2011 Discernment Task Force Report
In the Spring of 2011, the Session asked a diverse group of members to study and report on Forest Hill’s core values and how those values can shape faithful decisions about church growth, financial stability, and our future. The Discernment Task Force was asked to discern God’s call for our church by reviewing our past, present and future. The completed Report was presented to the Session at its October 2011 meeting and approved by Session at its December 2011 meeting.
20-page main Report (available as PDF)
Appendix A Staffing, Membership and Attendance History Chart from 1970-2010 Annual Reports (p. 23-30)
Appendix B Historical Highlights, Programs, and Mission Initiatives Chart from 1970-2010 (p. 31-46)
Appendix C Timeline of Significant World Events from 1970-2010 (p. 47)
Appendix D Charts of Membership, Attendance, and Giving patterns – Source PC(USA) (p. 48-52)
Appendix E Ten-Year Trends Report on FHC - PC(USA) (12 non-numbered pages)
Appendix F How Does Forest Hill Stack Up in the Presbytery of the Western Reserve? (p. 53-55)
Appendix G Financial Analysis (p. 56-67) (p. 68-71 intentionally blank and not uploaded)
Appendix H and I Census data and Demographic Information from Cleveland Heights City Hall (p. 71-73)
Appendix J Copy of Church-Wide Survey (p. 74)
Appendix K Summaries of Survey Responses (p. 75-83)
Appendix L Copy of Interview format and questions (p. 84)
Appendix M Interview Summaries (p. 85-99)
Appendix N “Listening Posts” Description and summary (p.100)
Appendix O Focus Groups Summary (p. 101-102)
Appendix P Gratitude Offering Description and summary (p. 103)
Appendix Q Report on visit to Antioch Baptist, Church of the Resurrection, Church of the Saviour, St. Paul’s (p. 104-114)
Appendix R List and Summaries of others churches studied online (p. 115-129)
Appendix S (and T combined) Annotated Bibliography of articles, essays, and blogs by experts in the field of future church trends
Appendix U List of additional recommendations to consider in future