Who are we?

Tonight we gathered in our new property at 185 High Street with some folks from New Light and some folks from Chestnut United Methodist Church, for the first of two brainstorming sessions as we think about naming our new home for worship and ministry.

Here are the questions we explored:

Who

• Who are we?
• Whom do we serve?
• Whom are we currently reaching?
• Whom do we want to attract?

What

• What do we do?
• What is our ministry about?
• What are our goals (for ministry, for the new building)?
• What is important to us? (key words)
• What do we want people to know about this place?
• What do we want people to think about this place?
• What adjectives describe us?
• What do we envision will happen here?

Where

• Where will people come from? (how far? from what neighborhoods?)
• Where will people learn about us?

When

• When will we be ready to announce our purpose for being here?
• When will we be ready to open the doors to the outside world?
• When will the building be open and in use (Sundays only? all week? 24-hrs?)

Why

• Why do we need a building?
• Why will people come here?

How

• How are we perceived in the community?
• How do we want to be perceived?
• How will we know if we are successful in accomplishing our vision?

Some of these questions are particular to our particular situation, but it seems to me many of these are questions every church should ask itself from time to time. Wouldn't we have a clearer understanding of our own identity and purpose in the world, as well as a clearer sense of direction for the future, if we paused on a regular basis to ask ourselves these basic questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how?