Ten Reasons I Know We’re Growing a Healthy, Mature Congregation (Part 2)

Some more thoughts on our congregation and the positive signs of health and strength and maturity that I am witnessing.  Here are five more:


#6 Service
This spring more people than ever stepped forward to get involved in “First Serve” (our program for people who want to get into a ministry).  We have a strong and solidly growing  number of people who are involved and working around here, as is obvious on the weekends.  I have come to refer to our weekend ministers as our “volunteer staff.”  They are dedicated and motivated and clearly happy to be involved.  I look forward to the day when every member is a minister, and we are well on our way to that day.


#7 Small Group Culture
It is true we have struggled to establish, maintain and expand our Small Groups Program; it is true that in a Catholic setting this is a stretch for many people; it is true that this is still a labor intensive effort for us, and we have not cracked the code, it is true that we would like to see many more people involved and invested in Small Groups.  That said, I believe that our disciplined dedication to establishing Small Groups over the past several years has paid off in a Small Group culture that exists in this Church, a culture that understands an hour on Sunday is not the whole deal, there must be more.  I am especially proud of the many pioneers who have led the way and made a commitment to this exercise of faith sharing, accountability, growth, life change and discipleship.


#8 External Focus
We have become a church very much aware of and focused on the larger church and the poor.  Thanksgiving and Christmas giving programs, financial assistance and support to dozens of Catholic charities, our mission trips this summer to Haiti and Nigeria, the good work that has been moving forward in Nigeria thanks to our support, are powerful and positive signs of our care and concern for exactly what Jesus told us to be concerned about.  Adding to our staff a full time director of all these efforts (Brian Crook, our new Missions Director)  brings us to a whole new level moving forward.


#9 Membership
A quick assessment of the health of an organization or business is just taking a look at who is coming in the door and who is leaving.  We don’t have many people leaving these days (though we have had our share in the past).  But we have a fairly consistent stream of people joining.  I love to go to the new members gathering we have each month and listen to stories of how people have come to us. The people who are coming here are not looking for an easy way to fulfill they’re “obligation.”  This is not that place.  They are looking to go deeper.


#10 Leadership
We have grown a great staff of highly motivated and talented (mostly young) people who are on fire for what God is doing here.  I believe one of the reasons it is so easy to get members serving is because they want to work with our staff.  Recently we announced that we are considering adding a position or possibly two this summer and the response was immediate.  We have a great team providing the leadership for this church, and everything depends on leadership.


We could probably easily add to this list, but you get the idea.