FAQ’s about…The Armstrong Group Consultants and the process for building a vision and strategic plan to fulfill God’s mission for Lord of Life1. Why are we employing TAG Consultants at this time? Council has reflected on many aspects of our ministry and noticed that we work well apart, but do not have a unified sense of direction since the building program. To sharpen our focus and direct our people, time, and money resources well, we feel we need a process to determine priorities, values, and goals. 2. Why TAG and not some other consulting firm? Pastor Jennifer worked with TAG last summer after reading Kevin Ford’s book, The Transforming Church. She studied TAG’s approach and understandings and then observed an actual church consultation process in action. This experience gave us confidence that TAG would lead us through the process well. 3. How long will this process take? We begin at the end of February with everyone taking the Transforming Church Index (TCI) and then conclude with our 2 leadership retreats in June. From there, we begin to work on introducing our next steps and organizing ourselves to achieve them. This part of the process goes on for 3-7 years, depending on the goals we set. 4. What is my role during the process? Your voice must be heard through taking the TCI sometime between February 28th and March 28th. The results of the TCI become foundational for the direction Lord of Life takes. About 60 people will be invited to take part in focus groups, April 12-13, as the consultant listens to a cross section of our congregation first hand. 5. How is the TAG process different from NCD? NCD helps us gage a few of the same things that the TCI will cover, but the TCI is just one step in a much deeper assessment of who we are, what resources we bring to ministry, and where we see God leading us in this place and time. 6. How will our individual day to day ministries be affected? Initially, not much will be affected. We will continue to worship, offer Sunday school, plan and carry out youth events, welcome new members, etc., but once WE have determined where God is calling us to serve, every ministry area will refocus toward those goals. 7. Once TAG has completed their process, what happens then? For 10 months after our final leadership retreat, our TAG consultant will be available for 10 1-hour phone consultations to answer questions, give feedback, & support our pastor and leaders as they begin to implement the strategic plan WE identified during the process. 8. Who decides the direction of our congregation once we have TAG recommendations? TAG will NOT be giving us any recommendations. What future directions we decide upon will be fully our own. TAG will tell us what they learn from listening to our people and studying our community. TAG will ask questions that get us to key issues, but they do not lay out a plan for us to follow. 9. Could we do anything ourselves to reduce cost? We could carry out the TAG process and simply pay for printed resources, but we would not gain the wisdom and insight brought by a trained, experienced consultant. We believe this is very important for Lord of Life at this time. 10. How can I learn more about the Transforming Church? Read, The Transforming Church, by Kevin Ford. It helps give a vision for how churches can actually be about transforming lives and communities in Jesus Christ. Go to the website, www.transformingchurch.net or www.tagconsulting.org |