Convergence Progress Report

Purpose:

The Gaylord First Congregational United Church of Christ partnered with Convergence to discover how the church could be more of who we already are in the community.

Who is Convergence:

At Convergence (formerly the Center for Progressive Renewal), we’re transforming how faith communities engage with the world. As congregational consultants, we guide congregations through strategic planning, fostering renewal that reflects forward-thinking faith and social justice values. Our vision is rooted in inclusivity, collaboration, and innovation—helping congregations shift from "organized" to "organizing" spiritual communities.     https://convergenceus.org/

The Process:

1. Introduction

2. Establishment of a church Convergence Committee

3. Conduct a Congregational Vitality Assessment

4. Present the results of the  Congregational Vitality  Assessment Report

5. Conduct a Community Assessment

6. Present the results of the Community Assessment

7. Convergence  Summary Report: "The Great Unveiling." Status of the American Church & relationship to our Congregational and Community Assessments

8. Convergence Implementation Report: "Tour of Creative Churches." Ideas from the American Church & potential application of our Congregational and Community Assessments

9. Development of Proposed Recommendations by the church Convergence Committee

10. Presentation of the Proposed Recommendations to the church

11. Implementation

Introduction:

With Trustee approval in February 2025, Pastor Greg introduced the Convergence process to the congregation throughout May, 2025.

Everyone greeted the concept with enthusiasm, and we set out on the journey.

Soon after, a Convergence committee was established to do the behind-the-scenes work to make this happen.

Congregational Vitality Assessment:

To begin the process, an internal Congregational Vitality Assessment was conducted in May, June, and July 2025 to gain a better understanding of the church and the demographics of the surrounding community.

The Congregational Vitality Assessment questionnaire is available here.

Congregational Vitality Assessment Report:

The results of the Congregational Vitality Assessment are available here as a PDF file or here as a PowerPoint presentation.

The two-part video presented to the church on September 7, 2025, can be viewed here: Part 1 and Part 2.

Demographic Reports:

The Convergence team developed a set of "MissionInsite" reports https://www.acstechnologies.com/missioninsite/ that describe the Gaylord and Otsego County area.

QuickInsite - Overall demographic information and changes over time.

ExecutiveInsite - Demographic overview and trends.

ReligiousInsite - Provides insights into community beliefs and religious preferences.

ReligiousInsite Priorities - Insights into the area’s beliefs about God, Jesus, social values, and religious involvement.

MinistryInsite - Focuses on practical applications of the 2021 American Beliefs Study Survey series.

MinistryInsite Priorities - Insights into the area’s life concerns, reasons for non-participation, program, ministry, and media preferences.

Community Assessment:

The Community Assessment was conducted from September 1 to  November 30, 2025.

The purpose of the Community Assessment was to:

1. To get to know community leaders and make them aware that the church wants to work for the common good of our local community.

2. To learn about the issues facing our local community.

3. To develop opportunities for partnerships with organizations seeking to solve the community issues.

The church Convergence Committee asked the following questions to at least ten community leaders:

1. How did you come to be in our community (or church)? What keeps you here?

2. In your work or life outside of work, what are you passionately pursuing?

3. What do you believe are the most important issues facing our local community now and in the future?

4. What is a dream you have for our local community?

5. What role do you think a spiritual community like my church could play in addressing those issues and/or making those dreams a reality?

6. What other entities, organizations and/or individuals would be helpful for us to cultivate as potential partners in addressing those issues and/or fulfilling the dreams you mention?

7. Who else in the community would you recommend that we speak with? Can you share their information with us so that we may contact them? Would you be willing to connect us to them?

Community Assessment Report:

The Community Assessment Report was presented to the church on Sunday, January 4, 2026.

In this after-church meeting, we broke into small groups and discussed what we had learned. Informally, this feedback was used by the Convergence Committee as we moved forward.

The full report can be found online here.

Convergence  Summary Report and Presentation:

Using data from the Congregational Vitality Assessment and the Community Assessment, Convergence consolidated it into our Convergence Summary Report, titled "The Great Unveiling."

On Sunday, March 1, 2026, Convergence conducted a video presentation of the Convergence Summary Report, "The Great Unveiling." This video presentation is online here. (Due to technical difficulties, our church presentation couldn't be recorded. This video is from a similar church's presentation.)

Convergence Implementation Report and Presentation:

Focusing all of the data and discussion, Convergence produced an Implementation Report, titled "Tour of Creative Churches," to help the church consider what we can do, what we have the resources to do, and what we are interested in doing.

On Sunday, March 29, 2026, Convergence conducted a video presentation of the Convergence Summary Report, "Tour of Creative Churches." This video presentation is online here. 

Gaylord UCC Convergence Committee Draft Ministry Plan Recommendation:

On May 11, 2026, the UCC Convergence Committee met with our Convergence Coach and summarized our understanding of the UCC Draft Ministry Plan for the next three to five years.  Our working copy of the draft is online here.

The short version is that through the Convergence process, we have learned interesting and positive things about our church and the community. For example, we have learned that the Gaylord UCC Church is a relatively healthy small church doing good things, but few people in the community know it. We've come to understand that there are needs in our community that require the coordinated effort of larger organizations; however, our church can be a partner and a catalyst to help solve these needs.

Reviewing the most central issues raised by the Community Assessment, we recognize them to be communication, community, collaboration, space, and trust. Perhaps best stated as the two actionable assessment responses, “We need a community resource or source for sharing unbiased, valid information with the community,” and the not-exactly-quoted, "Our church facilities could be more creatively used to address the needs of the community."

Keeping our eyes on these two central issues, the Convergence Committee recommends:

• That the church and interested members become advocates and catalysts, working with community partners to figure out what an information hub looks like within today's world. 

• The church leverages our current building use policies to better serve the community, encouraging creative approaches to the real-life financial and logistical costs and constraints.

• Do a better job of telling our church's story to the community. This includes physical signage, social media, and sharing of digital assets.

• Becoming more intentional about loving people into a deeper relationship with the church community.

These recommendations will be shared with the church at the June 7, 2026, Town Forum.

Gaylord UCC Congregational Town Forum:

On June 7, 2026, the Gaylord UCC church people met after the service for fellowship and a review of the online Convergence Committee Draft Ministry Plan Recommendation document. This document represents the Convergence Committee's final work product, and everyone wanted to be sure the data, interpretations, and recommendations have been reported accurately and completely.

The Forum went well. After an introduction and review of the recommendations, we self-divided into interest groups representing the four recommendations for discussion. While the groups were of different sizes, even the smallest filled an entire table.

Great thanks to Pastor Greg, Coach Gregg, and each member of the Convergence Committee for the work and tenacity put in to finish this project.

Gaylord UCC Congregational Implementation:

The Convergence Committee recommendations shall be implemented in our church context as interest-based initiatives with the blessing and coordination of church committees and boards, as needed.

While this may sound diffuse, haphazard, or unactionable, it is not, as shown by this real-life example. The church has been able to host a group of young volunteers helping our community with ice storm damage cleanup. They have been sleeping in the Fellowship Hall. As a Convergence priority, everyone is in favor of using church resources in this way. However, we have learned two important lessons. First, without an "official" event coordinator, not everyone knew there would be sleeping bags on the floor when they came into the building, nor did the work crew know they were supposed to stow their gear for an event. Second, we have come to realize that our custodial needs must be increased when the church is hosting more people. Because we have all  decided we want to pursue increased facility utilization, the church governance question is not "yes" or  "no", but rather "how
and "when."