| Part 5 | Program Preferences |
 |
 |
|
| Part 5 returns to the community and examines both what members of
your congregation and what people in the the community want from a church.This section
also uses Divergence but this time it is based on what is wanted and whether your
congregation is currently offering a program to meet that need. A high divergence means
that the programming or services in this area are desired but your congregation isn’t
offering them. A low divergence means either that the program is of little importance to
others and you’re NOT offering it or that program in this area is desirable and you
ARE offering it. |
| Again the term “divergence” is used to
compare the current situation with the ideal of a program being offered. You will see that
the Community is listed as having “High Divergence” but the Congregation as
having “Low Divergence”. What does this mean? Let’s start with the
Community. The community sees Care for the Terminally Ill as something of high importance
but the congregation doesn’t offer a program or service to meet this need. Therefore
there is “high” divergence between what the community wants and what the church
offers. However, when you examine the congregation’s interest you see very little
interest in the need for Care for the Terminally Ill. The fact that the congregation
doesn’t see it as important AND doesn’t offer it means that there is low
divergence. The dilemma here is that the community really sees a need but the congregation
doesn’t. What implications for outreach does this gap provide? |
|
