What?

The Garden needs to find a new space to continue its Sunday experience. Yet, before we start looking for new spaces, we want to dream together about how and what else The Garden might want to grow.

Thus, as part of The Garden Greenhouse Challenge, we are asking: Beyond the Sunday experience, how might The Garden foster sacred exploration, community, and positive impact in the world in a creative way?

We are hoping to Co-Create solutions that are:

Collaborative: Involves partnering with other organizations.

Innovative: Encourages different points of view and out-of-the-box thinking given the complex reality that we live in. Besides, The Garden has never been “normal!”

Sustainable: Prepares the Garden for the long-term, ensuring that additional expenses can be matched with revenue and solutions are “doable” given the size of the The Garden community.

Aligned: Keeps The Garden’s values of inclusiveness, spiritual growth, creativity, social equity, and outreach at its heart.

Why?

Recent studies show that people in today’s North American culture are increasingly searching for (1) the sacred outside traditional church, (2) community to stave off loneliness, and (3) ways to discover and live out purpose in the world. We believe that The Garden is uniquely equipped to fill a bigger gap in the Indianapolis community.

How?

A greenhouse harnesses light and energy to accelerate the growth of new plants. Similarly, The Garden Greenhouse Challenge will harness the ideas and energy of the Garden community, following an innovation process that brings together many voices and perspectives to co-create solutions.

The entire Garden community and representative voices from the broader community are invited, and needed, to participate.

Each of us has taken a unique path to find The Garden, and as such, bring a different perspective. “By leveraging diverse perspectives, co-creation opens the door to more innovative ideas” (Forbes). 

By leveraging the collective set of voices, we can foster community-building while ensuring that solutions are aligned with The Garden. “Co-Creation creates joint value” (Image Think).

This ensures that we come up with better solutions that people really want. Sixty-one percent of businesses say co-creation leads to more successful products (braineet).

We will be guided through a four-phase innovation process:

Phase 1

Jan - Feb

Ideate

Engage with The Garden community to generate ideas that align with The Garden’s values and activities.

Phase 2

Feb-Mar

Prototype

Convert a few promising ideas into tangible forms that the community can interact with and provide insights and feedback.

Phase 3

Mar-Apr

Develop 

Develop preferred ideas, using an iterative design and testing process with the community, narrowing in on the preferred solution.

Phase 4

Apr 14 +

Plan and Launch

Refine the preferred solution and develop an implementation plan.

Discovery Leadership Team - Roles and Responsibilities

Garden Volunteers

·     Beth Young, GLT Chair

·     Carolyn Scanlan-Holmes, Sr Pastor

·     Dave Bradley, Garden volunteer, former PM

·     Betty Brandt, Garden Staff

Participate in project planning and implementation, providing vision, insights, guidance, and oversight.

Consultants

·     Rev. Dr. Brenda Freije, Attorney, Innovation Consultant, and INUMC Pastor

Work with the team to design and implement the innovation process, shepherding the process with the Garden Community.

·     Stephanie Fernhaber, Butler University Professor, Innovation Consultant, Gardener.

Work with the team to design and implement the innovation process.

Launch Phase

·     Jevon Caldwell-Gross, INUMC Church Development and INUMC Pastor

Provide leadership expertise and an important INUMC connection throughout the process.

·     Amy Friedly, Creative Consultant

Provide visual communication design support.