Denville Community Church, UM

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Denville Community Church, UMAffirmation of
InterestChurch Conference

• Presentation of findings from Needs Assessment
  and Expansion Realization Teams

May 23, 2004
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Agenda

• Brief History
• Initial and DISCOVERY findings
• DISCOVERY communication
• Translating Ministry to Facility
• United Methodist Discipline
• Affirmation of Interest Resolution

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Needs Assessment /Expansion RealizationTeam
Members (Past and Present)

• Alan Ackerman
• Chris Ackerman
• Steve Bond
• Glenn Buchanan
• Arnold Card
• Joe Gribbon
• Stephen Smith
• Past Member

Kari Gribbon Rev. George Imhoff Frank Leone Jean
Nightingale Carl Pauli Sandie Sebastian Ira
Clemens
Rev. Elaine Wing Rick Yobs Douglas Gabel Neil
Kiely Gus Hollstein John Hammett Matthew
Ballentine





Special Contributors Kent LaRue, Peter Rand,
Pat ODell
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Brief History

• Team Chartered February 2002
• Teams Mission - To proactively address the
  expanding facility needs of the Denville
  Community Church, United Methodist Christian
  Education program, enabling it to effectively
  meet the growing spiritual needs of the
  congregation
• (Goals see Appendix A)

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Brief History

• Teams Strategies
• Through DISCOVERY, seek a clear understanding of
  the current need for additional facilities
• Effectively COMMUNICATE to the congregation the
  importance of Christian Education to Christian
  discipleship and the spacial requirements for
  this vital ministry
• Develop a PLAN, including space requirements,
  time-table, funding, and communications to
  provide the additional facility needs
• OBTAIN or DESIGN, if necessary, facility plans to
  address the current and future needs of the
  Sunday School program
• CONSTRUCT, if necessary, the facilities needed to
  meet the current and future needs of the Sunday
  School program

WE ARE HERE
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Initial and DISCOVERY findings

• Initial Assessment
• There is insufficient space at the church to
  offer Sunday School classes for students in grade
  9 and older
• Classroom space is woefully inadequate for
  effective teaching experiences
• Transmission of sound between meeting area
  facilities is a real issue
• As of the fall of 2002, our enrollment is above
  100 on Sunday and it could easily rise to 150 if
  space were provided
• The nursery room below the sanctuary has reached
  the point of being a negative to visiting
  parents due to overcrowding
• Storage space is in very short supply

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Initial and DISCOVERY findings

• DISCOVERY findings
• Facility limits our ability to provide for a
  growing need for effective Christian Education
  (see Appendix B)
• Trend since 1990 congregation growing at 3
  annually
• Existing building services 30 Pastoral/Church
  and Community based activities/groups /week
• Nursery School is serving only a small percentage
  of community based on limited facilities
• Extreme shortage of storage space
• Youth need open space for activities
• Glad Tidings newsletter is well established to
  communicate to congregation

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Initial and DISCOVERY findings

• DISCOVERY findings (cont.)
• Church Staff Office space very limited hampering
  the execution of day to day needs and services
• Individuals avoid Coffee Hour due to overcrowded
  facilities
• Nursery facilities are a negative to many parents
• Library is constrained
• Large group social activities are very difficult
  to hold and manage
• Revenue generating Thrift Store needs home
• Congregation has successfully met financial
  obligations year over year
• Congregation has embraced and supported numerous
  special projects, 2nd parsonage, sanctuary
  refurbishing, organ fund

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Initial and DISCOVERY findings

• Band-Aid activities
• A Sunday School class in the choir room during
  morning worship services
• Cubicle partitions in Driesbach room to define
  Sunday School classrooms
• Relocated/Swapped Nursery and Youth Room
• Sunday School class at church members home
• Discussed with St. Peters Orphanage usage of
  space on Sunday mornings
• Investigate leasing of modular units for
  classrooms

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Initial and DISCOVERY findings

• Church-wide PERCEPT Survey
• 193 participants in Church-wide Survey
• Community growing at a 4 rate
• Continued growth in number of families joining
  our church
• Congregation desires
• Family-based activities
• More adult Christian Education
• Worship opportunities other than Sunday morning
• Opportunities to be involved in outreach
  ministries
• A variety of active ministries for children and
  youth
• Ongoing welcoming environment

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Initial and DISCOVERY findings

• Church-wide PERCEPT Survey (cont.)
• Faith involvement extremely high
• Preference of our faith extremely high
• Likely contribution behavior extremely high
• Strong support for programs e.g. music, food
  pantry, art, clothing resources, sports,outreach,
  spiritual retreats
• Congregation is open to change

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Initial and DISCOVERY findings

• Bible Study Gatherings
• Congregation-wide mailing of DISCOVERY findings
• Gatherings focused on defining ministries that
  God is calling us to continue, expand, and/or
  adopt
• Listen for Gods voice and direction upon current
  future ministries offered through DCC to Gods
  people

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DISCOVERY communication

• Bible Study Gatherings
• Are we duct tape or WD-40 people?
• WD-40 keeps things moving in many directions
  addressing the many needs
• We need to be open and understanding of what God
  is calling us as a congregation to do in his name
  what ministries should we be offering?
  supporting? who should we be reaching out to?
  how should we serve?

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Translating Ministry to Facility Moving to
Higher Ground
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3 Key Areas

• Christian Education Jean Nightingale

• Nursery School Sandie Sebastian

• Youth, Recreation, Ministry Administration -
  Matt Ballentine

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United Methodist Discipline Requirements

• United Methodist Discipline 2543 Planning and
  Financing Requirements for Local Church Building
• Establish a Building Committee
• Develop statement of need
• Develop Preliminary Architectural/Engineering
  drawings
• Develop Site Plan
• Develop Preliminary cost estimate
• Develop Building Financial Plan

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Affirmation of Interest

• With what has been presented here tonight, before
  any further planning can continue, we need you
  to
• Affirm your interest in this endeavor and
  begin supporting the a Building Committee with
  further planning
• and to return again to hear and act on plans
  that will be developed to realize our ministry
  expansion

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Affirmation Resolution

• W HEREAS the Needs Assessment and Expansion
  Realization Teams of the Denville Community
  Church have been charged to proactively address
  the expanding facility needs of its Christian
  Education program and its various other
  ministries in order to effectively meet the
  growing spiritual needs of the congregation
•  
• and W HEREAS the Teams have spent the past two
  years researching, listening, and surveying the
  congregation to understand what exists today,
  what the congregation would like to see for the
  future and what it would support
•  
• and W HEREAS the church has embarked on a
  Moving to Higher Ground commitment as our Lord
  calls us
•  
• THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Expansion
  Realization Team be highly commended for their
  careful and detailed work to date that the
  direction of planning they envision be hereby
  affirmed that they be encouraged to pursue
  continued development of facility expansion plans
  under the direction of a Building Committee that
  such a Building Committee by duly elected by the
  Church Council at its next regular meeting that
  the churchs Finance Committee be charged with
  engaging in a financial feasibility study and
  that at a future Special Church Conference on a
  date to be announced, the Building Committee and
  the Finance Committee present plans for a
  possible building expansion and ways to finance
  such expansion.

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Appendix A

• Teams Goals
• Increase congregational awareness of the
  importance of Christian Education to Christian
  discipleship and the spacial requirements of an
  effective ministry
• Develop a building plan that is designed for the
  future of the entire church, not just the
  immediate needs of Sunday School
• Outline a capital campaign and establish a task
  force to address that particular component of the
  overall plan
• Involve the entire congregation in the project so
  that greater ownership of the facility and its
  ministries will be achieved

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Appendix B