STEP 6: THE CONGREGATION SELF-STUDY

This important step will result in a final draft of the congregation's "Ministry Site Profile (MSP)." The MSP will be used by synod staff and by prospective candidates for the call process to learn about the congregation and to discern a good match of strengths and passions between prospective candidates and the congregation.

Set up an account for your MSP at www.ELCA.org/call-process/ministry-sites Click on the Ministry Site Profile link on the left-hand column to begin. Keep track of your email and password.

Read through “A Guide to the MSP”. Directions for looking at a sample MSP can be found on page 3 of the guide.

The Conference Dean or synod staff meets with the call committee to use tools like SOAR that will help identify Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results in the faith community. This will help the call committee with the wording they can use in the congregation's self-study and in the MSP.

A draft of the MSP is submitted to the Synod Minister for Community and Leader Engagement for review. They may recommend revisions to your profile to help add clarity.

After review, the MSP is submitted to the ELCA Mobility Website. The bishop receives notification of this submission and after final approval the document becomes live.

The church council works on a job description (sample), compensation/benefits, (compensation  guidelines), and budgeting costs associated with the call process (meals, travel, and overnight accommodations for the candidates interviewing). (insert link to the excel spreadsheet)