RELATIONSHIPS & COMMUNITY

 

I’m starting with Relationships/Community because of the interesting feedback we received in this area.

We can define “community” as fellowship with others based on shared attitudes, interests, and goals. This is one of the great benefits of living one’s life in connection with the family of faith: we are connected to each other and united under the headship of Jesus, the Savior and Father of all (Eph 4:4-6).

Two of the first sections of our survey dealt with relationships forged both inside and outside of our church family.

Here’s what we asked, and here’s how you answered:

 

RELATIONSHIPS

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Q1: On a scale of 1-10, how content are you with your church friendships and relationships?

A1: 7.94 (Spread = 2-10)

What could this mean?

Our church family feels fairly close. We are mostly content with our relationships with other WRBC members. That is not to say that we don’t still want more, and we’ll address that a little later. Some are completely happy with friendships at church, and others struggle to have significant, fulfilling church relationships.

 

Q2: On a scale of 1-10, how satisfying are your relationships outside of church?

A2: 7.36 (Spread = 2-10)

What could this mean?

As a group, we’re a little less strong in building close relationships with outsiders. Some of your comments revealed several of us feel spread thin by church activities and family obligations.

This question is ripe for discussion; Scripture commands us to go out into the world to make disciples. Could it be that the way we budget our time is out of sync with the Great Commission and the Great Commandment? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

 

Some responses about Relationships:

• “I think the church does a good job of developing healthy relationships among members and visitors.”
• “I would like to be more intentional in fostering relationships outside the church, but I find that very difficult.”
• “It would be nice if there was a structured way to interact with people outside of our age group.”
• “We are super attached to our church family. I feel blessed to do life with our WRBC friends.”
• “Wish there were more out of church activities for our families.”
• “I have found the most meaningful relationships here.”

 

 

Qs for discussion:

• Several mentioned a desire to be more intentional in fostering relationships outside of church. Several challenges were mentioned, such as complacency or busyness; how can we encourage each other in this?
• Some brought up wanting to interact with other Connect Groups, especially across generations. What are some ways we could make this happen?
• How do we overcome the real challenge of knowing other church members as our congregation grows and potentially adds additional worship services and/or Connect Group times?
• What other suggestions do you have? How would you address some of the concerns/desires brought up here?

 

 

COMMUNITY

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Community relies on relationships, and the concept goes even deeper into how our relationships play out in real life and affect our communal experiences. Here are the questions we explored:

 

Q1: On a scale of 1-10, how well does our church provide a community where you feel connected?

A1: 7.74 (Spread = 2-10)

What could this mean?

We tend to do a good job of helping people feel connected to Jesus: His Family. However, we have some opportunities to grow here, as evidenced by some of our lower scores.

 

 

Q2: On a scale of 1-10, how well does our church help you develop relationships that encourage accountability?

A2: 7.26 (Spread = 0-10)

What could this mean?

We have a slightly positive average score here, but our answers were wildly different. Some people don’t believe they are encouraged to be accountable to each other, and some do. Could it be that our leadership could grow in this area? Should our Connect Group leaders model vulnerability and accountability? Is accountability even important in church relationships? We want to hear your thoughts!

 

 

Q3: Are you happy with the number of people you know well at our church?

A3: 81% = yes/29% no

What could this mean?

It seems that most people feel well-connected, but others would like to know more people. This might be because they are shy and find difficulty in making friendships; it might be because they are very outgoing and just really want to know everyone!

 

 

Q4: How often do you attend a Connect Group?

A4: 91% of the time… with a small handful of outliers who answered, “Rarely or never”

 

 

Q5: Are you willing to join a newly formed Connect Group?

A5: 38% yes/61% no

What could this mean?

It could be that not everyone has caught the vision that Connect Groups are not meant to be forever. It could be that some are very comfortable in their group and unwilling to integrate into a new group. What do you think?

 

 

Q6: Would you be open to leading a newly formed Connect Group?

A6: 16% yes/84% no

What could this mean?

We do have some who feel ready to step up and lead a new group! We celebrate that! If that’s you, please contact Pastor Kurt or Pastor Ron so we can talk more about this exciting opportunity!

 

 

Some comments on Community:

Overall, there seem to be mostly positive feelings within the WRBC faith family. The majority of our members feel loved, seen, and Connected to the Family of Jesus. But we still have room for growth in this area, especially as our church grows and we see an increasing number of new faces. It will be important to keep adjusting our mindset and behaviors to focus on others.

 

It may be easy to fall into a trap of complacency. Sometimes we’re tempted to wait for church leaders to create opportunities to serve, meet new people, fellowship with others, etc. As our congregation continues to grow, this pattern will absolutely make it harder to connect deeply. I would suggest that we each take the initiative to reach out and create ways to serve, times to connect, and make it a point to know our church sisters and brothers. I’m interested to hear your ideas around this!

 

I also noticed another opportunity for growth: several pointed out serving in areas they don’t feel called simply because the need is there. I want to encourage us all that the NEED is not the call; God’s CALL is the call! The danger in serving just because we see a need is that often this leads to being spread too thin, feeling like our time is out of balance, and feeling miserable or resentful of ministry. Even pastors need to be cautious here so we can be a part of the WRBC community and not serve every second we’re together.

 

On the other hand, the need is GREAT! So the answer is not the same people serving in more ways; rather, the God-ordained answer is every one of our faith family serving in some capacity! Jesus said that the world (including our Christian brothers and sisters) will know we belong to Him if we LOVE and SERVE one another!

 

Our Pastors are encouraging all of us to spend 1 hour in corporate worship, 1 hour in Connect Groups, and 1 hour in service each week. This allows us to worship, serve, and grow in community: discipling one another and allowing the Holy Spirit to form us in the image of Christ! Imagine the reach we could have if every one of us invested our time this way! We would have to create new ministries and new groups just to give every person a job! Think of the impact we would have on our community!!

 

 

Besides sharing your thoughts on the above, here are a few more questions for further discussion. Jump in and join the conversation!

• How can we help different age groups interact?
• How could we serve our community better?
• How could we encourage our Connect Groups to grow, split, and repeat? What would be some advantages of this practice?
• How could we encourage our congregation to step out and take ownership of opportunities to serve, fellowship, and share the Gospel?
• How would you solve the following:
  • Feeling locked into one Connect Group, with no option to try another one
  • Co-mingling the generations represented at WRBC
  • Serving the community together

 

Please join the conversation! What else would you suggest? How can we get better at living in biblical community?

 

 

We love you so much!

Pastor Ron and the WRBC Staff