Loading...Diocesan commission and committee members recently attended a workshop as a first step toward a renewed vision of planning and budgeting in the diocese.
Often, difficult situations bring unexpected rewards. Many Christian denominations, including The Episcopal Church, have faced a certain degree of "decline" over the last three decades. That is, of course, if you measure success in terms of attendance and the number of dollars funneled into an institutional budget. According to these measures, most denominations have been in a downward spiral for nearly 30 years.
The question remains, however, that in the face of such "decline," how do churches remain fully effective in and even grow their ministries? After much study, pastoral theologians credit this reality to a shift in understanding "success" in ministry. General Convention 2012 recognized this important shift as it directed the central offices of The Episcopal Church to create a reporting form that would not only recognize the familiar measures like Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) or levels of Operating Income but also seek to measure the impact that the parish is having on its wider community. For example, a small parish has an ASA of 50 (down from over 175) and an operating budget around $100,000 (down from over $200,000 adjusted for inflation). It currently pays a part-time clergy person (used to be full time), has no other full time staff members and maintains 3 historic buildings on its campus. On paper and in the traditional mode of measuring success, the parish is clearly in decline. But when you look at the level of activity, the important contribution of a truly effective volunteer corps, and the manner in which it addresses issues of hunger, unemployment, and underemployment in the wider community, one gets a very different picture. The parish suddenly seems to be vibrant and alive and making a real difference because of its sincere dedication to the Gospel.
This difference in perception can come from how we measure success. If we merely measure measuring "outputs" (the number of people involved, amount of money raised/spent, meals served, people serviced) rather than "outcomes" (the impact that activity has on the community - how people's lives are different) we begin to see that even diminished resources can have increasing effectiveness in carrying out our mission. Measuring outcomes rather than outputs begins with mission and our higher purpose rather than merely simply figuring out how to do more with less.
The Church's General Convention affirmed the validity of this approach by adopting for itself the Five Marks of Mission in the Anglican Communion as the organizing principle for its budget and reorganization efforts over the next triennium.
The Diocese of Central Pennsylvania began a similar effort as Diocesan Convention 2011 affirmed four key vision statements that arose from its strategic planning efforts as its organizing principles for the near future. These vision statements include:
Starting from these vision statements, the diocesan budgeting process for the next fiscal year will not begin with the amount of money available and then divvy things up but determine what resources are necessary to accomplish our goals, and then set out to develop those resources.
As a first step toward a fully outcomes based budget process, commission and committee members recently met with Mr. Skip Brown of ConnectSynergy, who led workshop participants through the basics of a renewed vision of planning and budgeting.
As the diocese embraces an outcomes based budgeting as its fundamental budget methodology, each ministry area will determine its goals for the year, relate those goals to the diocesan vision statements and propose a means for measuring the impact that the ministry will have on the people and communities served. Outcomes based on these goals will be monitored throughout the year to determine the continuing effectiveness of each ministry area. Then, before the next budget cycle begins, each area will be asked to scrutinize its effectiveness in carrying out the diocesan vision. This will help people of the diocese determine whether or not a particular ministry is accomplishing its goals, how to bolster its efforts, and where diocesan resources might best be applied.
More information will be available on the diocesan website as this plan progresses. If you are interested in more information about outcomes based approaches for your own planning and budgeting efforts, feel free to contact me at the diocesan Office for Finance and Diocesan Administration.
With every kind wish for a safe and fruitful summer, I remain
David+
The Rev. Canon David A. Zwifka
Canon for Finance and Diocesan Administration
