2010 Refocusing and Refining

Posted by Adam Feldman in News and Updates, Partnership | Comments Off

2010 Refocusing and Refining

Jan 12, 2010

Late last year, Metanoia Church began a process of revisiting who we are as a church, what we value and what we are supposed to be doing, called: 2010 Refocusing and Refining. The desired outcome is that we as a church will be positioned for greater Kingdom impact on Main Street, Ellicott City and beyond. During our first Worship Gathering of the new year, Pastor Adam preached a sermon that addressed the desired goal for 2010 Refocusing and Refining. In that sermon, he shared his heart about where God may be leading Metanoia this year. If you were not able to be present at the Worship Gathering, you are encouraged to listen to the sermon online: “The Wells of Salvation.”

Here is the 2010 Refocusing and Refining process so that you know what will happen between now and the Partnership Retreat in March. The process is outlined below:

  1. NOVEMBER SURVEY: Every Partner evaluated Metanoia’s current mission and ministry through the “epic” Partnership survey that took almost one hour/person to complete.
  2. OBSERVATIONS: The Temporary Leadership Council (TLC) reviewed the data (21 pages worth!) and made observations on themes and data in the survey.
  3. FOCUS GROUP: A Focus Group of one dozen Partners representing the various seasons of life in our church was selected by the TLC to aid in refocusing and refining our mission and ministry in 2010 and beyond. The Focus Group will meet for three four-hour meetings: 1) December’s meeting discerned our current corporate values (“Who we are” as a church), 2) January’s meeting will focus on our corporate vision (“What we do”), 3) February’s meeting will evaluate our current ministry programs in light of our values and vision (“How are we doing?”). Meetings are lead by Earl Gray, a local minister, nationally certified leadership coach, strategic planning guru and Twitter maven.
  4. CONTINUED DIALOGUE: The Focus Group is limited to one dozen persons for two primary reasons. First, to protect the time of the entire Partnership Body. The work accomplished in three four-hour meetings would take almost twice as many meetings if all 25 Partners were involved—not a feasible option given how busy most of us are. Secondly, more meetings would stretch the process out into late spring or early summer of next year. As a result, changes made to our mission and ministry would have to wait until after the summer. As a church, we simply cannot afford to wait that long to address the challenges facing us right now. The input of all Partners is important, which is why everyone was surveyed. Additionally, between the three meetings the Focus Group will meet with other Partners and non-Partners to discuss the topic of the meeting and to bring new information to the table at the next meeting. This form of conversational dialogue honors the organic nature of relationships so highly valued in our church.
  5. PARTNERSHIP RETREAT: At the Partnership Retreat in March, Partners will celebrate God’s leading in Metanoia’s mission and ministry up to now and embrace his calling on our church in 2010 and beyond. (Get ready to party!)
  6. MINISTRY ALIGNMENT: After the retreat, the leadership will take the necessary steps to align Metanoia’s mission and ministry to everything God revealed through the survey, the Focus Group and the Partnership Retreat. Changes to Metanoia’s mission and ministry will be implemented on or around Easter.

We are four-and-a-half years into starting Metanoia Church, and this is the right time to refocus and refine. The process outlined above honors the witness of Scripture that one way God speaks to his church is through the church itself. Please pray diligently for Metanoia in the coming months: pray for God’s desire for Metanoia to be made clear to everyone, pray for yourself to have a humble heart that is receptive to your role in Metanoia’s mission and ministry in 2010 and beyond, pray against any attempt by Satan to divide or otherwise harm Metanoia Church as we step out in courageous faith to follow Jesus, pray for our leadership as we navigate the waters of refocusing and refining together.