Dear SOTH Friends and Family --A short time out today to share with you what it means to be your pastor...to live out my faith and calling with the people called Shepherd of the Hills.
It means more to me than you can ever know.
What a journey of ups and downs, twists and turns we have taken together. Almost four years ago, I arrived to be the pastor at SOTH in the midst of a lot of hurt and brokenness.
I entered into that hurt with you, and together we've experienced incredible healing and a new experience of God's strength at work within us.
A new sunrise of hope and possibility is breaking over the horizon.
It feels absolutely wonderful.
We are aligning behind a vision. The vision is not complete, and it is a work in progress. It always will be. But it feels so good to see joy everywhere in the life of our church, and to know that we are coming together to join in the work that God himself has given us.
I see the "flywheel" turning. In his famous leadership book Good to Great, Jim Collins describes how hard the first few turns of a big, heavy flywheel can be. But with each subsequent turn, a flywheel gathers momentum and begins to turn faster and faster under its own weight and momentum.
With prayer, humility and a sense of urgency and passion, the Jesus-following folks who are Shepherd of the Hills have managed to make those first, difficult turns together.
And now...it's time to fan the flame, and to open a conversation about the great things God still has in store.
Having just finished our outstanding "Listening Group" sessions in April, I wanted to share some results.
Here are the things that the people of SOTH said they celebrate right now in the life of our church (these are not the full list, but they are all of the things which were said at least 3 times):
Celebrations:
Our Pastor/Relevant Preaching (thanks!)
Warmth and a Welcoming Congregation
Our Music and the SOTH Band
Youth Ministry
Children's Ministry
LRE (Community Outreach/Visitation Ministry)
Missions (especially summer lunch and The Pantry)
Contemporary Style/Informality
Prayer Ministry
Worship Experience, especially use of video and new projection equipment
Relationships
Connect Groups
Folks, those are some pretty awesome celebrations!!! The flywheel is turning faster and faster!
God is good, and his steadfast love does truly endure. Our listening groups also asked the question, "what could God be calling us into next?"
We'll be working with all of your feedback and sharing some possible answers to that question (and getting more input from everyone) at a town hall meeting this summer. Then, this fall, you'll hear a detail ministry plan for fulfilling our vision in 2010!
In the meantime...how well do you know your neighbors?
SOTH has just completed a demographic study through missioninsite.com. This is the research company employed by our North Georgia Conference for the purpose of helping churches know
the communities in which they're located.
Most of us carry assumptions about the place we live...which may or may not be true.
We'll share more in detail at the town hall, but for now I thought I'd share some keys of what I learned:
1) SOTH's community is much more affluent than I realized. Average household income around our church is about $75,000 per year. Almost 25% of the households immediately surrounding SOTH (north to I-20, south to Hwy 166, east to Fairburn Rd. and west to Hwy 5) earn between $100,000 and $150,000 per year. These numbers are significantly higher than the household average for both Georgia and the United States. All of these income levels are projected to move higher in the next 5 years. In other words, we're getting MORE affluent, contrary to what we see on TV.
2) SOTH's community is child-focused. We have a significantly higher than average number of school age children in our community.
3) On the whole, the SOTH community is younger than the GA average, although not with young adults. We are lower than average in population of "20-somethings," but much higher than average in the 35-55 age range. We don't have many retirees, with our over 65 population running significantly behind the GA average. There are more 35-year olds with preschoolers (uh...Holly and me) in our community than you will find on average in other places.
4) Our community is very racially diverse, and rapidly changing. In 2000, 82% of the SOTH community was white. Today, that number is 60% and projected to drop to 52% by 2013. The African-American population has risen from 13% in 2000 to 32% today. It projects to 40% by 2013. SOTH's community is 5% Latino, with this segment projected to rise in the next 5 years as well.
5) Missioninsite.com classifies most of the SOTH community as composed of "Suburban Optimists," a group of hard-working, high-debt, high-earning households that drive 2 minivans or SUV's.
"They work in a mix of highly skilled blue and white collar jobs and enjoy vibrant, on-the-go lifestyles. They are very invested in their children and in team sports. They consider shopping another sport, relishing the challenge of finding the latest fashions at bargain prices at stores such as Loehmann's, Target and Marshall's. However, these consumers have a tendency to spend their disposable income on technology products, buying the latest video game players, laptops and home theater systems. They describe themselves as early adopters and influential leaders when it comes to consumer electronics. When it comes to their finances they are not big savers and exhibit low rates for owning investment and insurance products."
"Suburban Optimists residents have youthful, entertainment-minded media tastes. They frequently watch cable TV networks like MTV, VH1 and Spike. They enjoy watching network dramas, comedies and reality shows like American Idol."
Does that sound like our Douglasville to you? Kind of spooky, huh?
There are other significant groups in our community too, and of course this is just a thumbnail, general sketch.
But it gives us a clue about where the flywheel should turn next.
What are "Doug and Debbie Douglasville" struggling with in their lives? How can SOTH help?
How can we offer them Christ?
Let me hear from you. And know that I'm so proud and humbled to be your pastor.
Grace & Peace,
Adam
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