Merger?
About a year and a half ago First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) began talks with Niles Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) about merging the two churches into one.
The Discernment Teams have completed Phase 1, which was the "fact finding" stage. Both churches will be voting toward the end of October whether or not to move on to Phase 2, the "What would it look like?" phase.
Below are some general presentations about the over all discernment process, followed by the Discernment Team's Phase 1 reports.
What follows on this page was copied from NCC's website, and all the links will take you to the Niles Congregational website. (To download the PowerPoint Presentation to your computer - "right click" and "target save as")
General Overview
Discernment Process PowerPoint Presentation (.ppt) – the most recent PowerPoint presentation about the discernment process our congregations are using and were we are in the process.
Discernment Process PowerPoint Show (.pps)– the most recent PowerPoint presentation about the discernment process our congregations are using and were we are in the process. This PowerPoint Presentation has been time-lined so that the average reader can review the presentation at a comfortable reading rate.
Please Note: If you do not have Microsoft PowerPoint installed on your computer you may Click and download a PowerPoint Viewer directly from Microsoft which supports this program file. Click on the provided link and follow the instructions from the Microsoft Website.
Discernment Process Outline – A description of the four phase process the Discernment Team is leading us through.
Phase 1 Reports
Congregational Survey – In December 2007, we asked the members of each congregation five questions. Here are the raw results of the surveys and the Discernment Team’s summaries of the results.
Strengths and Weaknesses Assessment – A listing of identified Strengths and Weaknesses of each congregation. This should help us know if merging will strengthen our ministries.
Norms – A listing of most important norms (unwritten rules) in each congregation. This should help us determine how easy or hard merging would be culturally.
Objects list – A list items from each churches to which individuals are emotionally and/or spiritually attached. This should help us identify considerations and potential areas of grief that would come up if we decide to merge.
Mission Statements – A listing the official mission statements of each congregation. This should help us determine how compatible merging our sense of ministry would be and if merging would strengthen our ability to carry out our missions.
Current Governance – Descriptions of the decision-making processes and governance structures of each congregation. This should help us determine how easy or hard it would be to create a governance system that is a hybrid of the current structures.
Property Fact Sheet – A simple summary of the
properties currently owned by the two congregations.
If we decide to merge into one congregation, we will
need to decide where the merged congregation would “live” – where
we would worship God and grow as disciples, where the base for carrying
out our mission would be.
Financial Fact Sheet – A simple summary of the
financial state of the two congregations. This information is not
available on-line, but is available to members at the church office.
Demographics – Some information on the demographics of our congregations and the area. This will help us see what changes, if any, merging congregations make. It also helps us compare who we are as congregations to the surrounding community.
Religious Trends in the U.S. and Fremont – a description of religious trends in the United States and California. (This link does not take you to NCC's website.)Minister Fact Sheet – A summary of the work done by the ministers of the two congregations.