First Friday group responses

Three of us GPS task force members met on Friday, Sept. 9, with Second's longtime First Friday dinner/study group and asked its members some of our questions. Here, in brief form, are some of the responses:

 

Yes, the Jeters served ribs. Yum.

In response to the question of what Second does best (or at least well):

• Being friendly.
• Welcoming people.
• Providing a variety of opportunities for people to plug in.
• Good Bible teaching.
• We care about one another.
• There’s a diversity of mission efforts.
• Metro Mission of Deacons is especially important.
• We do worship well.
• We serve educated, professional people well.
• We provide leadership in various areas for the community.
• We have lots of talent in our membership but sometimes struggle to marshal it.
• We have some great art in the church — and artists, too.
• The church is an energizing place where we can get recharged.
• The history of how our church formed is important.
• Our music program is helping with our relationship with UMKC.

In response to the question of what must change for Second to survive and thrive:

• We much teach both our children and our adults biblical literacy.
• We must figure out how to keep young families in our congregation and how those families can keep their children connected.
• We must create meaningful mission opportunities for young people.

In response to an invitation to share their dreams for Second:

• Provide love and care for our children by our adults.
• Biblical and spiritual education through mentoring young people.
• We need to bring back Scouting to Second.
• We need to stand more publicly on the side of poor and voiceless people, especially on local issues that need our advocacy.
• We should use our music program to reach out to the community. Like the drumming group Cory is helping with.
• We should be training our people to become leaders at all levels of the PCUSA.

 Two additional comments:

“My vision for this church is to be freakishly good in terms of leadership."

“As a church we don’t think Christian education is very important.”

If you have comments you'd like to share with the GPS team, leave them here, e-mail them to secondplan11@gmail.com or drop a note in the church file folder of Bill Tammeus, GPS moderator.