Spring 2024 Town Hall Results
Hello Church Family!
Can you believe the new school year is already in full swing? It seems like just yesterday that the Servant Leadership Board (SLB/Board) hosted our Spring 2024 Town Hall meeting to both share updates with you about the church and our ministries and to solicit your input. We want to thank all of you who participated in the Town Hall and also to share a summary of what we heard, along with our plans in response to your feedback. We also want to apologize for getting this information out to you later than desired due to the staffing shortages we experienced.
For those of you who weren’t able to attend the Town Hall, people were seated around round tables and a member of the Board was seated at every table. That Board member took notes that were then compiled by Kent Mein (Servant Leadership Board Chair). As you might expect, several common themes or ideas emerged along with a few independent comments. The major themes included:
- An appreciation for Pastor Carrie, her sermons and the work that she does.
We couldn’t agree more, she really is a blessing to us all. Concerns about the potential for burnout were also voiced, particularly given the number of staffing transitions we have had. The SLB takes this very seriously, meets with Pastor Carrie monthly and is working with her to resolve our staffing shortages and discuss how we can help her to make things at the church run smoother.
- Staffing shortage concerns
The Board discusses with regularity how we can configure and reconfigure the positions and finances to support them in a way that makes them more attractive to people while honoring the church’s projected budget. Interviews have been and are regularly taking place in search of our next staff members. In the short term, you may notice that some things deemed less essential have been placed on the back burner (i.e., newsletters). Please bear with us and with our staff team as we navigate this season of transition. And in the meantime, rest assured that every open position is being addressed and will be until filled.
- Numerous compliments about our great staff and volunteers
Comments were shared acknowledging Chris’ wonderful children’s messages during worship, Nickie’s ability to effectively juggle so many tasks, Dave Nuckols’ great work through the Annual Conference and at a global level, the Simpon Shelter volunteers and so many others. Frankly, there were too many names shared to list them all individually! In short, each of you deserves a tremendous thank you! We have an incredible church family!
- Support for the church’s ongoing service and mission work
People noted their appreciation for the many partnerships in which the church engages and our collective dedication to mission work. We received some feedback about people having difficulty signing up for volunteer opportunities and we are exploring alternative possibilities.
- A shared excitement around our visible growth
We love seeing new faces in worship! A few of you talked about how we need to maintain this momentum and suggestions for further improvement were offered. There was also quite a bit of discussion around how we can better understand and interact with our online community and expand our small group efforts. Each of these is a high priority for our staff and Board and will continue to be discussed and addressed.
- In-person and online worship feedback and suggestions
Examples include thoughts about music, a concern for the “dead space” online worshipers experience, a desire to see more people involved in worship leadership and a number of others. Each of these suggestions is being considered. The procedure and flow of Communion, for example, has been evaluated and training was offered for ushers and servers in the hopes of providing greater organization and clarity to better serve worshipers.
- Communication
A number of positive notes were shared about the way the church communicates, including an appreciation for the Town Hall and requests for more of them. Communicating church events and opportunities can be challenging because there are so many things going on simultaneously. We want to provide relevant information to you in the way you want to receive it (keeping in mind that someone else has a different format preference). Our goal is to provide helpful reminders without spamming you with repeat content. To that end, we are actively looking at how we communicate with you, giving particular focus to clarity, the ways we relay information and raise awareness, encouraging your participation, avoiding redundancy, inclusivity and sharing great things the church is doing both within and beyond our walls.
Thank you again for your time, care, concerns and ideas. We plan to have regularly-scheduled Town Halls moving forward and welcome opportunities to engage with you any time.
Thank you for your commitment to Minnetonka United Methodist Church and our mission to grow the church spiritually, numerically, missionally and financially as we strive to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Your Servant Leadership Board