:

    1. 7/28/03 presentation to Administrative Council

    2. 8/18/03 presentation to Ministry Teams meeting

    3. 8/04/03 presentation to CCUM staff

    4. 8/11/03 presentation to Staff-Parish Relations Committee

    5. 9/25/03 presentation to Children’s Ministry Team

    6. Church-wide open meetings held on September 7, 14, October 5, and October 11, 2003

  8. Focus Group Surveys from 2000 Strategic Planning Team, past CCUM Planning documents and supporting data

  9. Bill Ewing’s “we do want to dream” memo and article re: Children’s Ministry Building in Dallas

  10. Tried and True, by John Ed Mathison for sample Planning reports

  11. Christ Church United Methodist of Memphis, Tennessee Planning report and 15 acre campus map

  12. Large Church Letter, “Staff Positions” March 2002

  13. “Satellite” campus literature, and many other planning books including research related to Memphis United Methodist, Frazer United Methodist, Ginghamsburg Church (United Methodist), Saddleback Church, and Willow Creek Church.

  14. Jennie Weeks 1992 Recommendation re: Double Church Session Sunday School

  15. Letter and information received from Children’s Ministry Director, Jennifer Tuggle re: children and worship

  16. Written and verbal input received from church members during this process