Frequently Asked Questions -

Why is a strategic plan needed for our church?

·        Each church member and leader of FPCP has reasons why the church is important to them. However, without a unified vision that is guiding us all, it is unlikely that the church will arrive at a common future. We need to review and evaluate our vision and develop strategic objectives to achieve our vision so we can arrive to the future a healthy, purposeful, and unified church.

Why is a consultancy needed? How will the outcome differ from the work of our Mission Study Task Force and Vital Congregations Initiative?

·        The Mission Study Task Force’s work was to help the congregation prepare to begin looking for a new pastor. Now that Pastor Neff is here, he brings new hopes and directions to the church. In many other ways, we are a very different church (and world) today than we were seven years ago. The Vital Congregations Initiative was a self-directed process of self-discovery that was designed to be a self-diagnostic tool. Additional and new consultancy is needed now to help us take all that we’ve learned about ourselves in recent years, along with our hopes for the future, and formulate a strategic vision for ministry.

Who are the consultants and what are their qualifications?

·        Leighton Ford Ministries was founded in 1985 to mentor and coach pastors and churches. Before Kevin Ford (the current Chief Catalyst and consultant FPCP will be working with) took over his father Leighton’s ministry, he was the senior consultant for the redesign of the U.S. Army Staff and an organizational consultant for large federal agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and major non-profits. Kevin is also an author and popular keynote speaker, as well as the nephew to the late Billy Graham.

What is the cost of the consultancy (direct costs to consultant)?

·        The Session agreed to a contract to hire Leighton Ford Ministries for $16,000 plus expenses.

How have other churches seeking vision guidance benefited from consultants'?

·        Leighton Ford Ministries has worked with thousands of pastors and churches, including our neighbors at The First Presbyterian Church of Batavia, NY, who received consultancy from Kevin Ford during a critical time of ministry reassessment. Their pastor, Rev. Dr. Roula Alkouri, says of working with Kevin: “We would not be where we are without them… I can honestly say that our church has grown in our connection to the community and our ability to be relevant to our community because of the work we have done with them.”

How will congregants be able to provide input in determining our new vision?

·        The entire congregation will be invited to take the Transforming Church Insight (TCI) survey to assess us in five primary dimensions. There will also be a formal feedback system created by the Strategic Communications Committee.

What is the timeline? Will we receive progress reports and will they include preliminary findings?

·        The initial process will take about one year. The process begins with Leighton Ford Ministries collecting information about our church (through a congregational survey and focus groups). We will get a “Discovery Report” about the information they collected from us. Kevin from Leighton Ford Ministries will then visit us and lead church leaders through a visioning process. Pastor Neff will receive regular coaching to ensure we stay on track through the process and while implementing our new vision. Approximately 3-4 years after the start of the process, the consultant will help us measure our progress toward achieving our goals.

What, specifically, do we anticipate getting from this work?

·        As a church, we will be able to identify our core values, our mission, and our vision. Flowing out of these things, we will (most importantly) be able to identify our ministry goals as well as a roadmap on how to achieve them.

How will our new vision be tangibly implemented into our church?

·        Unlike any process FPCP has used before (the Mission Study, VCI, etc.), a coach will continue to work with Pastor Neff to help him keep us on course to achieve our strategic objectives.

What is the anticipated term of this new vision?

·        We should be able to identify our vision in about one year. The process of implementing the new vision will take longer. Constant review, evaluation, and implementation of the vision is a never-ending process.