-by Rev. Jeff Gannon

The 10 Things We Must Do to Realize our Redemptive Potential….

  1. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing
  2. Chapel Hill has a strong mission of welcoming all people to experience and share the extraordinary grace and love of Jesus Christ!
  3. The values cannot be forgotten.
  4. Chapel Hill must become more “Methodist” and Wesleyan without becoming more denominational.
  5. Infrastructure that will support growth

 

When my family and I were traveling through Austin, Texas we encountered major traffic problems. We were visiting Onion Creek Golf Course in Austin and so I asked why traffic was such a problem, no matter the time of day, in Austin? The man working in the pro shop said, “It is very simple….the infrastructure cannot support the growth of Austin!”

Our family lives in Bel Aire. We now have nearly 7,000 residents. Yet, we have two 4-way stops which especially at 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. creates huge traffic problems. Bel Aire has to think differently and realize the day of the four way stop has ended. We need traffic lights. The resistance is rooted in fear of losing what we have in a small town.

The same principle is true of Chapel Hill or any congregation.

I share with the staff often these bullet points of information….

  • At the stage Chapel Hill is, we need to behave like a larger congregation. Out tendency, which is completely normal and to be expected, is to behave as though we are a smaller congregation. The things we most want to hold on to are probably rooted in our desire to keep it the way it was when we became a part.
  • Our “default” mode for how church ought to be, is determined by the size of the church, if we were churched, when we were children. Without thinking, we will go into “default” on how we ought to do the work of the church.

Some of what we are working on to create an infrastructure which will create and sustain growth….

  • Church Council is in strategic thinking/planning around 5 major areas of emphasis
  • Servant Ministries & Ministers with job description for every ministry.
  • Assimilation process from First-time guest to an engaged member/constituent. (In process thanks to the leadership of Christina Kukuruda and Lionel Smith.)
  • Re-introducing Leadership Chapel Hill as a tool for helping persons discover, deploy, and develop their giftedness for ministry.
  • We must eliminate “road blocks” to effective engagement in significant and meaningful ministry.