Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Celebrate. Listen. Be inspired. Plan.

Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” Mark 4: 9

We all know Jesus told stories to help people understand deep truths about God, His nature, and His grace and love. Stories are teaching tools. They help us remember the lesson as well as understand it. 

Jesus sometimes ended parables with the phrase, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” It is a prompt that makes me stop and think, “Hmmm… maybe I better analyze this a bit more. Is there more to the story than I first heard?” 

I’ve been working with a church that has defined its mission as, “Sharing Jesus with neighbors.” It is an old church in an historic neighborhood; its membership is aging. I was told that many folks believe the church has lost its ability to gain new attendees. As I began Appreciative Inquiry sessions with members, I heard story after story to the contrary. 

For example, this singular congregation started a summer service in a local park 35 years ago, and it still attracts about 200 people every Sunday! One of the questions I asked was, “What brought you to this church?” In one group of 15 people, five of them first attended a service in the park - one third of just one small sample!

This is a congregation who is committed to sharing God’s Word with neighbors and who has proven capable of attracting new members through this special ministry. Their stories are compelling, but now, how can their ears be attuned to hear?

This is the part of listening that includes intentional effort. When conducting Appreciative Inquiry or any type of “holy listening,” it is important to capture the quotes that capture the essence of what works well. These are phrases that seem to resonate with others and reveal a deeper truth that has always been there, but may have been overlooked for its common appearance. For example:

• “Worshipping in the park is comfortable, and it drew me to try other worship too.”
• “My neighbor found the service in the park and and invited me to join her there.” 
• “The service in the park has an enjoyable atmosphere, and I found the same when I came to the church.”

• Task a leadership group (task force, planning steering committee, Vestry) with analyzing the input from the congregational Appreciative Inquiry/story-gathering effort.
• List the quotes on big flip chart pages (Post-It© style works best), and display the pages on the walls of a meeting room.
• When the leadership group gathers, pray for the Holy Spirit to help everyone have ears to hear what has been said. 
• Assign a skilled facilitator to lead the session, insuring that all voices have the opportunity to contribute to the analysis. 
• The facilitator asks the group to identify trends in the quotes that reveal the ministry strengths of the church.
• The facilitator or another good listener (who also has good penmanship!) list the trends on flip chart pages. 
• Summarize the trends in 5 or 6 statements that capture the main strengths revealed, such as: 

  "St. David's makes people feel comfortable and welcome."

  "The people at St. David's are willing to invite other to try our church."

  "St. David'd central location attracts people from this part of town."

• Joyfully share this list with the congregation. – Post it on Facebook, bulletin boards, throw a coffee hour party!

There is more planning to do, but take time in the process to celebrate how our loving God has blessed the congregation with gifts that bring joy and wonderful results. Such celebration helps people see that whatever change comes from the planning effort will be grounded in the best the congregation has to offer.

Everyone’s ears will like to hear that!

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