As a part of a worship service in June 2008, an exercise for the congregation was to complete the sentence “I dream of a church where…” with their vision of an ideal church. The Senior Pastor introduced the exercise and gave five minutes of time for completion. The feedback was anonymous submitted via notecards during Sunday worship services. Below is an analysis of the feedback.

Frequent Themes

Ten common themes were identified. The first and primary one was a focus on God. Note that the themes do not necessarily imply that Grace does or does not reflect these themes. Many cards were answered the question in a hypothetical manner.

1. Almost every card had a reference to following God's will
2. Welcome and loving to all (diverse, non-judgmental)—101 cards
3. Community (small groups, discipleship, mentorship)—61 cards
4. Service (missions, church service, community service)—59 cards
5. Youth and families—46 cards
6. Lost demographics (singles, college, men, seniors)—34 cards
7. Bible teaching—30 cards
8. Transparency (communication from leadership)—18 cards
9. Prayerful—17 cards
10. Accessibility (times, places, facilities, website)—14 cards

Praise for Grace

Though some cards did express criticism of the church, there were many encouraging notes written. A few sample statements:

• “I have found the church of my dreams here at Grace. After years of searching, I have been with Grace for about 3 years, and love it here. Thank you Jesus!”
• “Christ is being honored through the people of Grace being in real relationships with each other and with their family and friends. Pushing through in persevering love and being intentional in reaching out to their community and the world. PS – I feel this is already being given attention to here… that’s what brought us!”
• “I love the small groups at this church where community happens”
• “Kingdom progress is what drives the ministries and decisions. Therefore good training and education of the members is a must! I do think Grace is doing an excelling job with this. Thank you for all the prayer, planning, and work that goes into running this wonderful body of Christ!”

Critiques of Grace

Several specific critiques which were mentioned more than 3 times:

• There are many cliques
• There are many long-standing congregants leaving Grace
• Traditional worship and the choir is missed
• There is a desire for more exciting worship music
• There is too much philosophy taught at the pulpit
• The youth teaching is inconsistent
• The pressure to serve feels church-lead rather than spirit-lead

Low Hanging Fruit

There were several suggestions that were specific and appear relatively easy to implement.

• “Why are most churches dark at night when people become most scared, fearful, conflicted? I dream that there is always someone home at Dad’s house” (24/7 help line?)
• “Artists can contribute to the church the way they did ages ago when the tabernacle and temple were in place” (invitation for contributed art in the new building?)
• “We can serve in children’s ministry in 6-month intervals instead of 12-month intervals”
• “We have an opportunity to meet regularly with the elders to ask questions and be informed on what’s going on” (quarterly town hall meetings?)
• “The act of baptism is taken more seriously by the whole church. That when a service is held for the baptisms the whole congregation will show up to support those being baptized.” (baptism as a big event)