Sunday School/Confirmation Parents Listening Session

Surprises

• Contemporary worship service has great potential but we’re not meeting that yet – hire out?
• Effective space in education
• Connect the buildings
• Lack of demographic info
• Christmas musical not as effective, underdeveloped strength, moving in opposite direction
• Bible Study – Adult opportunities, lacking attendance, poor timing at 9:30 a.m., lacking in facility, different time opportunities
• Lack of participation by members in many areas – people want to be involved but need to be ASKED personally
• Technology involved to reach out to all – homebound by pod
• Linking new members with established members to encourage participation
• Current events – book studies
• Sign up areas are confusing in new building – need consistency
• Family opportunities available
• Saturday evening worship opportunity
• Communication!
• Lack of commitment by non-members as well as members, how do we encourage them to participate and become involved?
• Desire for Faith youth to reach out to entire Waconia community and all youth gather here
• Sunday school class size – too large for teachers and space; 10-12 maximum!
• Managing time slots
• 11:00 service music changes – more upbeat/KTIS – Praise/Worship type music
• Worship styles working at pre-planned times

Senior Choir Listening Session II

• Choir slotted in – instead of routine schedule
• Maybe an issue of director availability
• When singing – no additional duties during singing
• Communion – Congregation singing, more known hymns.
• 8:00 service – A more quite type service – meditative
• Senior choir aging – why not many new members?
  o Schedule?
  o How do we attract younger members?
  o Ask new members
• Start mentoring program for new members
• Scheduling preferences:
  o Number of services – 2 services okay sometimes with singing early in second service
  o Number of Sundays – 2 to 3 per month
• Why do we need two musical groups per service?
• Robes!?
• Storage?

9th Grade Confirmation Listening Session

What do you want in the next 5 years?

• Raise money to go on mission trips
• Later Sunday service/Monday night?
• Saturday night service
• Bonding and group building activities
• Communion around altar – by table
• Drums/guitar at late service, more upbeat
• Prayer request
• Large group every Wednesday à small group more time with all confirmants
• Less journal
• More Bible stories/Bible study/workbook
• More time with Pastors during confirmation
• Activities to go with learning – church camp style – songs/skits
• Too many changes too fast this year
• Relevant media Bible study i.e. Homer Simpson Bible study, DaVinci Code movie/study
• Sunday Night ROC – fill out sheets on the spot
• Pick up trash service project
• Service opportunities available to students regularly for NHS hours
• Softball league
• Sermon notes spread out all year
• Community wide service project sponsored by confirmation group
• Interact with other youth groups – Walk on Waconia
• Keep family fun night – Family Feud more often, less ROC the house or change ROC to include student participation
• Conflicts with homework and sports on Wednesday – makes it hard to get motivated to do confirmation homework when we miss a class
• Sunday nights can be a hard night for confirmation
• Later start on Wednesday night
• Run large group by grade
• Students run small group
• Carnival/bands for youth
• More music led by youth
• Bed races for Bridging
• More modern Sunday school program
• Continue with Biblical teaching in preaching
• Make sermons clearer to understand for sermon notes
• Small group lead Sunday school classes/nursery

8th Grade Confirmation Listening Session

• Friends/People
• Contemporary Services
• Youth Services
• Bands
• 8:30 Service – Traditional, Easy to focus
• 11:00 – Better Songs, can understand/follow service, directed to youth
• We have options!
• New facilities
• Bigger library

What would bring us here?

• Food
• Games/Activities
• More variety in ways of learning
• Church service focused completely on youth
• More off site gatherings within age group
• Pastors:
  · Interact
  · Tell jokes
  · Talk to our level
  · Are involved in the community
  · Young and fun
  · Can relate to them
  · Real life examples
  · Relaxed/Easy to talk to
• Be careful about growth – small community
• It’s important to know people

Facilities

• Not a lot of privacy
• Bring back memories
• Church feels like a home
• Feels separated having 2 buildings
  New building feels more homey
• When I am in the new building I feel more formal and when I am in the old building I feel like I can let go a bit more.

Sunday School

• Is important time to learn about God

Faith Staff Listening Session

What Surprised You?

• Pleasantly surprised to see “Effective care & concern for members/attendees during time of stress” in top 3.
• Didn’t realize how important “Effective Seasonal Special Events (such as Christmas, Holy Week, Christmas Musical)” was

Other Thoughts

• Life, Growth, & Mission has grown in the last year because of concentrated staff involvement
• Things take time.
• Growth – noticing the increase in numbers
• Any place church/anytime/any size
• Youth = Wednesday -- high strung/ Sunday lower numbers
  
  Wednesday attendance down (from years past)
  
• Community competing – to many activities for families to choose from. Need to work with this.
• Facility Limitation (9:30 service)
• Offering variety of time/lack of resources
• We “have” Junior High and Senior High Sunday School à Good Effective
• Goal = additional numbers
• Mission work = lack of awareness
  
  o More communication
  
• More “in your face”
  o Visuals
  o Bulletin – Ask people to take them home.
  
• Electronic world
• Multiple high school youth are involved in other areas – are we recognizing them
• Confirmation (No question to ask about)

Open Listening Session on 3-31-2008

What surprised you?

• Sad that youth wasn’t in the top 10.
• I’m not surprised that involvement in world missions isn’t higher
• 200 people said we have effective socializing opportunities, but I don’t see that many

Where would you like to see us in 10 years?

• Love to see us be THE YOUTH church in Waconia
• Have a great system to make new members get connected and involved
• Use the internet better for communication

Advice/how do we get there?

• Be sure people are receiving something of value from the church( referenced business model)
• Don’t just want to be a “Sunday” church but something everyday
• We must be Christ centered, you can go anywhere for socializing
• Better system for getting new members involved
• Have intentional small groups to help members connect
• Maybe try Bible studies in homes
• I’m not sure more programs are the answer
• Involve more youth in worship
• Improve stewardship
• Offer intergenerational service projects and mission trips
• Don’t be afraid to try new things and take risks
• Bring in speakers to talk about various topics
• Expand adult forums

Listening Session from March 2, 2008 Adult Forum

• Other churches in the area do adult education well – why can’t we?
• Pastors need to be more involved in leading adult education and in curriculum development.
• Small group ideas are great, but how do we keep them going (sustainability)?
• Youth events always cost a lot of money. Aren’t there more youth events that don’t cost so much all the time?
• Faith does not have the facilities to do youth “right”.
• Why does everything have to go through the Sr Pastor to be approved?
• What is the associate pastor’s primary responsibility?
• Volunteer coordinator needs to work the crowds and call people if the position is to be successful.