Part I - Church Information
Part II - Building/Financial Information
Part III - Church Characteristics
Part IV - Leadership Expectations
Part V - Church History
Part VI - Other Information
1. Name: Sussex Christian Reformed Church
Address: 51 Unionville Ave. Sussex NJ 07461
PO Box 745
Telephone: (973) 875-5591
Classis: Hudson
2. Search Committee Chairperson: Rich Byma
Address: 601 Route 519, Wantage, NJ, 7461
Telephone: (973) 875-7445
E-Mail: byacreholsteins@yahoo.com
3. Classical Church Counselor: Pastor Paul Ingeneri
4. List all paid staff positions |
||
Position |
FT/PT |
Qty |
Pastor |
Full time |
1 |
Bulletin Secretary |
Part time |
1 |
Financial Secretary |
Part time |
1 |
Organist |
Part time |
1 |
Evening Pianist(s) |
Part time |
3 |
Choir Director |
Part time |
1 |
Custodian(s) |
Part time |
2 |
Position Available: Pastor |
Date of vacancy |
09/26/2004 |
5. Membership (please state approximate percentages):
a. Number of church members (families):
| - | 5 Yrs. Ago | (Families) | Present | (Families) |
| Professing | 248 | (116) | 203 | (109) |
| Non-Professing | - | - | 120 | - |
b. Profile of church members:
Age: |
|
25% |
0-11 |
14% |
12-18 |
6% |
19-24 |
11% |
25-34 |
20% |
35-49 |
11% |
50-64 |
13% |
65+ |
Occupation: |
|
-% |
Business |
21% |
Professional |
16% |
Trades |
6% |
Stay-at-home parent |
4% |
Agriculture |
11% |
Retired |
42% |
Other (Students or pre-school) |
c. Educational level of adults: |
|
11% |
some high school or less |
48% |
high school |
37% |
college |
3% |
graduate school |
d. Percentage of members belonging to the congregation: |
|
Less than one year: |
5% |
5 years or less: |
8% |
6-10 years: |
1% |
10 or more years: |
86% |
e. Racial/Ethnic composition of congregation: |
|
1% |
Asian |
0% |
Hispanic |
2% |
African American |
97% |
Caucasian |
>1% |
Other (please specify):___ |
6. Worship
a. Time Average Attendance
AM -1 Hr. 15 Min 250
PM -1 Hr. 60
b. Frequency of communion celebration: 8 per year
c. How are members involved in planning and participation in the
liturgy/worship?
5 Rotating praise teams
2 Choirs (Junior and Senior)
Members frequently read scripture lesson
Worship committee
d. Style of liturgy used in your worship (e.g. traditional,
contemporary, variety):
Traditional
e. Type of music used in worship (e.g. traditional, contemporary,
variety):
Traditional
7. Church/Sunday School
a. Average attendance in Church School (under 18 years) 100
b. Average attendance in Adult Education (Sunday) Not currently
meeting
8. Community Setting (check as many as apply):
a. Location Function Growth
| Location | - | Function | - | Growth | - |
| Rural | X | Industrial | - | Growing | X |
| Small Town | X | College | - | Static | - |
| Metropolotan | - | Agriculture | X | Declining | - |
| Suburban | - | Recreational | X | - | - |
| Inner City | - | Military | - | - | - |
9. Program Information (list major boards, committees, and organizations that are part of your church and frequency of meetings - monthly, weekly, etc.)
| Name | Purpose of group | # of members |
Frequency of meetings |
*Leadership role |
Mr. & Mrs. |
Bible study\Fellowship |
25 |
2/Month |
2 |
Household Bible Studies4 |
Bible study\Fellowship |
60 |
1/Month |
3 |
Ladies Bible Study |
Bible study\Fellowship |
12 |
1/Week |
3 |
Men’ Bible Study |
Bible study\Fellowship |
9 |
1/Week |
2 |
Seniors Bible Study |
Bible study\Fellowship |
6 |
1/Month |
1 |
Young People |
Bible study\Fellowship |
25 |
2/Month |
3 |
Cadets |
Education\Fellowship |
32 |
2/Month |
3 |
GEMS |
Education\Fellowship |
50 |
2/Month |
3 |
Worship |
Worship planning |
3 |
1/Month |
1 |
Education |
Educational program |
5 |
1/Month |
3 |
Evangelism |
Local evangelism VBS |
1 |
3 |
|
Sr. Choir |
Praise & Sing |
12 |
1/Week |
3 |
Jr. Choir |
Praise & Sing |
5 |
1/Week |
3 |
Buildings & Grounds |
Building maintenance & planning |
1 |
1/Month |
3 |
Abuse Response |
Education |
1 |
3 |
|
Council |
Administration |
13 |
1/Month |
1 |
Elders |
Spiritual life of congregation |
7 |
1/Month |
1 |
Deacons |
Physical needs of congregation and community |
6 |
1/Month |
3 |
*Indicate leadership role expected by number:
1. Pastor takes primary initiative and responsibility.
2. Pastor and laity share responsibility.
3. Laity takes primary initiative and responsibility.
4. – 6 groups
1. Present annual budget: $211,140
Last year's annual budget: $207,310
(please attach a copy of current budget)
2. Percentage of financial obligations met (last complete year
reported):
Budget: 100%
Ministry Shares: 100%
3. Amount contributed for (last complete year reported):
Missions: 2003 – World $4,600
Other: 2003 - $39,000
4. Property owned by church:
b. Are your buildings adequate for your present program? Yes
X: No:
If no, please explain: - The church uses the Sussex Christian School
directly behind the church for many Sunday school, and Cadet
activities.
c. Is a building program projected? Yes: No_X:
If yes, describe what and when:
d. Does the church own a parsonage? Yes X: No:
Condition: Good X: Fair: Poor:
Number of Bedrooms 3
5. Office/study: In Church : In Parsonage X: Other : Not Provided:
Congregational Characteristics (1 - Agree, 2 - Moderately Agree. 3 - Moderately Disagree, 4 - Disagree)
| # |
Our Congregation... |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 1. | supports the pastor | - | 2 | - | - |
| 2. | readily shares their gifts with the rest of the congregation. | - | 2 | - | - |
| 3. | places a high priority on sound biblical preaching. | 1 | - | - | - |
| 4. | gladly welcomes visitors and new members. | - | 2 | - | - |
| 5. | is involved in local evangelistic ministries. | - | - | 3 | - |
| 6. | is often found living their faith in their communities. | - | 2 | - | - |
| 7. | has a spirit of unity. | - | 2 | - | - |
| 8. | cares about each other. | 1 | - | - | - |
| 9. | looks to its Council for leadership. | - | 2 | - | - |
| 10. | ministers well to members who are hurting. | - | 2 | - | - |
| 11. | uses members' gifts in its worship. | - | 2 | - | - |
| 12. | contains people willing and able to lead the congregation. | - | 2 | - | - |
| 13. | is capable of change when and where appropriate. | - | - | 3 | - |
| 14. | is spiritually alive. | - | 2 | - | - |
15. In what ways does your church participate in ecumenical activities?
Sussex CRC is part of the Sussex Help Center, which includes about 9 local churches. The Help center is a supplemental food distribution center to help individuals and families living on Federal aid. The Help Center provides additional foods, not covered by Federal and State programs
Sussex CRC also works with Harvest House. Harvest House meets at the Sussex Baptist church and provides lunch to anyone who needs it.
Many members are also involved with the crossroads Prison ministry.
16. Describe the strengths of your congregation:
Sussex CRC has used the “Natural Church Development”
program 3 times to identify strengths and weaknesses (see attached
page.) One of our strengths is our group fellowship. Sussex has many
groups that work within the congregation, as well as some that work
with students outside our congregation (GEMS and Cadets.)
Education. Sussex is the sole CRC church in the area, yet 40 plus years
ago the congregation established the Sussex Christian School
(http://www.sussexchristianschol.org.) The school has grown and now
draws students in from over 40 non CRC congregations. Sussex CRC
members make up the school board, but not all sub-committees or
teaching positions are from Sussex
The congregation includes a number of multi-generational families, as well as many business and community leaders. This gives us solid ground for congregational and community involvement.
The congregation has always been willing to help those in need as shown in item 15 above.
17. List specific problems with which your congregation struggles:
Our Evangelism to the local community has not been as active as it should be
Keeping post high school and college age members.
Dealing with change.
Communication
18. List major goals that this congregation has set for it-self:
In the past we have set many building goals such as the parking lot, new windows, and the redecoration of the sanctuary, to name a few. All of these were met typically ahead of schedule and at or below budget. The goals we set for ourselves based on the Natural Church Development were not formulized into action plans with specific goals and programs put into place. Progress was made through the actions of different members investigating various areas, and incorporating them into the congregation. For example, worship teams in part were the result of members attending COLAM, and Household Bible study groups were started to improve our spirituality, and loving relationships. Our congregation was just awarded a grant from the Calvin Symposium on worship to develop program for our worship service.
Leadership development has also been a goal for the council. We added a line item to our budget specifically for leadership training and development. This has been used by members to attend COLAM, as well as GEMS counselor training, and training session the regional diaconate has provided.
Natural Church Development Surveys |
|||
Sussex CRC |
1998 |
2000 |
2002 |
Empowering Leadership |
11 |
27 |
44 |
Gift Oriented Ministry |
33 |
40 |
59 |
Passionate Spirituality |
17 |
19 |
33 |
Functioning Structures |
6 |
27 |
47 |
Inspiring Worship Service |
15 |
18 |
34 |
Small Groups |
35 |
50 |
54 |
Need-Oriented Evangelism |
20 |
35 |
54 |
Loving Relationships |
24 |
31 |
50 |
Average |
20 |
31 |
47 |
Range |
6 – 35 |
18 - 50 |
33 - 59 |
Interpreting your Natural Church Development scores
Your survey results come as eight scores, one for each of the Quality Characteristics. A score of 50 is a median score, meaning that half of the churches in your country scored higher than that on that characteristic, and half of the churches scored lower.
The scores are not percentile scores, but "standard deviation" scores with a standard deviation of 15. This means that scores are distributed in the shape of a "bell curve" with 68% of all scores falling between 35 and 65. This means, for example, that a score of 65 means that the church scores at the 84th percentile on that characteristic–higher than 84% of other churches in the country, lower than 16% of other churches. (Click here for more information)
19.
a. Has your congregation ever taken disciplinary action against a
pastor?
: No
b. Has there ever been an Article 16 or 17 termination in the history
of your church?
: No
c. Has there ever been an official ecclesiastical complaint against an
elder or deacon of your
congregation?
: No
Explanation:
20. Have you completed a Congregational Master Plan? No
Have you completed a Mission Statement? Yes: Date:
2000
Have you completed a Vision Statement? Yes: Date:
2000
(Click here to see our
Vision statement)
Below are listed 42 items which represent a range of qualities in the ministry of the church. Choose the 12 items which your church feels are the most important aspects of ministry for your church at this time and place the numbers in the blanks following the list. All the qualities are important. However, please choose those 12 which you feel need first priority at this time. Do not rank the items.
Write no more than 12 numbers in the blanks at the end of this
list
Our church needs a person who...
1. is an effective preacher/speaker.
2. continues to develop my theological and biblical skills.
3. helps people develop their spiritual life.
4. helps people work together in solving problems.
5. is effective in planning and leading worship.
6. has a sense of the direction of her/his ministry.
7. regularly encourages people to participate in denominational
activities and programs.
8. helps people understand and act upon issues of social justice.
9. is a helpful counselor.
10. ministers effectively to people in crisis situations.
11. makes pastoral calls on people in hospitals and nursing homes and
those confined to their homes.
12. makes pastoral calls on members not confined at home or in
hospitals.
13. is a good leader.
14. is effective in working with children.
15. builds a sense of fellowship among the people with whom he/she
works.
16. helps people develop their leadership abilities.
17. is an effective administrator.
18. is effective with committees and officers.
19. is an effective teacher.
20. has a strong commitment to the educational ministry of the
church.
21. is effective in working with adults.
22. inspires a sense of confidence.
23. works regularly at bringing new members into the church.
24. regularly encourages support of the CRC's missions and
outreach.
25. reaches out to inactive members.
26. works regularly in the development of stewardship growth.
27. is active in ecumenical relationships and encourages the church to
participate.
28. is a person who cultivates a close, devotional relationship with
God.
29. writes clearly and well.
30. works well on a team.
31. is effective in working with youth.
32. organizes people for community action.
33. is skilled in planning and leading programs.
34. plans and leads well-organized meetings.
35. encourages people to relate their faith to their daily lives.
36. is accepting of people with divergent backgrounds and
traditions.
37. encourages others to assume and carry out leadership.
38. is mature and emotionally secure.
39. has strong commitment and loyalty to the Christian Reformed Church
in North America.
40. maintains confidentiality.
41. is a compassionate and caring person, sensitive to others'
needs.
42. deals effectively with conflict.
1, 3, 5, 11, 14, 15, 20, 25, 28, 31, 35, 38
Comments:
Other areas of concern include number 2, the development of theological
and biblical skills, and the need to continue the development of
leadership skills in the congregation.
A. What have been the three most important events in the history of your church?
After being the pastor at Sussex CRC for 20 years, John Keizer’s accepting a call to Hope CRC.
Senior Citizens housing project.
Starting Sussex Christian School.
B. What has been the most interesting and challenging event in the
life of your church in the last three years?
Deciding to move ahead with a church redecoration. The sanctuary was
painted, new carpet and drapes put in, new lighting, and ceiling
mounted projection screen along with a ceiling mounted projector for
use with a computer and camera to record services, and display images,
and Power Point type presentations.
Spiritually, our church has seen a growth in the number of Jr. and High school age students taking part in summer mission programs, and our older members have become involved in the Crossroads Prison ministry program.
1. List the last three persons in this position:
Name |
Dates of Service |
Koopmans |
June 1966 – January 1973 |
Kruis |
August 1973 – November 1983 |
Keizer |
December 1983 – September 2004 |