1 SHEPHERDING THE GRACE FAMILY NEED FOR

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SHEPHERDING THE GRACE FAMILY NEED FOR ACTION: Grace family members are leaving the Grace family. Even though some Elders may have had some indication and some understanding of many of these departures, the Council is concerned that we must do better in stemming at least some of these departures through our awareness and actions as shepherds. We want to be aware when a Grace family member is experiencing issues that might result in a decision to leave the Grace family, and we want to do our best to address those issues. We also want to follow up in a timely manner with those who depart, and we want to better understand why they leave the family. This concern calls for action. ACTION ITEMS FOR ELDERS: (1) Council/leadership apologizes to the Grace family for not doing better in this important area in the past. (2) Since we will already be using name tags for fellowship purposes, we will also use them as an unobtrusive way to notify us when someone has stopped attending. We can do this by locating the name tags on a board in the hallway, where they will be picked up each Sunday by attendees. They will then be returned to bins at the church exit points when leaving church. One of the deacons, or another person appointed by the Elders, will note those nametags left on the board after the second service Sunday, which would indicate those people who were not present. A list of those absent would be provided to a council member assigned by the elders with this shepherding responsibility. We will also ask all Sunday School teachers to leave on Larry's desk each week a list of those attending their Sunday School class. (3) If the Elder assigned this shepherding responsibility determines that a Grace family member has missed a predetermined number of weeks, that Elder or someone delegated by the Council will contact that individual's small group leader and follow up with a phone call to the individual to make sure everything is OK, to determine their status as a member, and to discern whether there are any programmatic or relational reasons for their absence. (4) If it is determined that a member or attendee has stopped attending Grace, a non-staff Elder, or another person delegated by the Council, will ask the person to meet to discuss and provide a better understanding of (a) why they have stopped attending, (b) if there are any needs which we can better meet, and (c) their feedback on how Grace might improve. If a meeting is not possible, we will ask them to discuss this by phone (the Elder will need to be prepared with the survey questions). If the person is not comfortable with either of those approaches, the Elder will ask them to send an email answering the survey questions.

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(5) The Elder, or other person delegated by the Council to do the review, will report back to council with his findings at the next regularly scheduled council meeting. (6) We will emphasize, remind, and instruct all Grace family members that it is every member's responsibility to notice when family members are missing, to follow up with them to find out why, and to bring in other members of the family, including Elders, to resolve any issues that might be causing such an absence. (7)

We will review this process and make adjustments after it is in place for 6-9 months.

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