The CTA Steering Team is engaged in intensive work with independent research organizations to learn more about vital congregations and our connectional structures, systems, and leadership.
Towers Watson partnered with the Call To Action Project Team and Steering Team to provide a fact-based understanding of the characteristics, structure and practices that correlate most with church vitality. They worked with stakeholders through interviews, focus groups and surveys across the organization to develop hypotheses on what drives church vitality. Towers Watson then “tested” the hypotheses with existing data as well as additional data collected through surveys and interviews.
Apex HG LLC (“Apex”) was retained to perform the Operational Assessment portion of the project which is a broad organizational review and evaluation of the decision-making, governance and leadership effectiveness of The United Methodist Church structures and processes.
The purpose of the Operational Assessment was to identify the primary three to five “levers” or “doors” that can be opened to support the Call to Action Steering Team “in bringing forward a plan that will lead to reordering the life of the Church for greater effectiveness and vitality in (1) the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and (2) addressing the Four Areas of Focus as distinctive ways we live into that mission together.”
The three guiding principles to be identified as the Operational Assessment ‘doors’ or ‘levers’ were:
Support the attributes of a vital connexion for the 21st Century;
Improve Decision Making, Implementation Effectiveness, and Accountability; and
Improve Affordability and Align Resources with the Determinants of Church Vitality and the Four Areas of Focus.
The focus of the Assessment was on governance, leadership and policy. The project involved study and analysis of The United Methodist Church organization structures and processes along with substantial interview and survey input.
