Congregational Vitality
The driving purpose of the Ministry of Congregational Vitality is to help churches of all sizes be faithful, skillful, and joyful congregations that love Jesus, grow disciples, and embody justice. Our approach is to empower and equip lay persons and clergy at the church level as well as providing diocesan-wide opportunities for learning, collaboration, and support.
More About Congregational Vitality
Churches will be encouraged in an arc of ongoing development that helps them live into their vocation. Among others, activities may include clarifying their missional purpose, engaging prayerful discernment of their church’s vocation matched with abilities and potential, leveraging energy and passion, building skills for decision-making and navigating conflict, enhancing transformational ministries, discerning and practicing evangelism, improving the incorporation of new members and leaders, powerfully reconnecting with their neighborhoods, neighbors, and other churches in their region to develop ecosystems of mutual interdependence, managing change, matching their human assets to their physical assets for inspired and sustainable ministry, and encouraging restorative rest and sabbath. (See Markers for Thriving Churches.)
Since the church’s context for doing ministry is important, churches will be encouraged to deepen relationships with their neighborhoods as well as other Episcopal communities where faith is nurtured, such as schools, college ministries, camps and conference centers, young adult communities, groups of young families, and adult living communities.
To help our churches be resourced for this endeavor, we will collaborate with other related organizations of our diocese, such as the Virginia Episcopal Real Estate Partners, Diocesan Missionary Society, Trustees of the Fund, Church Schools of Virginia, the Episcopal Church Women and programs such as St. Phoebe’s School for Deacons as well as organizations external to our diocese such as the College for Congregational Development, other congregational development communities, and Episcopal seminaries. We will also coordinate with related ministries such as Discipleship, Stewardship, Vocations, and Racial Reconciliation and Justice.
Coaching & Support
Coaching and support are available to any church in our diocese. Please call or email the Reverend Shirley Smith Graham.
Areas for coaching and support include:
- Discerning the church’s unique mission, call, and future focus for ministry
- Improving relationships and deepening trust
- Strengthening skills for being a multi-generational church community
- Improving skills for dealing with complex issues
- Increasing our ability (in authentic ways) to invite, welcome, orient, and incorporate people who are new to the church
- Healing, repair, restoration of relationships
- Tools for planning and managing change in the church
- Reconnecting with our neighborhood(s) and building a mutually interdependent future
- Creating collaborations with other churches (Episcopal or other), schools, college ministries, adult living communities, or non-profit organizations
- Refreshing our understanding of how lay and clergy ministries can work together for the fullness of ministry
- Strengthening and transforming current ministries and programs (also includes joyful and generous giving).
Congregational Vitality Assessment
Using the Congregational Vitality Assessment (FaithX) is a good way of finding out where your church is in 13 key areas, helping the congregation recognize growth potential, and making an important step toward plans that will strengthen your congregation. Our diocese has paid for a judicatory license, so this is a free service to you. Contact the Rev. Shirley Smith Graham for details.
Neighborhood Insights Demographics
Neighborhood Insights reports (FaithX) help you understand who the people are in your mission and ministry areas, their priorities, and important information like population by generations, projected growth, ethnic identity, languages spoken, commuting times, numbers of households with a disability or rent/mortgage burdened, and more. Coaching is available for how to use this information to update your church’s understanding of its identity and purpose. Contact the Rev. Shirley Smith Graham for details.
The Committee for Congregational Vitality
Committee Members
The Rev. Jo Belser
The Rev. David Casey
Ms. Linda Hutt
The Rev. Angela Lerena
The Rev. Ethan Lowery
The Rev. Ken Malcolm
The Rev. Susan Pinkerton
The Rev. Ben Robertson
The Rev. David Rose
The Rev. Sven van Baars
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What does the term Congregational Vitality mean?
A: The ministry of Congregational Vitality refers to the practices, skills, behaviors, and tools that help congregations be more faithful, effective, and joyful.
Q: Does Congregational Vitality try to make all churches look alike?
A: No, Congregational Vitality involves deeply listening to and observing of the church, its neighborhood context, its desires for addressing the needs of the world, and its personality as well as the skills and spiritual gifts of its people. We believe all churches can engage in spiritual discernment and use tools to plan change and live into opportunities for transformation. Vitality will look different in different places.
Q: Can I benefit from work on Congregational Vitality?
A: Yes. People who support Congregational Vitality lead with love, tend to be curious, and value difference. We like to open up creative spaces for churches and people to grow into their fulfillment.
Q: Who can I ask for help with Congregational Vitality?
A: A good starting place is to talk to the Rev. Shirley Smith Graham or Bishop Bourlakas. They work with a team of lay and clergy to help support churches.
Other Resources
While coaching and support are available, there are some tools that churches can use without assistance. These include: