July 10, 2025
July 10, 2025
Beloved of Good Shepherd Church,
Peace be with you!
I am writing to update you on the results of our recent Feasibility Study Survey which invited you to register your thoughts about our Dream of a Parish Hall and our Roof Replacement Project.
The results of the survey are described by Richard Rogers, our consultant from Horizons Stewardship, as “overwhelmingly positive.”
+The survey was widely available in electronic and print forms.
+320 households were contacted.
+171 surveys were completed.
This rate of return is considered excellent! Half of the respondents have long term experience at Good Shepherd having attended for more than 10 years, and one third of respondents are relatively new to Good Shepherd having been with us 5 years or less. It’s exciting and helpful to hear from folks who’ve been around a while and to hear from new members and get a sense of their experience at our church.
Key findings:
+93% of survey respondents believe that the plan described in our Case Statement is in keeping with Good Shepherd’s mission.
+95% of respondents believe that Good Shepherd is experiencing forward momentum.
+95% of respondents have confidence in our parish leadership team.
+47% of the respondents are willing to help in a volunteer role with our capital campaign efforts.
Two additional pieces of feedback we received that I find very illuminating and helpful are related to outreach and the roof replacement.
In the survey comments a significant number of respondents indicated that while they are in favor of the parish hall project they want us to put priority on the roof replacement. This indicates to me a deep love of our current structures and a heartfelt sense of responsibility for that which we already have. This is a rather holy pragmatism that I find inspiring.
We also received a very healthy number of comments that expressed support for the parish hall dream while also encouraging us to be ever mindful of our call to serve the least among us and not lose our wonderful outreach focus.
The Vestry hears you loud and clear on both counts, and we couldn’t agree more! The roof will be prioritized, and we will continue to make outreach ministry a constant focus as well.
Most significantly, after analyzing survey results and early financial commitment indications, Horizons Stewardship deems that conditions currently exist at Good Shepherd for a successful capital campaign with financial commitments being made on a 3-year pledge basis. The Vestry has voted unanimously to proceed with this campaign.
In the days ahead we’ll invite members of the parish to participate in various well-defined roles in the sacred work of the capital campaign. The proposed timeline we are finalizing includes initial campaign work in August and September during which efforts will be directed to sourcing lead gifts for the project. A wider launch to the campaign coinciding with our annual Stewardship Campaign will take place in early October culminating in November with a commitment Sunday for both our Capital Campaign and our annual Stewardship Campaign. It will be a celebratory day for sure! Stay tuned for more details about how you can be a part of discerning what God is calling us to do next as we seek to spread the Gospel in word and deed. I am so thankful for God’s gift of you to our parish! It is my great delight to serve our Lord with you as we walk the Way of Love together.
Remember this always - God loves you, and I do too!
Love is all,
Hendree+