By The Rev. Canon Kirk Berlenbach
Canon for Growth and Support
Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
As Canon for Growth and Support in the Diocese of Pennsylvania, Kirk helps congregations connect with the community; develop new and innovative ministries; and maximize use of church buildings and grounds. The Diocese of Pennsylvania is participating in FaithX’s Vitality Improvement Program for Small Congregations.
Prior to ordination I had a brief career as a clinical social worker. My clients were adults with serious and chronic mental health issues. My focus was to help them continue to live independently in the community. Sometimes all they needed was someone to offer encouragement or a compassionate and listening ear. But the core of our work was to identify what they wanted for themselves and then map out a realistic way to get there. The key was learning how to parse those goals in terms of both measurement and timeframe. In other words, once they set the goal, we had to figure out how long it would take to get there and how we would measure success. While it could feel tedious at times, it was remarkable to see the progress that could be made by breaking big dreams down into time-framed, measurable goals.
When VIP was first announced, I was approached by several churches who hoped the program would completely revitalize them. Of course, the program makes no such lofty promises. Yet it does offer the hope of real and lasting change. Just as it did with my clients, the key lies in parsing the change they seek in terms of time-framed, measurable goals.
A struggling church cannot find sustainability, let alone vitality, in one fell swoop. It doesn’t matter how committed they are to the work… it doesn’t matter how skilled I may be in coaching them… even with God’s grace the transformation they seek will come about only as the result of many decisions and faithful persistence. Thus, I have found that it is best to start small and lay out a path that can produce some quick and easy wins. Again, this aligns with the VIP program and their 90-day microstrategy.
This is where our churches currently are in the program. Helping them identify and articulate their particular objectives has been both satisfying and challenging. Some churches were a little too enthusiastic. Their initial ideas were so expansive that they would take a year or more, let alone 90 days. Others articulated goals that were not just quite clear, but also should create a real opportunity for community engagement.
For example, one church chose to host a blood drive. If successful this will impact many people in many different way. Beyond those that are helped medically, they have also created a plan to provide welcome and hospitality to donors. While such a goal may not seem all that “sexy”, it is precisely the kind of undertaking that can produce measurable results for minimal effort. They can measure how many pints are collected. They can count donors and how many members volunteer their time. They can count how many people from other church-hosted programs, like the Scouts, participate. They can determine if the Red Cross wants to come back and do it again. And they can do it all in 90 days. Maybe they will meet all of their goals. Maybe they won’t. But so long as they learn from it, this ministry will be an important step on their journey towards renewed vitality.
