With the help of Bruce Sharp, an assessment of the personal and perceived congregational values of Woodward Park was taken last Sunday. According to Bruce's research, all-volunteer organizations, such as congregations, have a higher level of commitment (above corporations) when the vision and values sync with the personal values of the members. That is, people are willing to invest in communal causes that promote what they personally value.
In an effort to better discern what our church values individually and how they perceive our collective values, we presented the following audit last Sunday. We're still collecting and processing the data, but I thought in sharing it here today it might be beneficial to others. If you would like a complete copy of the assessment, email me at jim@wpcoc.com and I'd be happy to forward it on to you.
1 – LEAST IMPORTANT
2 – SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT (I’m not interested, but I believe others should be)
3 – IMPORTANT (I would like to invest time and energy on this value)
4 – MOST IMPORTANT (I am very passionate and will invest time and energy on this value)
1) Evangelism – sharing with others the good news of Jesus for the purpose of salvation 1 2 3 4
2) Community Outreach – revitalizing and strengthening churches throughout our region 1 2 3 4
3) Giving – joyfully and generously providing a portion of one’s finances to support church ministry 1 2 3 4
4) Relationships – people lovingly involved in each other’s lives 1 2 3 4
5) Family Ministry – strengthening and enhancing marriage and family relationships 1 2 3 4
6) Bible Knowledge – intentionally seeking the truth of God through Bible study 1 2 3 4
7) World Missions – spreading the gospel of Jesus throughout the world 1 2 3 4
8) Benevolence – active participation from the heart in meeting other’s needs 1 2 3 4
9) Encouragement – offering inspirational support to those who need it 1 2 3 4
10) Leadership – influencing others by taking initiative in pursuit of God’s mission 1 2 3 4
11) Prayer – bringing thanks and requests to God on behalf of self and others 1 2 3 4
12) Stewardship – working to and maintaining high standards that bring glory to God 1 2 3 4
13) Creativity – encouraged to develop new ideas for doing ministry
1 2 3 4
14) Worship – humbly submitting to the will of God in spirit and truth 1 2 3 4
15) Status Quo – a preference for the way things are currently done 1 2 3 4
16) Ministry Involvement – actively working together for a specific purpose 1 2 3 4
17) Fellowship – a commitment to the gathering of God’s people
1 2 3 4
18) The Future church – ministry to the youth and college students of our community 1 2 3 4
