Report on March 26 Family Meeting

Here's a brief synopsis of what occurred during the Family Meeting of New Hope Christian Community on Sunday March 26th.

Discussion was opened with the purpose of the family meeting, which was to determine what New Hope members think needs to be added to the Sunday morning experience, and what other adjustments that they would make. There was some discussion centered around the fact that many members feel that there's a general lack of purpose. It was generally felt that additions to New Hope's ministries that allowed people to get involved would be good. Some specific additions that people suggested adding to the Sunday experience (vs. other outreach) are: time for testimonies, a more predictable meeting location, a more predictable meeting format, and more interactive teaching.

Some things that people would like to add during the week are more growth groups and more community service type events. There was also a general consensus that New Hope is currently weak in the outreach component, and that doing something active to rebalance things would be good. Some members discussed that there seemed to be a general lack of depth in teaching, but the counterpoint was made that (A)you can only do so much with what we have, and (B)members are responsible to dig into the word for themselves.

It was acknowledged that New Hope could offer some training in Greek/Hebrew and also cultural context, and that would help members better 'feed' themselves. Elders mentioned that there was a movement to plan together what themes are discussed on Sundays. It was commented that there is a need for Elders to lead by refining the Sunday experience, but also to lead by strategic thinking for the future. Many members expressed the position that they were less concerned with what direction was taken than that a specific direction was chosen and communicated by the Elders. The discussion resolved with the Elders' looking at ways to incorporate members' suggestions and future communication about New Hope's direction.

-Synopsis by Ted Hamilton-