Survey Says...
On the long-running TV game show, “The Family Feud,” teams answer survey-based questions in a competition to earn points. A typical round starts with a question like, “Name something that is deep fried.” As the contestants respond with answers like, “Chicken” “French Fries” and “Donuts” the survey board reveals rank-ordered results of how successful they were at guessing what the majority of Americans had to say. (French Fries would be the #1 answer to the deep-fried question, by the way!)
We’re at a moment in our family life at Elmhurst CRC where we’re taking our own survey – not to start a feud or score points – but to help illuminate where God is leading us in the upcoming years. Because of our generous giving to God through the Hearts Ablaze campaign since the end of 2024, our church is on track to be debt free by Thanksgiving of this year! Amazing, and truly a cause for thanksgiving! This means that all of our tithes and offerings will be freed up for ministry, and our opportunities to serve and strategically say “Yes!” to the opportunities that the Holy Spirit presents to us will be at an all time high!
In preparation for this new season, we’ve formed a Strategic Planning Team to help our congregation discern where the voice of God is directing us next. One of the first tasks of this team will be to interpret the results of a congregational survey. You can Take the survey here.
It’s anonymous, takes about 15-20 minutes to complete, and your perspective will help shape where we go next as a community. We want our “Family Feud” board to be lit but exclusively with the strongest answers to the question, “Where is God leading us in the years ahead?”
You might notice that there is an Up, In, and Out* structure to the survey. After a few demographic questions, there will be prompts about worship, community life, as well as outreach and service. And there’s space for you to share some of your own opinions, perspectives, and dreams for ECRC if you choose to do that as well.
So, take a few minutes, and take the survey! It will close at the end of this weekend
– Pastor Gregg
Up = connecting vertically to God in worship
In = connecting to one another in Christian community
Out = connecting to our neighbors and the world through acts of service and proclamation