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Final Report


Congregational Preparation

On August 23, 2009 elders of St. Paul Lutheran Church heard a presentation about congregational renewal by Rev. Bill Seaman. Following this a decision was made to invite Rev. Seaman to make a presentation to the congregation via the sermon in a Sunday morning worship service. This took place November 15, 2009 and in a voters' assembly the congregation voted to participate in the first phase of this process. As a result the pastor, leaders and members of the congregation have invested a great deal of time and effort in the initial steps of the renewal process. Thirty-two members of the congregation attended the spiritual life workshop led by Mrs. Rae Fangmeier, a member of the district Spiritual Life Team on March 13, 2010. A detailed congregational profile was prepared that focused on the congregation's outreach ministry. The leaders of St. Paul also completed the Readiness Assessment April 13, 2010, which focused on how willing the congregation would be to make any changes that might be recommended. Of even greater importance has been the spiritual preparation for this process as members devoted themselves to prayer for the process and engaged in special Bible studies and medication to support the process.


Team Preparation

The Renewal Team, comprised of Dr. Chris Evans, Circuit Mission Advocate for Circuit 14 and member of St. John's Lutheran Church, Winston Salem, NC; Mr. Ralph Harrison, former member of the District Board of Directors and member of Hope Lutheran Church, Wake Forest, NC; and Rev,. Dr. William Seaman, Regional Mission and Ministry Facilitator and Director of Congregation Renewal for the Southeastern District - LCMS, has been preparing for the Discovery weekend for many months. They have engaged in intensive prayer for the congreation - its' people, leaders and pastor. They have diligently studied congregational statistics and demographic information, as well as the history of the congregation, the congregational profile and the congregational readiness assessment report. They reviewed the congregation's web site also. They have participated in interviews with Rev. Daub and leaders of the congregation as well as three focus groups at which every member of the congregation was given the opportunity to share perceived strengths, challenges and actions to be taken, as well as any other sharing that might enable the team to better understand the congregation. Altogether fifty individuals participated in these conversations. They have also had individual conversations with members who asked for this opportunity. The team spent hours reviewing what they had heard and learned and distilled major strengths of the congregation from the many that were listed and a number of primary challenges that they heard and perceived from the materials that they studied. These strengths and challenges were presneted to members of the congregation following the morning worship service on May 2, 2010 and those present were given the opportunity to respond to what they heard and to suggest actions that might be taken to meet the challenges that were listed. Taking these responses into consideration, the team now presents this report for the congregation's consideration.


Congregational Background

St. Paul Lutheran Church had an informal beginning in 1955 when area lutherans began gathering for worship. A vicar was assigned to the new mission in 1957 and regular worship services were begun. An ordained pastor was assigned to the mission in 1958 and property for a church was purchased in 1959. The first building was dedicated in 1961, which was quickly outgrown necessitating an addition.

The congregation grew quickly, which enabled it to plant a daughter congregation in Jacksonville, NC. The congregation undertook a kindergarten program and also added a first and second grade. Due to declining enrollment, this program was eventually discontinued.

During the fifty plus years that St. Paul has been in existence there have been many and varied pastors, each contributing to the ministry of St. Paul in his own way. These ministries were celebrated during the fiftieth year anniversary of the congregation by having many of them return to preach. The congregation has now been blessed with the ministry of Rev. Jim Daub, who has had the longest tenure of any pastor at St. Paul to date.

The congregation began with a primarily military membership, but has transitioned to a majority of civilian members. However, it still sees its' ministry being to the military members of the community and to the community as a whole. Members regularly participate in ministries and activities in the community; the congregation is outreach focused.

The congregation has weathered a number of storms during its' history including the closing of the school and kindergarten, two fires and a number of controversies and conflicts. All of this has made the congregation stronger and has positioned it for significant ministry in this time and this place. The congregation has learned to deal with conflict and to fight spiritual battles.



