The Flourish Process

OUR NEIGHBORLY POSTURE AND PRESENCE

The HEART work of placemaking examines our *current* posture towards our neighbors and our presence in the neighborhood—how our love for our neighbors is expressed through the ways in which we live within the larger ecosystem of our community. HEART work is generally concerned with answering these three questions:

• How does our current engagement with our neighbors shape or reflect our love of God?
• How well does our neighborhood know and value us?
• Do neighbors feel welcome, seen and safe when they visit our space?

ACTION STEPS in this quadrant can include:

• Listening session with church leadership to understand current engagement with the surrounding community
• Listening session(s) with key stakeholders and community members to understand their perception of the church, as well as their hopes and desires
• IDI work with church leadership (especially in diverse communities) to understand the opportunities for growth in intercultural competency

GUIDING QUESTION:

“What is our current understanding and expression of what it means to love our neighbor(hood)?”

NOT What do we believe about loving our neighbor?  

OR How do we hope to love our neighbor better? 

BUT How have we *demonstrated* love for our neighbor up to the present day? 

AND Do our neighbors feel loved by our church? 

OUR CULTURE AND BELIEFS

The SOUL work of placemaking centers on our church’s culture and beliefs—our beliefs about God and faith, and the ways in which they are manifested in the life of our congregation. SOUL work concerns itself with these three questions:

• How does our perspective on God shape our self-understanding of what it means to be the church?
• How does our perspective on God shape our love for our neighbors?
• How have those perspectives shaped the kind of congregation we are today?

ACTION STEPS in this quadrant can include:

• Listening session(s) with church leadership to understand church’s history, current mission/vision/values, socio-economic demographics, and theology
• Internal church assessment(s) to identify assets to leverage, barriers to overcome, and possibilities to explore
• Equipping the church with resources (sermon series, small group studies, etc.) to help guide the congregation into this new placemaking work

GUIDING QUESTION:

“Who are we, really?”

NOT Who do we want to be? 

BUT Who are we currently? 

EXAMINED THROUGH THE LENS OF Who have we been?

AND What has shaped us?

OUR VISION AND VALUES

The MIND work of placemaking focuses on our vision for the future of our space and the values that will guide us—the kind of church we desire to be within our neighborhood and the values help us fulfill that vision. MIND work is primarily centered on these three questions:

• How do we understand the role God has called us to play within our neighborhood?
• What might the next chapter in our church’s story look like, and how could our relationship with our neighbors play a key part in that?
• What values will guide us toward becoming that kind of church?

ACTION STEPS in this quadrant can include:

• Development of a strategic roadmap to outline the placemaking process from beginning to end
• Listening session(s) with church leadership and congregation to understand hopes and fears regarding a reimagined use of space
• Facilitated vision development process aimed at helping church leadership identify the overall vision for the space and the values that will guide the church toward realizing that vision

GUIDING QUESTION: 

“How is God inviting us to better steward our space to love our neighbor?”

NOT How can we generate the most revenue possible from our building? 

BUT How can our space be shared in a way that demonstrates our love for neighbor? 

COMBINED WITH Who can we partner with in this work?

AND What values will guide our partnership(s)?

OUR SPACE, SYSTEMS, AND RESOURCES

The STRENGTH work of placemaking is all about our church’s building, systems, and resources—how we leverage our building and manage its use, as well as our understanding of how our financial resources might help accomplish our vision. STRENGTH work focuses on these three questions:

• How well are we leveraging our physical resources and assets toward the flourishing of our neighbor?
• How do the systems we have in place enable us to both mobilize our congregation and activate our physical assets to the fullest?
• What financial considerations inform our ability to activate our space to its fullest?

ACTION STEPS in this quadrant can include:

• Site use and sustainability report (which can include meetings with architects, contractors, and more)
• Social impact assessment (Sphaera Research)
• Development of Policies and Procedures for space use
• Campaign planning and execution (and other exploratory fund development work)
• Identification of space management needs and tools (i.e. Skedda, Brivo, etc.)

GUIDING QUESTION: 

“What spaces could most effectively be repurposed or reimagined, and what tools will help us leverage those spaces effectively?”

NOT What spaces are we not using? 

BUT What spaces hold the greatest possibility for shared use?

FOLLOWED BY How can we activate and manage those spaces in a way that allows everyone who inhabits them to flourish?