Perceived Strengths

As we reviewed our notes from the weekend we were able to tally 272 specific individual strengths in seventeen diffent areas that were identified by the members. Most of these were mentioned repeatedly, which indicated that they were perceived strengths and also likely real strengths as well. The areas into which we categorized thses strengths were the following:

* Pastor - 78 items; major items were preaching, leadership, commitment and dedication, participation, being a people person, attitude

* Membership - 56 items; major items were atmosphere, care for others, support of pastor, unity, diversity, willingness to change

* Spiritual life - 35 items; major items were prayer, small group Bible studies, worship, singing and congregational participation

* Leadership - 18 items; this includes the church council, the elders and the retired chaplains who serve on occasion

* Ministry - 13 items; major items were small groups, youth and young adults and care for those who are ill or bereaved

* Outreach and Evangelism - 12 items; includes community outreach activities and members asking others to attend worship

* Fellowship - 12 items relating to activities and participation

* Social Ministry - 12 items focusing on activities and involvement with the community such as fall festival, food bank, Red Cross and others

* Participation of the members, particularly in worship and Bible study - there were 11 items in this area.

* Communication - 9 items including the newsletter, web site, directory, calendar and other activities

* Stewardship and finances - 9 items; included here is support of members, giving to missions and outreach, stewardship of resources

* Youth - 6 items focusing on ministry and youth participation

* Marketing - 3 items; the blood drive, the signage, the float in the Christmas parade

* Vision, mission and values - only 2 items; the strength is the mission statement that is posted and is emphasized

* Demographics - 2 items dealing with the military community

* Location - 1 item; this is obvious

* Building and facilities - 1 item; parking

* Potential - 1 item; the gongregation has ghreat potential for growth due to its' location, the community and the anticipated growth of personnel at Cherry Point.



Team Response

Based on the responses that we heard and their frequency as well as the information from the other resources we had, we were able to select six primary strengths of the congregation. As we said in the preliminary report Sunday, we want to affirm the blessings and gifts that God has given to you as a congregation. There has been a long history of ministry and mission at St. Paul, Havelock. There is a strong desire to continue and grow in the ministry and mission that is apparent in almost everyone who spoke. It is important to identify the congregation's strengths as these form the foundation upon which any successful renewal process is built. It is important to continue to stress the positive characteristics and features of the congregation and work forward, rather than being stuck in rehashing proglems which often leads to a defeatist attitude. The primary strengths that have been identified are:

* Pastor who is known for his pastoral care of the members and others; solid, engaging, Biblical preaching and teaching; leadership in the congregation; innovation; opening his home to members; and caring about people

* Lay leadership that is committed, dedicated, active, supportive of the pastor and involved in the congregation and its' ministry

* The membership of the congregation which has overall a positive spirit and attitude and takes a healthy pride in their congregation and its' ministry so that they often invite others to attend worshiup and events at the church. They are warm, caring, welcoming, friendly and supportive of the pastor and the ministry of the congregation

* A strong commitment to Biblical doctrine, preaching and teaching by the pastor, the leadership and the members of the congregation

* The support and assistance of military chaplains, both those who are members of the congregation and those who serve at Cherry Point and in the area


Perceived Challenges

St. Paul Lutheran Church had an informal beginning in 1955 when area lutherans began gathering for worship. A vicar was assigned to the new mission in 1957 and regular worship services were begun. An ordained pastor was assigned to the mission in 1958 and property for a church was purchased in 1959. The first building was dedicated in 1961, which was quickly outgrown necessitating an addition.

The congregation grew quickly, which enabled it to plant a daughter congregation in Jacksonville, NC. The congregation undertook a kindergarten program and also added a first and second grade. Due to declining enrollment, this program was eventually discontinued.

During the fifty plus years that St. Paul has been in existence there have been many and varied pastors, each contributing to the ministry of St. Paul in his own way. These ministries were celebrated during the fiftieth year anniversary of the congregation by having many of them return to preach. The congregation has now been blessed with the ministry of Rev. Jim Daub, who has had the longest tenure of any pastor at St. Paul to date.

The congregation began with a primarily military membership, but has transitioned to a majority of civilian members. However, it still sees its' ministry being to the military members of the community and to the community as a whole. Members regularly participate in ministries and activities in the community; the congregation is outreach focused.

The congregation has weathered a number of storms during its' history including the closing of the school and kindergarten, two fires and a number of controversies and conflicts. All of this has made the congregation stronger and has positioned it for significant ministry in this time and this place. The congregation has learned to deal with conflict and to fight spiritual battles.



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